The assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik al-Hariri in an enormous explosion in Beirut on February 14 sent as many political ripples through the region as questions it raised about the motives and identity of those who carried out the attack.
Kuwait’s role as a launch-pad and base for US-led troops operating in Iraq is coming to haunt the Gulf emirate. A string of gun-battles between government troops and militants planning to target American troops in the country, as well as oil facilities, has pushed Kuwait closer to the brink.
Writers are prisoners of the language they use, particulary if they wish to express ideas that run contrary to the way in which words are commonly used. There are idioms, expressions and even names that convey certain meanings and impressions, when the reality to which they are applied is very different.
Despite his rhetorical claim that he is “not scared of anyone”, general Pervez Musharraf is a worried man. The “not scared” boast flies in the face of the facts: he is in effect a prisoner in the presidential compound. Meetings and conferences are organized inside the compound so that he does not have to go out, for fear of being assassinated.
The Kyoto protocol on climate change came into effect on February 16, when it was ratified by more than 140 countries, including the 34 most industrialised nations. But the US, the world’s worst polluter, has refused to sign it, and developing countries, including China, the next biggest polluter, and India and Brazil, both significant contributors to today’s worst environmental problem, are exempt.
The world rediscovered a largely forgotten word as the new year rolled in: tsunami. The tragedy wrought on the countries of the Indian Ocean brought out both the best and worst in human beings. Ordinary individuals all over the world opened their hearts to help the victims of this tragedy; governments first downplayed it, then discovered it as an opportunity for self-promotion.
The top posts of some of the world’s most prominent international agencies have fallen vacant and must be filled soon. Three of the agencies that need new or reappointed heads are the World Bank, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Hamid Karzai was sworn in as president of Afghanistan on December 7 amid unprecedented security: foreign troops protected him from the very people who are supposed to have elected him to his office. In attendance were not only US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld but also vice president Dick Cheney, with an entire hospital in tow, just in case his pacemaker should stop during the ceremony.
Hamid Karzai was sworn in as president of Afghanistan on December 7 amid unprecedented security: foreign troops protected him from the very people who are supposed to have elected him to his office. In attendance were not only USdefence secretary Donald Rumsfeld but also vice president Dick Cheney, with an entire hospital in tow, just in case his pacemaker should stop during the ceremony.
One interesting feature of the current world dichotomy – the division between the United States and its “war on terrorism” and the Islamic movement, with Islamic Iran at its heart – is the emerging realization in the central countries of the two sides that they can no longer rely on their principal constituents...
Blaming America First: Inside the Hatred of the United States in the Middle East and Beyond by Laura Drake PhD. Pub: United Association for Studies and Research (UASR), Annandale VA, USA, Pp: 117. US$9.95.
Plan of Attack by Bob Woodward. Pub: Simon & Schuster, New York, London, Toronto, Sydney: 2004. Pp: 467. Hbk: $28.00 / £19.00.
Americans like to see themselves as the models and champions of democracy in the world. Every four years the US presidential elections are hailed as proving the strength, vibrancy and success of democracy in America...
On September 14, the establishment of a “Government of the Republic of East Turkestan in Exile” was declared in Washington DC by the East Turkestan National Freedom Centre (ETNFC), an Uigurexile group based in Washington...
As the date (November 2) for the US presidential election draws near, the deep divisions in American society, exacerbated by George Bush’s policies, are becoming more pronounced. The two main political parties—Republican and Democratic—have marshalled more than 10,000 lawyers to fight legal battles in what is believed will be a closely contested race that is wide open to manipulation and fraud...
The US’s long-running campaign to pressure Iran over its nuclear programme was ratcheted up to a new level last month, when the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) passed a resolution effectively threatening to report Iran to the UN Security Council if it is not satisfied that Iran’s nuclear programme is for purely civilian purposes by its next meeting, which is on November 25...
President George Bush's aggressive and militaristic policies have not only alienated millions of people abroad, but have also caused deep fissures at home. The American society has never been more divided, nor more vulnerable than under Bush and his extremist ideologues (better known as the neocons)...
After months of virulent anti-Iran propaganda by zionists and Americans, becoming more strident daily as the US presidential elections draw near, the Islamic Republic hit back with a warning of its own...
In the run-up to the US invasion of Iraq last year, the Bush administration spun a careful web of propaganda and deceipt designed to prepare US public opinion for the war that neo-conservative leaders had decided to wage even before coming to power...
Two-and-a-half years after occupying Afghanistan, ostensibly to bring peace to the warn-torn country, the Americans are no closer to achieving their objectives than they were when they attacked in October 2001...
