Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has issued a decree paving the way for the establishment of diplomatic ties with Lebanon and the opening of an embassy, the official SANA news agency said on Tuesday. The decree provides for “the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Syrian Arab Republic and the Lebanese republic and the creation of […]
The African National Congress has acted swiftly against the breakaway factions, led by Mosiuoa Lekota, by suspending Lekota and Lekota's former deputy, Mluleki George and threatening further disciplinary action. Lekota is purporting to be shocked and wronged, but that seems disingenuous. He effectively walked away from the party and promised that he was going to […]
The new campus of the American University in Cairo is experiencing some growing pains as students and teachers complain of unfinished buildings and incomplete facilities. All this is to be expected as a major institution relocates its entire operation. A decade from now I anticipate a fully functioning university attracting Arab students from all over […]
Iraq and the US have yet to reach consensus on the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). Maliki's summary of the sticking point is as follows: On Saturday, Maliki outlined a somewhat different position. “If Iraqi and American soldiers move in an operation that is pre-agreed by both sides, then they have immunity unless [an American] […]
On October 6, Federal Judge Ricardo Urbina ordered the release of 17 Uighurs imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay, arguing that the US government had no evidence and no right to hold them as ‘enemy combatants.’ The Bush administration has already stated that these 17 prisoners are not a security threat and conceded that they do not […]
Lahem al Nasser, a frequent commentator on Islamic finance, has an opinion piece in Al Sharq al Awsat (English) contending that, had the West followed Islamic banking restrictions, the current banking crisis would not have been. The Economist's briefing of several weeks ago asserted something similar. The two perspectives diverge on the relative merits of […]
The threats started about a year ago, telling Haroon Bacha to stop singing or else. "There were letters, there were phone calls, there were text messages," Mr. Bacha said, sitting upright on a floor in Brooklyn, surrounded by smoke from Pakistani cigarettes. "They used to come very frequently back home, just telling me to stop […]
The BBC interviews a Palestinian woman who recently completed training to become a suicide bomber. According to MSNBC's correspondent, female suicide bombers in Iraq are sort of old news.
I apologize for the lack of posts since Wednesday as I am in the middle of a move from New York to California. Today I would like to go over a few important stories that have occurred in the last week. Ahmed Wali Karzai a Drug Dealer? – The New York Times ran an article […]
Here's an alarming thought: Pakistan is in even scarier shape than most of the so-called experts are willing to admit. This nuclear-armed state of 168 million is no stranger to political upheaval, of course. But this time, things are different. Today's ongoing crisis — marked by a rash of suicide bombings, the assassination of former […]
Palestinian officials are compiling a register of residents in the northern refugee camp of Baddawi to crack down on Islamist militants and to prevent unrest, one of them said on Saturday. “Rumors have spread concerning the presence of outlaws in Baddawi camp,” the official told AFP on condition of anonymity. “As a result Palestinian faction […]
I was already late to dinner, so I decided to take a taxi from the street. Not surprisingly, I got caught in a traffic jam. Oh well. Beirut at night. The driver starts telling me about Lebanese women. I said they are beautiful. He disagreed. Actually, he said that maybe 20% have beautiful features, but […]
A joint session of parliament in Islamabad has heard, in camera, the newly-appointed ISI Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha ‚ who was Director General Military Operations (DGMO) before he got the job ‚ on the terrorist threat facing Pakistan and the army's operations to thwart the terrorists. The briefing has made it clear […]
Free Patriotic Movement leader Gen. Michel Aoun will make an official visit to Tehran on Sunday for meetings with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other senior officials. … During the visit, the first ever by Aoun to Tehran, a ceremony will be held in his honor, the daily As Safir said Friday. It said Aoun […]
When I am outside Lebanon following the political trends, I do it, thinking that X event or Y incident is going to have an impact. Truth is that nothing thus far had a meaningful impact on the system as a whole. I feel Lebanon is kind of a hopeless case… People were assassinated and for […]