By J C Suresh There are miles and miles to go before capital punishment is at last accepted as a remnant of the gory past and abolished. But indications are that it is slowly on its way out. Amnesty International has welcomed an upsurge in global support for abolition of the death penalty, after the [...]
Upsurge In Support For Death Penalty Abolition
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Indonesia: Muslims Attack Protestant Congregation
By Ryan Dagur About 200 Protestants from the Batak Society Christian Church (HKBP) Philadelphia in West Java were attacked by Muslims as they gathered to attend a Christmas Eve service on Monday. Church members, who are involved in a dispute with local officials after being denied a permit to build a place of worship in [...]
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The Future Of Pakistan Is Education – OpEd
By Tillmann Dietrich For the last two years the global independent World Security Network Foundation has been providing 100 FATA Scholarships in cooperation with a local partner for boys and girls from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), the tribal areas of Pakistan. These kids live in refugee camps in a city of Pakistan and [...]
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Jerusalem: Extreme Makeover?
The announcement of significant new Israeli settlement construction in East Jerusalem has put the spotlight on the city, but the changes it has undergone since 2000, when the parties first negotiated its fate, are far broader and have far deeper roots. Israelis, Palestinians and the international community must adjust their strategies accordingly, or Arab East [...]
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Syria: The Use Of Chemical Weapons Would Be “Suicide” For Assad – OpEd
The use of chemical weapons would be a “political suicide” for the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad, said the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in an interview released Monday by the channel Russia Today. “I do not think that Syria would use chemical weapons. If this is the case, it will be a political suicide [...]
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The Only Way Left To Beat Republican Fanatics: Call Their Bluff And Go Over The Cliff – OpEd
President Obama is cutting his Christmas holiday short, returning to Washington for a last attempt at avoiding the fiscal cliff. But he’s running headlong into the Republican strategy of fanaticism. It’s a long-established principle of game theory (see Thomas Schelling’s classic 1956 essay in the American Economic Review) that a fanatic who restricts his freedom [...]
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NATO Deploys Patriot Missiles In Turkey
NATO recently decided to increase its military presence in the Middle East with its plan to station Patriot missiles in member state Turkey on its border with Syria. The move, which is clearly meant to change the region’s military balance of power, has been harshly criticized by Iran and Russia. After more than 21 months [...]
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Georgian PM Hails ‘Friendly’ Talks With Azerbaijani Leadership
(Civil.Ge) — Georgia’s PM Bidzina Ivanishvili said after talks in Baku on Wednesday that he “found common language very fast” with the Azerbaijani leadership. “I think it was a very friendly, warm and interesting meeting,” Ivanishvili said about his talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. The Georgian PM said that he and the Azerbaijani President [...]
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Southeast Europe: Police Fight Regional Cybercrime
By Mladen Dragojlovic Several hackers in Southeast Europe are under investigation for allegedly taking part in a global cybercrime ring, a network of 11 million computers, causing over 644 million euros in losses. The Botnet is a network of hacker-infected computers. Through malicious software, hackers are after credit card numbers, bank accounts and other personal [...]
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Pakistan A Victim Of Geopolitics – Analysis
Since independence Pakistan has remained the focus of global and regional powers. The country is termed a natural corridor for trade ‑ including energy products ‑ gateway to Central Asia and landlocked Afghanistan. There is a perception that often regimes are installed and toppled in Pakistan by the super powers to achieve their vested interest. [...]
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Former U.S. President George H.W. Bush In Intensive Care
(RFE/RL) — A spokesman says former U.S. President George H.W. Bush is being treated in the intensive care unit of a Houston, Texas, hospital. Jim McGrath, a spokesman for the 41st U.S. president, said Bush, 88, was admitted to the intensive care unit “following a series of setbacks, including a persistent fever.” The spokesman said [...]
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Hindus Welcome Malaysian PM’s Call For Interfaith Dialogue
Hindus have welcomed the reported call of inter-religious dialogue by Malaysian Prime Minister (PM) Dato’ Sri Mohammad Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak. According to reports, PM Najib, in a speech in Petaling Jaya (Malaysia) on December 25, stressed the need for continuous and constructive dialogue to improve inter-religious relations. Welcoming PM Najib’s call for inter-religious [...]
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Egypt Simmers With Fear, Anxiety – OpEd
By Linda Heard It wasn’t long ago that my Welsh uncle, who visited Egypt for the first time this summer, told me how impressed he was with Egyptians. “I’ve never met such kind, polite and good humored people in my life,” he said. He was amazed at the respectful way people treated one another. I [...]
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Gang Rape: What Is Wrong With Indian Society? – OpEd
By Nilofar Suhrawardy WITHOUT doubt, one is compelled to salute the manner in which thousands across the country have protested against gang rape of a 23-year-old woman, earlier this month in India’s capital city. At the same time, one cannot but speculate on whether this actually spells an end to heinous crimes of this nature. [...]
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Serbia: Old Team Swept From The Stage – Analysis
The year saw the Democrats thrown out of office, continued talks with Kosovo, some progress on the EU and a tougher stance on crime. By Bojana Barlovac The year did not start promisingly for Serbia as the State Audit Institution, DRI, released an alarming report in January on misuse of public money. The report found [...]
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India: Urgent Review Of Rape Laws Underway
Mass protests demanding stricter punishment for rapists has led the federal government to form a three-member committee to review rape laws, following the gang rape of a medical student in a moving bus in New Delhi on December 16. The committee, which has invited suggestions from the public through a public notice, will submit its [...]
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Kuwait: Security Forces Attack Protesters
Kuwait security forces have on several occasions used what appears to be excessive force to disperse largely peaceful protesters at a series of demonstrations over participation in the country’s political process since October 2012. Some demonstrators have been wounded, and the security forces have arrested many more. In several statements the Interior Ministry justified the [...]
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Turkey: No Justice for Airstrike Victims, Says HRW
The Turkish government has yet to open an effective and transparent inquiry into a Turkish air force aerial bombardment a year ago that killed 34 Kurdish men and boys, Human Rights Watch said today. Parliamentary and criminal investigations into the incident on the Turkey-Iraq border near Uludere also appear stalled. Failure to conduct an effective [...]
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Saudi And Emirati Terror Cell Busted By UAE Security Forces
The United Arab Emirates announced Wednesday that they busted a cell of Saudi and Emirati members plotting “terror” attacks in the two countries and other states. The suspects “imported material and equipment with the aim of committing terror acts,” according to an official statement on WAM state news agency. The arrests came after coordination between [...]
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The Rivalry Between Saudi Arabia And Iran In The Middle East – Analysis
By Eyüp Ersoy While there are both material conditions and political causes of the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran, there are also ideational conditions and religious causes, which give this rivalry its own peculiar character stemming from the mentalities and religious identities of the parties. The Middle East is a region where any political [...]
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