Saudi Arabia’s Specialized Criminal Court sentenced a prominent human rights activist to five years in prison on June 17, 2013, based on his writings and exposure of human rights abuses. Mikhlif al-Shammari was convicted of “sowing discord” and other offenses and barred from travelling for 10 years. Two days earlier, a Khobar court sentenced two [...]
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By Phuong Tran In Nepal, where rugged mountainous terrain isolates millions of people from life-saving health care, markets and education, experts say the country’s roads are in sore need of more focus and investment. Nepal has built about 7,000km of roads nationwide over the past decade, according to the World Bank, but this still leaves [...]
The post Why Roads Matter In Nepal – Analysis appeared first on Eurasia Review.
Lenovo has unveiled its new line of Windows 8 products, comprising a range of laptops and a touchscreen tablet, Digital Spy said. The PC hardware firm has refreshed its S Series of laptops, with the Dolby Advance Audio v2 certified S400, S500 and S210 arriving on the market. The S400 and S500 come with 14-inch [...]
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Malaysia has declared a state of emergency in two southern districts after smog triggered by forest fires in Indonesia reached hazardous levels, BBC News reported. The coastal towns of Muar and Ledang are in shutdown, and residents have been advised to stay indoors. Air pollution has also worsened in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, shrouding its [...]
The post Malaysia Declares State Of Emergency As Smog Reaches Hazardous Levels appeared first on Eurasia Review.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Araqchi has rejected the recent remarks by French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian about Tehran’s nuclear energy program as “unrealistic”. Araqchi said that such remarks were unrealistic and resulted from ignorance of Iran’s constructive role in strengthening regional peace and stability. “The peaceful nuclear policies of the Islamic Republic of [...]
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Three pro-Rohani activists have been detained in the Iranian city of Tabriz. Sources told the Green Voice of Freedom that three student activists who actively supported Iran’s new president-elect Hassan Rohani were arrested on Tuesday. Behnam Nikzad, Amin Farid-Yahyai and Ali Orujzadeh were detained by the Revolutionary Guards on Tuesday. The three were held at [...]
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With tensions over Iran’s nuclear program growing, over the last twelve months in particular, the Syrian regime has been attacked by Western hawks and neoconservative pundits for providing a route for Iranian missiles to Hezbollah in Lebanon — missiles which have been, and can be, launched against Israel, often landing in residential areas. Now, with [...]
The post The Alawites Of Syria: An Ancient And Enigmatic Faith Under Fire – OpEd appeared first on Eurasia Review.
As urban Malaysia has grown and prospered, the rural hinterlands have generally declined. Back in the 1980s approximately 70% of Malaysia’s land was considered rural, where today 72% of Malaysia is urbanized with a growth rate of 2.4%. With this, the rural-urban divide within Malaysia has been growing, where substantially very little is being done [...]
The post Reinvigorating Rural Malaysia: New Paradigms Needed – Analysis appeared first on Eurasia Review.
African countries have always been an important component of China’s independent foreign policy of peace. It considers African countries a good friends, good partners and good brothers. Both partners have long history of good mutual relations. China being a huge populated and emerging economy of the world needs more consumption of natural resources for its [...]
The post Greening China-Africa Relations – OpEd appeared first on Eurasia Review.
June 20 is the date decreed by the UN in 2000 as World Refugee Day. It was established to draw international attention to the increasingly desperate world-wide problem of displaced people, and to honor the courage, strength and determination of those forced to flee their homes under threat of persecution, conflict and violence. Last week [...]
The post The World’s Refugees, And Palestinians – OpEd appeared first on Eurasia Review.
President Barack Obama gave a speech in Ireland where he mentioned Catholic schools. There are plenty of reasons to be critical of President Obama’s policies as they relate to the Catholic Church, and I have not been shy in stating them. But the reaction on the part of conservatives, many of whom are Catholic, over [...]
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By Qureish Raghib From being an irrigation tract in its early days to being developed by the British to resettle communities – affected by the Great Mumbai Fire that broke in 1803 at the Fort area – and then eventually mushroom into a bustling business district, Bhendi Bazaar in India’s South Mumbai, has come a [...]
The post India: Historic ‘Bhendi Bazaar’ To Get New Look appeared first on Eurasia Review.
(RFE/RL) — Gunmen have stormed a hotel in northern Pakistan. Police say nine foreign tourists and one Pakistani were killed in a raid early on June 23 in Gilgit-Baltistan Province. Ukraine’s ambassador to Pakistan confirmed that five of the victims were Ukrainian nationals, while a Russian state tourism agency confirmed that one of the others [...]
The post Pakistan: Gunmen Attack Hotel In Remote Province, Kill 9 Tourists appeared first on Eurasia Review.
Last week the Taliban opened an office in Doha, Qatar with the US government’s blessing. They raised the Taliban flag at the opening ceremony and referred to Afghanistan as the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan”—the name they used when they were in charge before the US attack in 2001. The US had meant for the Taliban [...]
The post Ron Paul: What We Have Learned From Afghanistan – OpEd appeared first on Eurasia Review.
Former President Nelson Mandela’s condition has deteriorated, with the Presidency saying he is now in a critical condition. “The condition of former President Nelson Mandela, who is still in hospital in Pretoria, has become critical,” said the Presidency in a statement on Sunday night. It said President Jacob Zuma, accompanied by ANC Deputy President, Cyril [...]
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The dollar was trading at just under 30,000 rials today in Tehran, revealing a persistent optimism in the currency market. The rial has been rising in value since Hassan Rohani’s election victory of June 14. Rohani won on a platform of moderation and the re-establishment of appropriate international relations. The rial had fallen from just [...]
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U.S. officials say the former intelligence contractor accused of espionage has had his passport revoked. Authorities say the passport revocation occurred before fugitive Edward Snowden left Hong Kong for Moscow early Sunday to avoid extradition to the United States. A U.S. statement late Sunday said the United States is advising governments in the Western Hemisphere [...]
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Ecuador should grant National Security Agency (NSA) whistle-blower Edward Snowden’s asylum request since it is a case “not of espionage, but whistle-blowing,” Center for Economic and Policy Research Co-Director Mark Weisbrot said today. Weisbrot added that Snowden’s actions had revealed important information regarding illegal activities by the U.S. government that violate the rights of people [...]
The post Ecuador or Another Country Should Grant Asylum To Snowden, CEPR Co-Director Says appeared first on Eurasia Review.
By Emilio Godoy Mexican cities with populations of more than 500,000 face serious obstacles in monitoring air quality and reducing air pollution, but as of July local authorities will be required to do both, and to submit mandatory reports on their efforts to the federal government. The new requirements that will soon enter into effect [...]
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By Sarah Otis, Stephanie Vancil, and Nicole Wasson On June 17, over 200,000 protesters took to the streets in several of Brazil’s largest cities. Rio de Janeiro saw nearly 100,000 protesters, while São Paulo saw 65,000—and many more demonstrated in the streets of other major cities throughout the country. The protests are the largest and [...]
The post Brazilian Protests About Far More Than Bus Fare Hikes – Analysis appeared first on Eurasia Review.
