Regions

The Horn of Africa is one of the most complex and conflicted regions of the world. Each of the countries of the Horn—Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti and Sudan—suffers from protracted political strife, arising from local and national grievance, identity politics and regional inter-state rivalries. The ongoing crisis in Darfur, the rise of the Union of […]

The United Nations accused Israel of kidnapping a Palestinian engineer while in Ukraine, with his wife contending that the abduction occurred to hinder work at an electrical plant in the Gaza Strip. According to Ynet: Abu Sisi’s Ukrainian wife, Veronika, 32, alleges the Israeli secret service Mossad carried out the abduction in order to sabotage […]

This week the White House announced that Gary Locke, current Secretary at the U.S. Department of Commerce would success outgoing U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman, who is stepping down to possibly run for president.  Mr. Locke is one of the two first ever Chinese-Americans to serve in the Cabinet, and is well known and […]

This week, both Denmark and Britain upgraded the status of the delegation of their Palestinian representatives. Both European nations moved their delegations from the third-ranked “general delegation” up to “mission.” While this means very little on the ground, it is a sign of warming relations between parties. And that is not all. Denmark and Britain […]

Yesterday, King Mohammed VI of Morocco gave a groundbreaking speech in which he proposed substantial constitutional reforms. What’s even more interesting is that the proposed reforms were not a knee-jerk reaction to the recent protests in Morocco, but rather the follow-up from several initiatives the King introduced over the last couple of years. Check the […]

There are many positive conclusions to draw from the fact that six prominent Kenyans will face charges before the International Criminal Court (ICC) from their roles in fomenting violence during the country’s post election crisis in 2007-2008. Accountability has been all too rare in these sorts of circumstances across the continent, which his given men […]

Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Ryuichi Doi admitted Wednesday to signing a declaration that Japan should give up claims to the Liancourt Rocks during a visit to South Korea in February. The Liancourt Rocks are a group of two islets and 35 rocks in the Sea of Japan about halfway between Japan and Korea. They […]

The Economist reports that it is now the Inuit’s turn to push back against corporations seeking to exploit resources in the Arctic. While the media likes to play up the possibility of inter-state conflict around the North Pole, little is said about the conflicts already underway between indigenous peoples and industry. One dispute of note […]

The United Nations annual summary of the state of civilian casualties was published earlier today, Wednesday March 9th. The data are appalling: 2777 civilians were killed in 2010-that’s a 15% increase in civilian casualties relative to the year previous. Most of the civilian deaths have come on the heels of brutal and sustained fighting in […]

The White House officially nominated Hebrew-speaking, Middle East expert Dan Shapiro to serve as the next U.S. ambassador to Israel, the White House announced today. Speculation swirled last month that Shapiro would get the nod to replace James Cunningham in Tel Aviv. Shapiro is  a trusted White House aide who serves as the National Security […]

There’s currently a spirited debate shaping up on the Washington Post’s Post Partisan blog between heavy-weight commentators Charles Krauthammer and Anne Appelbaum. Their discussion sheds light on a provocative contention some conservatives are now promoting; namely, that the Bush Doctrine set precedent for the Middle East’s demand for democracy.

The Sufa border crossing between the southern Gaza Strip and Israel was opened today, in an unexpected move that could signal an ease of the blockade that keeps construction materials used to fortify terrorist infrastructure out of Hamas’ hands. Israel began an embargo on the Gaza Strip to prevent bomb- and rocket-making supplies from reaching […]