Pop Quiz Time: Citizens of which of the following countries drink the most Guinness? A) Ireland B) United States C) Nigeria The answer is C) Nigeria. There is a host of reasons for this, but primary among them is that Ireland’s finest export is believed to contribute to sexual potency. (Insert your own sex & alcohol joke here.) Nigeria’s […]
LAHORE, Pakistan — The opposition leader, Nawaz Sharif, sealed his place as the most popular politician in Pakistan this month when he defied his house detention and led a triumphant protest that forced the government to restore the country’s chief justice. Now, as the Obama administration completes its review of strategy toward the region this […]
LONDON: Home secretary, Jacqui Smith has expressed serious concerns about the impact in Britain of the deteriorating situation in Pakistan where al Qaida and groups affiliated to the Taliban are rapidly gaining influence in the federally administered tribal areas. The home secretary while briefing the media here on Tuesday following the publication of the UK […]
Recent US policy in Afghanistan has involved a surge of troops, drone attacks, and now even a surge in these, but what about a diplomacy and civilian surge? Well, it looks like it may be here. President Obama is supposed to approve of a long, ongoing review of Afghanistan policy in the next week and […]
The US may be allowed to return to the Uzbek base of Karshi-Khanabad (K2) soon. They were evicted in 2005 after the massacre in Andijon in May and consequent international criticism. In recent weeks, Washington has spoken with Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan about the possibility of a base, even after arguing that a base was not […]
Former head of the Israeli Civil Administration Brig. Gen. Ilan Paz speaks with Middle East Progress regarding the territories he formerly oversaw. He indicates that 270,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank, not including Jerusalem, and that the only outpost removal occurred with the highly controversial Supreme Court decision to dismantle the Hebron house. […]
Yusuf Mansur suggests that Islamic banking, which, thanks to its rather stringent standards for money management, hasn’t suffered all that much from the current economic climate, should seize the opportunity to re-brand itself before recovery lulls people back to conventional banks. He recommends setting minimum standards for the entire Islamic banking industry and aggressively marketing […]
Maybe not fully committed to the dollar? New doubts about China’s confidence in the U.S. dollar emerged yesterday as Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People’s Bank of China, released a statement calling for a new international currency reserve to replace the greenback. Mr. Zhou pointed out the shortcomings of the current dollar-dominated financial system and […]
Even though one Israel’s most powerful criticisms of Hamas during the latest Gaza Strip operation condemned the terror group for using human shields during the operation, thereby increasing the civilian death toll, it appears the Israeli military may have done the exact same. to add to the recent stir of alleged human rights violations, a […]
A peace agreement with pro-Taliban clerics has backfired in Pakistan. When a February peace deal between Pakistan’s government and pro-Taliban cleric Sufi Mohammed promised to reimpose sharia law in the country’s war-torn Swat Valley, world attention focused on the pact. Swat, once known as the “Switzerland of Pakistan,” had been consumed by a violent Taliban […]
WASHINGTON: The Pakistani state could collapse within six months if immediate steps are not taken to remedy the situation, warned a top adviser to the US Central Command. David Kilcullen, who advises CENTCOM commander Gen. David H. Petraeus on the war on terror, urged US policy makers to focus their attention on Pakistan as […]
Haed al Ghwell, professor at the Dubai School of Government, argues that the financial crisis should force Dubai toward greater transparency in governance and operations, ultimately situating it for greater success in the future. If the government of the cosmopolitan emirate chooses to heighten its secrecy and under-the-table atmosphere as a response to the tough […]
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