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Egyptian army says Sinai hostages freed
Spokesman says that seven soldiers and police officers abducted in Sinai peninsula last week have been released.
Israel, Syria, Trade Fire, Threats in Golan Heights
The Increasingly desperate Baath regime in Syria appears to be seeking skirmishes with Israel as a way of shoring up its nationalist credentials. If the regime were under fire from Israel, that would put the rebels in the position of acting as allies of Tel Aviv and so discrediting them. Hence, Syria’s troops fired at [...]
Revenge of the Bear: Russia Strikes Back in Syria (Cole @ Truthdig)
My column is out at Truthdig, looking at Russian President Vladimir Putin’s muscular new role in the Eastern Mediterranean and Syria: Excerpt: “Even as Damascus pushes back against the rebels militarily, Putin has swung into action on the international and regional stages. The Russian government persuaded U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to support an [...]
Panic in the Philippines Over Taiwan Diplomatic Crisis
If news reports correctly reflect public sentiment, it seems fair to deduce that worry and frustration are rising in the Philippines amid diplomatic tension with Taiwan, triggered by the tragic killing of a 65-year-old Taiwanese fisherman...Show More Summary
Iran, Hezbollah role in Syria complicates peace strategy
As evidence grows of increased Iranian support for the Syrian government, the Obama administration’s strategy to bring the bitter fighting there to a close faces more challenges than ever. With White House support, Secretary of State John Kerry has pushed for an international conference in Geneva in June that would bring representatives of the Syria [...]
Wednesday links: FDR, Indonesia, Russia, Saudi Arabia and more
Lowy Institute Executive Director Michael Fullilove's Rendezvous with Destiny, about FDR and the five envoys who took America into World War II, is in stores. Which science-fiction novels should economists read? In Saudi Arabia, some...Show More Summary
Lebanese, Syrians protest Hezbollah’s involvement in Syria
A number of Lebanese and Syrian nationals held a demonstration on Tuesday in the Martyrs’ Square in downtown Beirut to protest Hezbollah’s intervention in the al-Qusair battles in Syria, LBCI reported on Tuesday. Syrian rebel leader Gen. Salim Idriss warned the Lebanese government on Monday to stop the Hezbollah fighters from entering Syria or risk [...]
How America Became a Third World Country (Kramer & Comerford)
Mattea Kramer and Jo Comerford write at Tomdispatch: The streets are so much darker now, since money for streetlights is rarely available to municipal governments. The national parks began closing down years ago. Some are already being subdivided and sold to the highest bidder. Reports on bridges crumbling or even collapsing are commonplace. The air [...]
Thailand: Prime Minister Sues Cartoonist for Defamation
A Thai cartoonist who criticized the Prime Minister on Facebook is being sued for defamation. It's the first time that the Prime Minister has sued a citizen for commenting in a social media network.
Rafsanjani, Ahmadinejad ally barred from Iran election
Iranian authorities on Tuesday barred former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a relative moderate, from running in the June 14 election, along with a protégé of the current president, leaving mainly hardliners left to contest the vote. Rafsanjani and Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie, a close aide to current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, failed to make it onto a [...]
Progress on China-U.S. Accounting Dispute?
The potentially damaging dispute between China and the United States over accounting practices and access to audit records has now been dragging on for quite some time. Unlike many other issues between the two countries, accounting was...Show More Summary
All Dictatorships, Including The Syrian One, Are Damned.
by Ghassan Karam The popular adage “What is good for the Goose is good for the Gander” is meant to be a populist easy way to restate the Golden Rule which was best expressed by Mathew 7:12 as “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is [...]
North Korea sends special envoy to China
Choe Ryong-Hae, director of Korean People's Army politburo and special envoy to Kim Jong-Un, flew to China on Wednesday.
US immigration bill moves one step forward
Senate Judiciary Committee approves potentially historic legislation following weeks of marathon hearings.
Uranium, just like any other resource
Michael Angwin is CEO of the Australian Uranium Association. The normalisation of Australia's uranium policy is almost complete. Uranium is now close to being dealt with like any other resource: on its merits for development purposes,...Show More Summary
North Korean Leader Sends ‘Special Envoy’ to China
(PYONGYANG, North Korea) — A “special envoy” for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un left Pyongyang on Wednesday for China, the North’s only major political and economic benefactor. State media released few details, but the trip comes at a rocky time in ties between the allies. Show More Summary
Sweden riots continue after police shooting
Windows smashed, cars and several containers set on fire, and seven police officers injured in a Stockholm suburb.
Why is the media so pro-American?
A recent survey of Australian journalists has come to the unsurprising conclusion that, as a class, journalists tend to lean to the left, politically. But if that's true, why are they so pro-American? I don't mean 'pro-American' in the conventional sense of supporting US foreign policy goals. Show More Summary
Microsoft unveils new Xbox gaming console
Xbox One will compete with Nintendo's new Wii U and Sony's PlayStation 4 for part of $65bn computer game market.
Cadmium-Laced Rice Found in China
After a series of food scandals, China’s “cadmium rice” has become the latest food scandal in China, triggering public panic and anger among Chinese consumers.
- Secretary of State John Kerry
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
- North Korea
- President Obama
- Nawaz Sharif
- Efrain Rios Montt
- Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
- President Vladimir Putin
- White House
- President Bashar Assad
- South Korean President Park Geun-hye
- President Hamid Karzai
- President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
- European Union
- United Nations
- Arab League
- Imran Khan
- David Cameron
- Free Syrian Army
- Russia
