Tag: Op-Ed

Egypt’s new draft constitution was approved Sunday for a referendum billed as the first stage in a “democratic transition” promised by military-installed authorities after Islamist president Mohamed Morsi’s July ouster.

By Kalinga Seneviratne In his opening address to the Commonwealth leaders’ summit (CHOGM) in Colombo mid-November, Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapakse concluded his speech by quoting from the Buddha. “‘Let not one take notice of faults of other’s or what…

By Bikram Vohra They did it again. In the still hot debris of the death by ambush of five Indian soldiers and a shrillness in the hostility, Prime Ministers Nawaz Sharif and Manmohan Singh had a lukewarm coming together in…

By Al Bawaba News The White House warned Congress on Tuesday that imposing tougher sanctions on Iran could lead to “war” by leaving the president only with the option to use force to halt Tehran’s nuclear program.

By Neville Teller It is a melancholy fact, but true, that for much of the world, and certainly for the Middle East, the old adage “might is right” holds sway. Power engenders respect. In the Western world, however, this mindset…

The Supreme Court in the Maldives has suspended a presidential election run-off, after protests from a candidate. On Saturday, ex-President Mohamed Nasheed polled nearly 47%, just short of the 50% needed for outright victory.

By Mladen Dragojlovic In an action aimed at improving relations between Turkey and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), soldiers from Turkey are in the Balkan country as part of the EU mission to help the country on its EU and NATO…

By Rizwan Asghar The death of Hakeemullah Mehsud in a drone strike has resulted in a state of confusion across the country. By and large, the political class is unhappy about the incident terming it the ‘death of peace process’.

By Beenish Altaf Pakistan successfully tested this week its surface-to-surface Hatf-IX NASR missile with a range of 60 kilometers. The test included successive launches of 4 x missiles in salvo mode from a state-of-the-art multi-tube launcher. The missile is seemingly…

By ISN Security Watch When it comes to maintaining the security of the Asia-Pacific region, Axel Berkofsky believes the EU is caught between a rock and a hard place. China views Brussels’ Asia policies with continued suspicion while the United…

By PanArmenian World powers will seek to hammer out a breakthrough deal with Iran to start resolving a decade-old dispute over its nuclear program in two-day talks that begin on Thursday, November 7 although both sides say an agreement is…

By Alan Caruba On the surface, it might seem to make sense for the President to want to “do something” about climate events such as hurricanes, but there have always been hurricanes and blaming them and everything from droughts to…

By Keith K C Hui “No friends, no enemies, just interest.” Ideologically speaking, there is almost no common ground between the socialist and open-yet-authoritarian China and most other capitalist and democratic states such as Brazil, India, Russia and South Africa,…

Protests and logistical challenges are heightening tensions before a scheduled 19 November national poll in Nepal that is seen as critical to the country’s stability and development, say analysts.

By Radio Zamaneh Following a rainy day in various parts of Khuzestan Province on Saturday November 2, many people went to hospitals with serious bouts of choking and shortness of breath.

Doctors and nurses working under US military orders have been complicit in the abuse of terrorism suspects, a new independent US report says.

A businessman who claims he tipped-off the FBI about the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden’s secret compound is seeking a reward of $25m (£15.6m). Gem dealer Tom Lee, 63, claims that in 2003 a Pakistani intelligence agent, from a family…

By Dave Lindorff A revealing page-one article in today’s New York Times (“Tap on Merkel Provides Peek a Vast Spy Net”) reports on how the NSA’s global spying program, dating back at least to early in the Bush/Cheney administration, was…

By Democratic Voice of Burma The Burmese army continues to step up abuses in northern Kachin state, including raping, killing and torturing villagers, despite signing a tentative ceasefire with ethnic rebels, activists say.

By Samir Saran and Abhijit Iyer-Mitra The recently concluded India-China summit meeting may have, at the very least, established a new tone and tenor in the relationship between the two Himalayan neighbours.

By Aijaz Zaka Syed The general elections in 2014 could well be the dumbest and most defining in India’s history. While the level of political discourse and campaigning has already hit rock bottom, stakes for the country and its future…

By Daniel Wagner and Giorgio Cafiero Saudi Arabia’s declared intention to pivot away from the U.S. in foreign policy implies a shift toward Beijing, which predates both the Obama presidency and the Arab Awakening. While a full-fledged “divorce” from the…

By Adil E. Shamoo The Egyptian people face a very difficult choice. They must choose a path that does not lead toward greater violence, further economic decline, dictatorship, or even civil war. Egypt must somehow avoid the fate of Syria…

By Ria Novosti A prototype “space plane” that is being developed to transport American astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) sustained damage during its first free-flying test after its landing gear failed to deploy properly, according to US media…

By World Nuclear News Two more nuclear power plants in China are progressing towards commissioning. Hongyanhe’s second unit has achieved first criticality, while fuel loading has begun at Yangjiang unit 1.

Electronic surveillance which the European media and politicians blamed on the NSA was also carried out by their own intelligence services, as part of a wide-ranging allied security effort, according to US officials.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has issued a veiled threat against media organizations, calling on The Guardian and other outlets to stop publishing the disclosures leaked by National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden.