Anissa Katti, Correspondent (Asia: Middle East & Central) GENEVA – The discussions surrounding the more than controversial Iranian nuclear plan have resumed on October 15 and 16. The five permanent countries (United States, United Kingdom, France, China and Russia) of the Security Council, Germany, the Iranian minister of Foreign Affairs (Javad Zarif) and the prime Iranian negotiator, regarding the nuclear question, were all present. This unfreezing of the political tensions surrounding the nuclear plan […]
Tiantian Liu, Correspondent (Asia: Far East) KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian Appeals court have overturned the decision of a lower court in 2009 and banned the word “Allah” for the use of non-Muslim citizens to describe God in the country. It was a local Catholic newspaper that triggered the ruling. The Herald, had been printing the word “Allah” to describe the Christian God in Malay languages, until the government deemed it was illegal and […]
Joanne Faulkner, Editor (Asia – Middle East and Central) The youth unemployment challenge is no more present than in the Middle East. Youth unemployment averages 26% but spikes to well above 65% among certain demographic groups, according to the World Economic Forum. High unemployment continues to plague the Middle East and North Africa region, according to a recently released International Monetary Fund report. Governments in the Middle East have failed to produce the economic […]
Joanne Faulkner, Editor (Asia – Middle East & Central) DAMASCUS – The Free Syrian Army has been fragmented since its inception; there are many groups that fight under its banner, making a range of claims and goals. This lack of unity means there is no solid oppositional force and no concrete opposition to negotiate with and make effective action. The lack of unity both within the Free Syrian Army and with other rebel […]
Joanne Faulkner, Editor (Asia – Middle East & Central) TEHRAN — An interesting social media trend has been developing in Iran. Although Facebook in banned in the country, under Iran’s new President, the moderate cleric Hassan Rouhani, the whole cabinet has set up Facebook pages in what may possibly develop into a more open approach to social media in a country currently under considerable internet restrictions. This move has led to some hoping for loosening […]
Anissa Katti, Correspondent (Politics) DAMASCUS — Lately it seems like a one million dollar question — should the West go to yet another war with the Middle East, or should it do what it has failed to do so far and mind its own business? Our freedom-fighting Western leaders constantly stress on arguments such as “Oh no, but we cannot let crimes against humanity go unpunished” and “Have we thought of the poor civilian population?” […]
Tahmeena Alam, Correspondent (Asia: Middle East & Central) Israel’s plans for almost 2000 new settler homes, amidst the on-going peace talks with Palestine, is in serious danger of ‘undermining’ peace efforts, said UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon. Ban Ki Moon, on a tour of the Middle East, weighed his concerns as he visited the occupied West Bank on Thursday, meeting with both Shimon Peres and Mahmoud Abbas, on separate occasions. “I am deeply troubled […]
Tahmeena Alam, Correspondent (Africa) CAIRO — At least 25 Egyptian Soldiers were killed on Monday morning in an ambush by suspected militants in the Sinai Peninsula, the deadliest of its kind in years. Interim President Adly Mansour declared three days of national mourning for the attacks. The ambush happened as the soldiers, in their convoy of two mini buses, were driving through a village near the border town of Rafah in the unstable Sinai […]
Alejandro Faini, Editor (North America) WASHINGTON — New Documents release by the Central Intelligence Agency reveal the role of the CIA in the coup which ousted Mohammad Mossadeq — the democratic-elected Iranian Prime Minister in 1953. The Independent National Security Archive, part of the George Washington University, released the documents last week. Although the involvement of the USA in the Iranian coup has been previously accepted by major political figures in the United States; including […]
Yun Jie Zou, Correspondent (Music) Egypt is still under the ongoing state of bloodshed over the dispute of governmental crack down. Mr. Morsi and his supporters — the Muslim Brotherhood — are still detained by the army. Egyptians are also undergoing a huge democratic crisis hoping a president can lead them out of the misery. A gypsy man, Met’al Gnawi also named Metqal Qenawi Metqal, and his family band, The musicians of the Nile, […]
