China will remove the constitutional restriction on the maximum number of terms the president and vice-president can serve, Xinhua reported, paving the way for President Xi Jinping to stay on beyond 2023. Read Here – South China Morning Post
Washington seems to believe that rolling back Iranian influence would restore order to the Middle East. But that expectation rests on a faulty understanding of what caused it to break down in the first place. Iran did not cause the collapse, and containing Iran will not bring back stability. Read Here – Foreign Affairs
Mian Nawaz Sharif has had a fascinating political career. Over the past three decades he has been elected thrice to the highest political office, with decisive mandates. He was also removed from office on three occasions by moves crafted by the army brass, backed by institutions like the National Accountability Bureau. Read Here – BusinessLine
The first presidential visit from Iran since 2003 comes at a complicated moment in Tehran. For the Islamic Republic of Iran, it is the best of times and the worst of times. Iran’s regional influence has never been as expansive as it is today. Yet, there is a huge push back against Tehran from some […]
Residents of this coastal city of 4 million have begun stockpiling bottled water and lining up at natural springs. The reason? Cape Town, a global tourist destination and South Africa’s second-largest city, may soon switch off its taps. Dams are running low in the midst of an extreme three-year drought, one that has been compounded […]
It looks like being a particularly grim Lunar New Year in the “tigers’ cage” this week. The notorious Qincheng maximum security prison houses many disgraced senior Communist Party officials – including fallen security chief Zhou Yongkang, former Chongqing boss Bo Xilai, ex-presidential aide Ling Jihua and Guo Boxiong, who was once a top general. Read […]
Two things are certain: ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa will take over the Presidency of the country once Jacob Zuma steps down, and Zuma has agreed to do so. One massively big elephant remains in the room, however, and that is: when exactly will Zuma go? Read Here – Daily Maverick
Of course there’s a Deep State. Why wouldn’t there be? Even a cursory understanding of human nature tells us that power corrupts, as Lord Acton put it; that, when power is concentrated and entrenched, it will be abused; that, when it is concentrated and entrenched in secrecy, it will be abused in secret. That’s the […]
Khaleda’s imprisonment will not allow her to contest the elections in Bangladesh slated for December and is likely to inflame the infamous rivalry with her longtime opponent and prime minister Sheikh Hasina. Read Here – The Indian Express
Today, after eight years as South Africa’s leader, and 10 years in charge of the governing ANC, Jacob Zuma’s laughter has turned against him. To many in this country it has become a jarring, charmless cliche – the hollow mirth of a man whose presidency is widely blamed for the corruption, misrule and economic stagnation that […]
looking beyond borders 