Religion

BOOKS-US: Revelations of an Abu Ghraib Interrogator

By IPS Correspondents
Few people have thought as much about the morality of the U.S. occupation of Iraq than Joshua Casteel, a former U.S. Army interrogator who served at Abu Ghraib prison in the wake of the detainee abuse scandal there.
Yasin Malik, freedom leader, addressing a mass rally in Srinagar. Credit: Athar Parvaiz Bhat/IPS

MEDIA-INDIA: Columnists Support Kashmir's Secession

By IPS Correspondents
"Anti-national" is the charge hurled in India at the usual radical suspects who argue for the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people.

POLITICS-US: Christian Right Summit Still Wields Clout

By IPS Correspondents
If the Republican Party's vice presidential nominee, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, survives the slings and arrows of intense media coverage, her next major appearance could be before an adoring crowd of conservatives and Christian evangelicals at the Sep. 12-14 Values Voter Summit in Washington.
Kashmiris at a peaceful protest demanding freedom from Indian rule. Credit: Athar Parvaiz Bhatt/IPS

RIGHTS-INDIA: Kashmiris See Power in Peaceful Protests

By Athar Parvaiz
Firefights between India's armed forces and separatist militants, a feature of life in Jammu and Kashmir state, have now given way to a different type of confrontation - paramilitary troops facing mass protests by peaceful, unarmed demonstrators demanding freedom.
''I will not be cowed down,'' says Raja Kamaruddin, seen here (at left) with Malaysian economist Din Merican. Credit: Din Merican

MEDIA-MALAYSIA: Crackdown Follows Electoral Setback

By Baradan Kuppusamy
Abandoning a decade-old promise to maintain Internet freedom, the government has closed down the popular and controversial ‘Malaysia Today’ web portal, known for consistently exposing the misdeeds of officialdom and the failings of individual leaders.
A child broadcasting at DXUP FM community radio. Credit: Kalinga Seneviratne/IPS

MEDIA-PHILIPPINES: Community Radio – Balm in Troubled Areas

By IPS Correspondents
Amidst the raging conflict between government forces and Muslim rebels on the island of Mindanao, the religiously mixed population in the North Cotabato region looks to a community radio station as a beacon of peace.
Street clashes erupt between civilians and para-military troops in Srinagar. Credit: Athar Parvaiz Bhat/IPS

INDIA: Dialogue Missing as Kashmir Erupts

By IPS Correspondents
Even as the Jammu region of the strife-torn Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir is settling down to normality and peace, a two month-old turmoil in the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley shows no signs of abating.

POLITICS-US: Muslim Charities Negotiate a Minefield

By IPS Correspondents
As Muslims begin one of their most important holidays - the month of Ramadan - charitable organisations serving the American Muslim community are taking what some observers believe is a desperate last step to keep the U.S. government from shutting them down.

RIGHTS-EUROPE: The Dalai Lama, Now the Once Welcomed

By Julio Godoy
EU leaders speak repeatedly of tying increasing Chinese investment in Africa to respect for human rights. But no such considerations come in the way of the EU's own dealings with China.
The slogan 'Democracy is the Best Revenge' proclaims the forgiving mood -- at the top levels. Credit: Zofeen Ebrahim/IPS

POLITICS-PAKISTAN: 'Putting Musharraf on Trial is Pointless'

By Zofeen Ebrahim
Pervez Musharraf resigned as Pakistan's president on Aug. 18 to escape certain impeachment. But now there are calls from various quarters to have the former military dictator prosecuted for actions committed during his nine eventful years in office.
Anwar's popularity, before the vote, was all too evident. Credit: Baradan Kuppusamy/IPS

MALAYSIA: Anwar's Win Spells Leadership Change

By Baradan Kuppusamy
Despite a nasty campaign against him, opposition icon Anwar Ibrahim has won spectacularly in a landmark by-election in the family stronghold of Permatang Pauh, confirming his stature as possible prime minister with truly national appeal, cutting across race and religion.

PHILIPPINES: Gov’t Urged to Resume Talks With Muslim Rebels

By IPS Correspondents
About 100 people have been killed or injured and more than 130,000 others displaced since hostilities resumed this month between government troops and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels, said to be "frustrated" by a new hitch in a peace agreement
Imam Ramlang Porigi, whose support may turn the tide for Anwar in Permatang Pauh. Credit: Anil Netto/IPS

MALAYSIA: Anwar Needs Huge Win in Crucial By-Election

By IPS Correspondents
All eyes in Malaysia and beyond are trained on this constituency of 58,000 voters in mainland Penang, the scene of a pivotal by-election on Tuesday that could determine if an opposition alliance can press ahead with its plan to take over the federal government in the coming weeks.

ECUADOR: President “Stabbed In the Back” by Church Over Constitution

By IPS Correspondents
The campaign for the Sept. 28 referendum on Ecuador’s newly rewritten constitution has got under way, with fierce arguments between the document's supporters and opponents.

PHILIPPINES: Hopes Narrow for Peace With Muslim Rebels

By Marwaan Macan-Markar
Hopes for peace in southern Philippines have grown slim as fighting escalates between government troops and Muslim separatist rebels. When August began, a different mood prevailed as negotiators on both sides reported progress on reconciliation talks on the sensitive issue of land.
Anwar at an election rally. The banner says Malaysia does not belong to the ruling UMNO. Credit: Baradan Kuppusamy/IPS

POLITICS-MALAYSIA: Sleaze, Race Dominate Crucial By-Election

By Baradan Kuppusamy
Sleaze and race are dominating the by-election for this constituency where opposition leader and self-proclaimed prime minister-in-waiting Anwar Ibrahim is fighting to return to parliament after a decade-long absence.

MALAYSIA: Crackdown on Civil Rights, Media Feared

By Baradan Kuppusamy
A series of tough measures in recent weeks has raised fears of a major crackdown against tolerance and dissent as rival political forces battle for state power in a society made fragile by economic uncertainties and decades of autocratic rule.
Deborah Campbell Credit: Amanda Skuse

Q&A: Hezbollah’s Triumph Is Blowback for Israeli Policy

By IPS Correspondents
Since the Israel-Lebanon 34-day war two years ago, and particularly after the Doha accord in May which restored Hezbollah to the Lebanese government and essentially gave it the veto power it demanded, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has been the most popular figure anywhere in the Arab world.
Musharraf announces his resignation in a televised address. Credit:

PAKISTAN: Musharraf Quits, Avoids Impeachment

By IPS Correspondents
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf resigned from office on Monday ending weeks of speculation over whether he would quit or face impeachment on charges of illegally seizing power by a parliament elected in February and dominated by political parties opposed to him.
Uighurs claim the development of the railways was aimed at increasing the exploitation of Xinjiang province by China. Credit: World Uighur Network News

POLITICS-CHINA: Tough Policy in Xinjiang Backfires

By IPS Correspondents
China’s success in eliminating clusters of Muslim insurgencies in the western province of Xinjiang may have pushed an alleged separatist movement across the border into Pakistan and Afghanistan, exposing it to greater influences by jihadist groups in those countries.

POLITICS-INDIA: Exploiting Terrorism

By Keya Acharya
In the aftermath of the spate of serial bomb blasts that rocked Ahmedabad in western India and the southern city of Bangalore, late July, prominent civil rights activists, advocates and experts have criticised the government, for political interference in and misuse of the country’s counter-terrorism laws.
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