Showing 1 - 10 of 47
Arab fraternity weakens and hegemons rule
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 01/11/2025
» 'This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper," wrote T S Eliot in 1925, probably responding to the profoundly unsatisfactory aftermath of World War I (although with a poet, you never really know). At any rate, it's happening again, this time in the Middle East.
Nuclear proliferation cannot be bombed away
News, Mohamed ElBaradei, Published on 05/07/2025
» In 1966, the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, France, and China not only were the only countries that possessed nuclear weapons; they also had enough wisdom to recognise the dangers posed by nuclear proliferation. Despite their many and deep political differences, they arrived at a consensus to halt the further dissemination of "nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices".
Syria needs another miracle for peace to stay
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 18/12/2024
» They're still celebrating the miraculous fall of the Assad regime in Damascus, and the killing has stopped in Syria except for parts of the north, east and south. So what are the odds that the man whose fighters brought down the regime, Ahmed al-Sharaa, can bring peace, prosperity and even democracy to Syria?
Syria: It's those jihadis on the march again
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 04/12/2024
» One week in, the ceasefire in Lebanon seems to be holding, but everything is connected: only three days later, the civil war in Syria started up again after a de facto four-year truce.
No happy ending after Sheikh Hasina's downfall
News, Mihir Sharma, Published on 09/08/2024
» It might look like the replacement of Bangladesh's long-serving prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus is a happy ending for a country that seemed to be inexorably sliding towards authoritarianism. After all, Ms Hasina's rule had become so paranoid that she even burned political capital on persecuting Dr Yunus, widely feted for his role in rural development in Bangladesh and beyond. But, although Ms Hasina's exit was overdue, what comes after might wind up being worse.
Has Pakistan's military finally lost its mystique?
News, Mihir Sharma, Published on 14/02/2024
» Its leader was clapped in jail, its ballot symbol erased, and its candidates forced to run as independents -- and yet the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party of former prime minister Imran Khan shockingly pulled ahead of its two biggest rivals in last week's elections. Although Pakistan's powerful army did not conceal its desire to end Khan's political career, many voters clearly had other ideas. In the process, they have delivered an unprecedented and shocking rebuke to the military brass who have exerted inordinate influence over the country's fate since its birth in 1947.
Saudi vows to help free hostages
News, Bangkok Post and AFP, Published on 22/10/2023
» Saudi Arabia will help Thailand secure the release of Thais taken hostage during the Israel-Hamas war, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin says.
Three more Thais dead, as PM insists on neutral war stance
News, Poramet Tangsathaporn, Published on 15/10/2023
» Three more Thais working in Israel have been killed since Hamas launched its large-scale attack on Oct 7.
Malaysian polls see Islamist surge
News, Clara Ferreira Marques, Published on 23/11/2022
» Malaysia's election has not immediately resulted in a new government, but it has produced an instant winner -- political Islam.
The dramatic fall of the House of Rajapaksa
News, Brahma Chellaney, Published on 14/07/2022
» For much of nearly two decades, the four Rajapaksa brothers and their sons have run Sri Lanka like a family business -- and a disorderly one, at that. With their grand construction projects and spendthrift ways, they saddled Sri Lanka with unsustainable debts, driving the country into its worst economic crisis since independence. Now, the dynasty has fallen.