Global Geopolitics

Iran’s Rouhani Needs a Nuclear Resolution

By Jasmin Ramsey
After 34 years of enmity, Tehran and Washington are heavily invested in the success of a deal over Iran’s nuclear programme achieved through teamwork. Now the political future of Iran’s new moderate president, Hassan Rouhani, depends on this issue.

Israel Lobby Thwarted in Iran Sanctions Bid For Now

By Jim Lobe
In what looks to be a clear victory - at least for now - for President Barack Obama, a major effort by the Israel lobby and its most powerful constituent, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), to pass a new sanctions bill against Iran has stalled in the U.S. Senate.

2014: Solutions to Ten Conflicts

By Johan Galtung
There are conflicts old and new crying for solution and reconciliation, not violence, with reasonable, realistic ways out.

Educational Network Erases Borders

By Inés Benítez
Hundreds of students from Spain’s Canary Islands, Senegal and the Sahrawi refugee camps outside of Tindouf in western Algeria are meeting each other and breaking down cultural barriers thanks to the Red Educativa Sin Fronteras.

Military Launches a Democratic Missile

By Hisham Allam
As Egyptians head for a referendum Tuesday and Wednesday this week, the fate of the Muslim Brotherhood, which was swept into government in the last election, hangs in the balance.

Jordan Valley Produces Conflicting Dates

By Pierre Klochendler
Israeli settler Gadi Blumenfeld distributes machetes to 15 Palestinian labourers and instructs them to cut the thorns off of his dates’ fronds. “I might be stabbed in the back,” he says, “but thanks to farming, we keep the area safe from terrorists.”

Major Parts of World Ignored by U.S. TV News in 2013

By Jim Lobe
If people outside the United States are looking for answers why Americans often seem so clueless about the world outside their borders, they could start with what the three major U.S. television networks offered their viewers in the way of news during 2013.

Gates Conceals Real Story of “Gaming” Obama on Afghan War

By Gareth Porter
Criticism in the memoirs of former secretary of defence Robert M. Gates of President Barack Obama’s lack of commitment to the Afghan War strategy of his administration has generated a Washington debate about whether Obama was sufficiently supportive of the war.

Gaza Loses an Underground Lifeline

By Khaled Alashqar
The border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip used to buzz with activity until a few months back as traders brought in an array of Egyptian goods – from food supplies to raw material - through hundreds of tunnels.

Military Prepares a General’s Constitution

By Cam McGrath
A draft constitution set to go before a public referendum next week gives the military more privileges, enshrining its place as Egypt’s most powerful institution and placing it above the state.

Fall of Fallujah Refocuses U.S. on Iraq

By Jim Lobe
Two years after the last U.S. combat soldiers left Iraq, the past week’s takeover of the western city of Fallujah by the Al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has refocused Washington’s attention on a country that it had hoped to put permanently in its rear-view mirror.

Despite 13-Year Deadlock, U.N. Makes Headway Fighting Terrorism

By Thalif Deen
After nearly 13 years of protracted negotiations, the United Nations remains deadlocked on a proposal to establish a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) - even as suicide bombings continue unabated in countries such as Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Afghanistan, and most recently, Russia.

Europe’s Leaders Visit Athens to Celebrate Their Failure

By Apostolis Fotiadis
The start of Greece’s six-month presidency of the EU was marked by a ceremony Wednesday in the Greek capital attended by the EU commissioners. But protests were banned and there was no in-depth talk about the raging controversy over the bloc’s handling of the Greek debt crisis and the renewed concerns about the vitality of the Eurozone.

Islamic Party Parts With Islamists

By Sam Kimball
In the city of Metlaoui in the Governorate of Gafsa, a mining region in the parched south of Tunisia, the streets are dust, filled with ruts, the skin of the men in the cracked lanes leathery brown from the heavy weather.

Afghans Want Justice Before Elections

By Giuliano Battiston
Will we get justice? That is the question many Afghans are asking as their war-ravaged country heads for presidential polls in April. For, the list of candidates includes several warlords who have been accused of heinous crimes and who are yet to be brought to justice.

OP-ED: Arms and Athletes in Bahrain – Al Khalifa’s Deadly Game

By Emile Nakhleh
A few days ago, Bahraini officials announced that they had “foiled an attempt to smuggle explosives and arms, some made in Iran and Syria, into the country by boat.” Around the same time, the government also contended it had defused a car bomb and seized weapons in different locations in the country.

Best Wishes for a Less Destitute New Year

By Mutawalli Abou Nasser
Over the past year more than 50,000 Palestinian refugees have fled violence, chaos and destitution in Syria to seek sanctuary in Lebanon. The vast majority have found themselves living in dire poverty, and trapped in chronically insecure existence.

Many More Snakes Than Ladders for U.S. Policy in 2014

By Jim Lobe
If U.S. President Barack Obama conceived his foreign policy prospects for 2014 as a popular child’s board game, the snakes he will have to jump over significantly outnumber the ladders that can propel him to success.

Pakistan’s Polio Campaign Runs Into Taliban Wall

By Ashfaq Yusufzai
The Taliban are proving to be a huge stumbling block for Pakistan as the South Asian nation - one of only three remaining polio endemic countries in the world – tries to fight the crippling disease.

South Sudan Declares Emergency in Two States

By AJ Correspondents
South Sudanese President Salva Kiir has declared a state of emergency in two states, according to the government's official Twitter account.

Pakistani NGOs Fear New Year Constraints

By Irfan Ahmed

A new policy by the Pakistani government to regulate foreign-funded non-governmental organisations (NGOs) has come in for sharp criticism from the social sector, with many saying it could stifle rights-based groups and affect crucial services provided to the needy.

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