Civilisations Find Alliances

Swat Not at Peace With Malala

By Ashfaq Yusufzai
Back in Swat Valley in Pakistan where she comes from, Malala Yousafzai who had been tipped to win the Nobel peace prize this year, has not only left behind more girls in school now than there were a year ago but also large numbers of people who are now distanced – and even hostile – to her.

Ethiopian Government Choking Muslim Unrest

By Ed McKenna
The refusal by the Ethiopian government to redress grievances harboured by the Muslim community here, which comprises about 34 percent of the country’s 91 million people makes this Horn of African nation vulnerable to extremism.

Hope and Pessimism as Israelis and Palestinians Resume Talks

By Mitchell Plitnick
Israeli and Palestinian negotiators returned to the negotiating table on Thursday, ready to put claims by the United States that it will engage more forcefully in the negotiating process to the test.

OP-ED: Saudis Should Welcome a U.S. Move Toward Iran

By Thomas W. Lippman
Shortly after President Obama’s startling telephone conversation with Iran’s new president, Hassan Rouhani, a Saudi Arabian journalist wrote that “The phone call between Obama and Rouhani shocked the Gulf states, Jordan, Turkey, Israel, and other countries.” No matter which president initiated the call, he wrote, “What is important to know is what stands behind the conversation and how deep the ties are between America and Iran.”

Netanyahu Stakes Out Maximalist Position on Iran

By Jim Lobe
Like the proverbial skunk at the garden party, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used his turn at the podium at the U.N. General Assembly Tuesday to pour scorn on Iran’s new president, 96 hours after a smiling Hassan Rouhani departed New York after a momentous four-day stay that raised unprecedented hopes for détente with the United States and the West.

Q&A: “This Is Not Huntington’s World”

By Rousbeh Legatis
While a fine wine might get better with age, the same is not true for flawed political theories.

OP-ED: The U.S.-Iran Wrestling Match

By Alireza Nader
From Tehran’s perspective, the current negotiations between Iran and the United States may be best described as a wrestling match.

U.S., Iran Trade Cautious Overtures at U.N.

By Jasmin Ramsey
While the U.S. and Iranian heads of state have yet to meet, the 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly may mark a new era between the two countries.

Nairobi Attack Exposes Flawed U.S. Terror Policies

By Ramy Srour
In the aftermath of the worst terror attack in East Africa in three years, foreign policy scholars here are urging the U.S. government to rethink its counter-terror policy in the region.

Speculation over Iran-U.S. Détente Continues Apace

By Jim Lobe
On the eve of a possible – if seemingly accidental – encounter between U.S. President Barack Obama and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in the corridors of the U.N. Secretariat building Tuesday, speculation over the possibility of détente between Washington and Tehran has become rampant.

Israel Silent on Chemical Weapons

By Pierre Klochendler
“Does Israel have chemical weapons too?” is the question posed by the U.S. publication Foreign Policy, citing a newly uncovered CIA document from 1983 which alleged that Israel is likely to have developed such weapons.

Q&A: Faith Groups as Partners in Development

By Thalif Deen
The United Nations is considered one of the world's most secular institutions, with 193 member states representing peoples of different faiths and cultures and professing religious and agnostic beliefs.

Syria Diplomacy Helps Shuffle Global Order

By George Gao
When U.S. President Barack Obama tried to drum up momentum for airstrikes in Syria to punish and deter the use of chemical weapons, he failed to gain much of a following.

Mutual Interests Could Aid U.S.-Iran Détente

By Jasmin Ramsey
In the wake of a renewed diplomatic push on the Iranian nuclear front, shared interests in Iran’s backyard could pave the way for Washington and Tehran to work toward overcoming decades of hostility.

Hopeful but Homesick in Peshawar Schools

By Ashfaq Yusufzai
“I miss my mother and cry every night,” eight-year-old Afaq Ali tells IPS. He is a Class 5 student at the University Public School in Peshawar, capital of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and the administrative centre for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) to its west.

Mixed Reactions to Obama’s Embrace of Russian Deal

By Jim Lobe
President Barack Obama’s decision to put off a vote by Congress on the use of military force against Syria in order to pursue a Russian proposal to place Damascus’ chemical-weapons arsenal under international control has evoked both cheers and jeers from across the political spectrum here Wednesday.

Where a Moustache Can Mean Life or Death

By Karlos Zurutuza
"The soul needs to reincarnate a thousand times before becoming one with god," says Rajab Assy Karim from Ali Saray, 190 kilometres north of Baghdad. Iraq is full of "shortcuts" to the ultimate, and several seem to pass through this tiny desert village.

Obama Increasingly Isolated on Syria Military Action

By Jim Lobe
With a week of intense lobbying behind him, U.S. President Barack Obama looks increasingly beleaguered - both at home and abroad - in his effort to rally support for a military strike against Syria to punish its government for its alleged Aug. 21 chemical-weapons attack outside Damascus.

U.N. Urges Culture of Peace amid Rising Sectarian Strife

By Thalif Deen
Against the backdrop of widespread sectarian violence in Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt and Syria - and rising xenophobia and Islamophobia in Western Europe and the United States - the United Nations hosted its second high-level forum on the "culture of peace".

Syria Crisis Yet to Derail Iran Nuclear Talks

By Jasmin Ramsey
Even with potential U.S. strikes against Iranian ally Syria looming, Washington and Tehran appear to be preparing for the resumption of nuclear talks.

Ex-World Leaders Urge U.S. to Forego Military Attack on Syria

By Thalif Deen
The United States, which is preparing to launch a military strike on Syria, is being cautioned by several former world leaders and Nobel Peace laureates to seek a political solution to the ongoing crisis - and forego armed intervention in the beleaguered Middle Eastern nation.
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