Pakistani and Chinese officials boast that CPEC will help address Pakistan’s electricity generation problem, bolster its road and rail networks, and shore up the economy through the construction of special economic zones. But these benefits are highly unlikely to materialise. The project is more inclined to leave Pakistan burdened with unserviceable debt while further exposing […]
Long accustomed to chronicling threats against the media in other countries, free press organizations are turning their attention to extreme rhetoric and threatened violence against reporters at home as President Donald Trump and his allies ramp up their attacks on the mainstream media. Read Here – Politico
Last year’s Brexit vote followed by the election of Donald Trump resulted in the idea that populism was sweeping the West. Elections were scheduled in 2017 for Austria, the Netherlands, France, and Germany, leading to fears among the establishment in those countries that the center-left-center-right consensus that had dominated politics for much of the past […]
Defence, agriculture, trade, diplomacy and water management will dominate talks during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ongoing visit to Israel — the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the Jewish homeland. Apart from from his scheduled official engagements, Modi is also expected to meet Moshe Holtzberg, a survivor of the 2008 Mumbai 26/11 terrorist attack. Moshe was two […]
…Trump’s lies don’t look like a 12-dimensional-chess framework designed to serve some greater good. He looks like he’s trying to dominate his perceived enemies, to humiliate people, to cast himself in what he thinks is a good light. When Trump says something that contradicts something else he’s said, he doesn’t seem to notice or care. […]
From Hong Kong to Cambodia and Thailand to Indonesia and across to the Philippines, governments are this week marking the political convulsions and financial turmoil that swept the region 20 years ago, and reshaped its destiny forever. Read Here – The Diplomat
It is the business of the counterfactual historian to yearn for the former Ottoman Empire when reflecting on the recent incessant regional instability. However, the fact that the empire was in free fall from 1798 onward makes a mockery of this view. Nevertheless, from Libya to Yemen, and Syria to Iraq, conflict typifies the ruptures […]
The Cold War in the Middle East between Saudi Arabia and Iran is coming to a head. So far carried out with the help of proxies in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and elsewhere, it’s in danger of turning into a military confrontation between the two regional powers. Read Here – RealClearWorld
When Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule two decades ago, the city was seen as a model of what China might one day become: prosperous, modern, international, with the broad protections of the rule of law…Yet as the 20th anniversary of the handover approaches on Saturday, that perception of Hong Kong as something special — a vibrant crossroads of […]
Sandwiched between Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, it seems almost miraculous that Iran hasn’t suffered a major act of domestic terrorism in over 15 years. But that changed on June 7 when twin attacks in Tehran left 17 dead and around 50 injured. The Islamic State swiftly claimed responsibility for the attack, and the Iranian security apparatus […]
looking beyond borders 