Showing 1 - 10 of 13
Rebel win to reshape Syria's fragile future
News, John J. Metzler, Published on 12/12/2024
» The Assad family dictatorship, which ran Syria for 53 years and withstood 13 years of bitter civil war, collapsed in just over a week. A sweeping series of Islamic rebel attacks, starting in late November, captured key cities from Aleppo in the north to Homs and Hama, which fell like dominos, creating an unstoppable military momentum on the road to Damascus.
Putin throws Brics at his global critics
News, John J Metzler, Published on 30/10/2024
» Vladimir Putin put on a good show. The 16th annual Brics Summit in Kazan, Russia, set the stage for the gathering of what's essentially the "Alternative economic club" to the established Western groups such as the G-7 and the IMF. Thirty-five 35 delegations, including 24 heads of state and government, journeyed to Kazan for a three-day summit and schmooze session with the otherwise diplomatically isolated Russian president.
Mideast war worries PM
News, Mongkol Bangprapa, Published on 04/10/2024
» Thailand is calling on all parties involved in the conflict in the Middle East to exercise utmost restraint and immediately cease all hostiles to protect civilians in the region.
Red Sea raids push US and allies to crunch point
News, Peter Apps, Published on 15/01/2024
» When the United States and 11 allies published a joint statement last week calling for an end to Houthi attacks from Yemen on Red Sea shipping, they hoped the implicit threat of force might at least reduce the intensity of fire on foreign vessels.
We can move to a post-privilege era. Who's first?
News, Howard Chua-Eoan, Published on 06/09/2023
» Privilege is often carved into walls and etched into the landscape.
Mideast ties strong, says Don
News, Aekarach Sattaburuth, Published on 17/01/2020
» Although absent from a House committee meeting in which he was to be asked to clarify his "misinformed" remarks about the conflict between the US and Iran, Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai said Thailand's ties with the Middle East are good.
Concentric Mideast wars and prospects
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 10/01/2020
» Nothing captures attention in an age of media saturation like the talk of war. The recent decision by US President Donald Trump to assassinate a top Iranian official, Quds Force Commander Major General Qassem Soleimani, has conjured up the spectre of a wider conflict encompassing not just the Middle East but the broader world, as Iran's top leaders deemed it "an act of war" and vowed "severe revenge". Although Iran's military and its proxy militias and client states in the Middle East and elsewhere are poised to exact retribution for their loss, we are unlikely to see a world war in the immediate aftermath of this killing.
No excuse for Mideast abuse
News, Editorial, Published on 19/03/2019
» The United Nations took a regrettable step on women's rights last week. The Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) picked the Tehran government to sit on its women's rights committee. While there are several countries that truly should not be on this committee, Iran is near or at the top. In the same week that the UNHRC felt Iran should represent women's and children's rights, the UN Special Rapporteur on Iran said that the country was in the midst of a crackdown that, in particular, sentences children to death.
Little to show for US role in Mideast wars
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 14/02/2019
» Last Wednesday Donald Trump said: "It should be announced, probably some time next week, that we will have 100% of the [Islamic State[ caliphate." Well, it is next week now, and by the weekend Mr Trump will probably have made exactly that announcement. He will be right, too: IS as a major threat has been defeated for good.
One attack, one setback
News, Editorial, Published on 26/11/2018
» The murderous attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi highlights the troubles that Beijing faces in selling its keystone international development programme. "One Belt, One Road" began with much scepticism, and 2018 has seen setback after setback. Friday morning's assault on Chinese interests killed two policemen guarding the consulate. The Pakistani separatist group behind the deaths said the Chinese are "exploiting our resources".