The Economist's Briefing this week is on Islamic finance. I’ll confess to being less than expert on economics and just link. Click here for the briefing on current successes and struggles in the field; click here for the summary of Islamic finance's history. Those interested in reading further on Islamic finance can check out Forbes.com's […]
The NYT has a piece on the disillusionment of Palestinians with the 2-state solution dream. It has, after all, been 15 years since the Oslo Accords were signed in 1993, and it can't be comforting to know that Olmert, Abbas, and Bush are hard at work – their combined approval rating probably hovers somewhere around […]
Late in the afternoon of June 10, during a firefight with Taliban militants along the Afghan-Pakistani border, American soldiers called in airstrikes to beat back the attack. The firefight was taking place right on the border itself, known in military jargon as the "zero line." Afghanistan was on one side, and the remote Pakistani region […]
PESHAWAR, Sept 6: At least 30 people, five of them policemen, were killed and 79 wounded after a suicide car bomb ripped through a police checkpost and nearby markets on Saturday. The explosion was so powerful that it left the checkpost and two markets in the Zhangali area of the provincial capital in ruins. A […]
The pool of possible successors to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak became smaller today with the death of former minister of defense Abdel-Halim Abu Ghazala. The Associated Press is reporting that Abu Ghazala died late Saturday at age 78 (President Mubarak is 80). Field Marshal Abu Ghazala would not have been a real contender for the […]
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan Sept 5: An assorted majority of a parliamentary electoral college will on Saturday deliver a divisive presidency to Asif Ali Zardari, whose double march to succeed former president Pervez Musharraf in what is now Pakistan's most powerful office is marked by political skill and broken promises. The vote by the two houses of […]
Today, the Washington Post announced that the US government is spying on Iraqi President Nouri Kamal al Maliki. This revelation comes from Bob Woodward's forthcoming (Monday) book The War Within: A Secret White House History 2006-2008. Phew. That is … surprising. The Post's early redux of Woodward's book also includes a bit of analysis related […]
New Delhi – A high-ranking Pakistani official has alleged that American ground forces crossed over from Afghanistan to carry out an attack on Pakistan soil. While the United States has frequently been connected with missile attacks in Pakistan , usually carried out by pilotless drone aircraft , this claim, if true, would mark “a threshold […]
Less than a year ago, Asif Ali Zardari would have hardly been considered a likely candidate for high office. His image was that of a flamboyant polo-playing former businessman who had to fight allegations of corruption and shake off the nickname of "Mr Ten Per Cent". But tomorrow he is widely expected to become the […]
Saturday's Pakistan presidential contest is the final stage in the consolidation of power over the past year by the Pakistan People's party, which used to be led by Benazir Bhutto, the assassinated former prime minister. It also marks the return of the presidency to genuinely civilian hands for the first time since the 1999 coup […]
So with one billion dollars in aid combined with a diplomatic visit by Vice President Dick Cheney, featuring many strong rebukes to Russia and a statement arguing for the nation's inclusion in NATO, the US appears to have anted up or at least called Moscow's hand in the Georgia-Russia conflict. Here are couple Cheney quotes […]
An interview that you may find interesting. There is a story behind the interview. Maybe someday I will share it. Walid Jumblatt: It is important to have President Michel Sulayman convene the national dialog session to discuss the issue of the arms of Hizballah. It will take a long time to settle it, as it […]
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