Regions

A new lawyers’ movement may be needed to address the crisis created for the legal profession in Swat after the Tehreek-e Nifaz-e Shariat-e Muhammadi (TNSM) banned the lawyers from the qazi courts set up under the tutelage of its leader, Sufi Muhammad. He warned the lawyers and judges on March 17 to stay away from […]

WHO are the people prowling the streets of Lahore from dusk to dawn, depriving people of their cellphones, cash, vehicles — and shooting to kill if anyone resists? In the last two weeks, they have struck 450 times in the city; yet Lahore’s police remain completely clueless as to their identity and whereabouts. Tariq Malik […]

ISLAMABAD: A police constable was killed and four other people were injured in a suicide blast at the gate of police’s Special Branch headquarters near G-7 Markez on Monday. The boom resounded through a vast area, sparking panic in the city. It was the fist such attack in the federal capital in four months. Interior […]

In The Sunday Independent Siphamandla Zondi argues that while South Africans need a viable alternative to the African National Congress, the Democratic Alliance has fallen short where it has had ample opportunity. I believe that the problem with the DA is the fact that in the minds of too many South Africans the DA is […]

Is the lack of up-to-date statistics on crime in South Africa at least in part due to the ANC not wanting them released until after the election? This is the implication of a recent piece in the Cape Argus. The reason for the absence of new crime stats is probably more complicated — and less […]

On the 6th March 2009, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited the European Parliament. While welcoming her, the Institution’s President Hans-Gert Pöttering  laid out the unique characteristics of the Parliament: We are the only democratically elected international institution. We bring together the elected representatives of nearly 500 million Europeans from over 150 national political parties […]

The University of Toronto’s Munk Centre for International Studies has posted a national video conference discussing Canadian policy in the Arctic. Presented by the Canadian International Council, the conference, entitled “Use It or Lose It: What’s Next for Canada’s Arctic Policy?”, brought together Canadian politicians, historians, and Arctic experts to discuss the future of the […]

Leaders of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) will meet next week. At the top of the agenda will be the development of an aid package for Zimbabwe and the possibility of imposing sanctions or taking other steps to address the crisis in Madagascar.

Add Trevor Manuel’s almost universally respected voice to the chorus of figures calling for an end to the west’s sanctions against Zimbabwe.  Manuel worries that the time for the new coalition government to succeed is running short. “There is a fundamental set of issues that needs to be addressed.” Manuel argues, referring to the new […]

The New York Times published an Op-Ed Chart detailing several key aspects of the stability and growth of both the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts from 2005, 2007, and 2009.  The numbers for Iraq are looking amazingly improved, where as Afghanistan is facing smaller scale, but troubling downturns. All the Afghan indicators are on the rise […]

Michael Slackman of the NYT attempts to explain the phenomenon of Muammar Qaddafi, whose stock is only rising as Libya slowly works its way back into the good graces of the international community and uses its formidable cash reserves to forge relationships with private equity firms. At least we can look forward to more photos […]

Egyptian female bloggers use the internet as a forum to voice their frustrations with both politics and men. Not just their boyfriends … the patriarchy more broadly. As well as their boyfriends. This way, they can discuss taboo subjects without running afoul of government censors or offending anyone’s sensibilities. At least Islamists and the government […]