Syrian government marks start of Ramadan with bloody crackdown

Josephine Whitaker 1 August 2011
Syrian government marks start of Ramadan with bloody crackdown. Eritrean government backed planned to bomb AU summit, according to UN report. Fresh violence in Papua leaves 21 dead. Chinese government announces crackdown on Uighur “terrorists” after a weekend of violence. Arrested kingpin admits to ordering 1500 murders. Geelani slams Indian government intransigence in Kashmir as Indo-Pak peace talks resume. All this and more in today's briefing...

Visa spat reveals instability of India-China relations

Radu Nikolaus Botez 27 July 2011
China issues stapled visas to persons from the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, leading to renewed questions about the future of relations between New Delhi and Beijing. The FBI arrest an allegedly Pakistan-backed Kashmiri lobbyist. In China's Xinjiang province, police forces clash with Uighurs said to have links with the East Turkistan Islamic Movement. India and the US meet for the second round of their strategic dialogue. All in today's security briefing.

Power dynamics in Afghanistan shift after a series of assassinations

Humayun Saleem 20 July 2011
Hamid Karzai’s political influence in southern Afghanistan diminishes as his brother Ahmed Wali Karzai and adviser Jan Mohammed Khan are assassinated. Mumbai responds to bombings with promise of security overhaul. Libyan rebels and government forces engage in fierce clashes. UN gives aid to Islamist run camps in Somalia.

America and Afghanistan: politics in charge

Paul Rogers 14 July 2011
The United States’s military strategy in Afghanistan is fracturing, but what matters most now in Washington is the domestic electoral timetable.

US postpones aid payments as Pakistan relations reach new low

Radu Nikolaus Botez 13 July 2011
Tensions in US-Pakistan relations rise as Washington announces suspension of military assistance. Serbian president Tadic vists Sarajevo to improve relations with neighbour. China criticizes US over military drills in South China Sea while Assad is further isolated following attacks on US and French embassies in Damascus. All in today's security briefing.

Thai military accepts Pheu Thai victory at the general election

Humayun Saleem 6 July 2011
Thailand’s military accept the victory of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s political party. Security situation in Bangladesh deteriorates after the caretaker government system is abolished. Pakistani defense minister asks the United States to leave Shamsi Airbase as the US shifts key supply routes through Pakistan to central Asia. Turkish Prime Minister visits Libyan opposition groups in Benghazi. All in today’s security briefing.

India-Pakistan talks slowly move forward

Radu Nikolaus Botez 29 June 2011
Foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan meet in Islamabad to discuss security issues. In northern Kenya, inter-communal clashes over resources leave ten dead while Maoist rebels kill five security men in attacks in central India. Germany has agreed to supply NATO with bomb components for operations in Libya. All this in today's security briefing.

Pakistan is not anti-American

Syed Hamad Ali 25 June 2011
It is easier to excuse "collateral damage" if you believe the victims are your sworn enemies. But Pakistan is not anti-American

Drone warfare: cost and challenge

Paul Rogers 23 June 2011

The repositioning of the United States’s military strategy includes a great expansion in the use of armed-drones to attack targets in Pakistan and Yemen. But this development raises profound legal and ethical questions that are now entering the public arena.

Rapprochement across the Taiwan Strait

Humayun Saleem 22 June 2011
China and Taiwan seek to increase economic exchanges by allowing individuals to travel from Mainland China to Taiwan. Pakistani and Indian foreign secretaries are set to meet in Islamabad. Sudan and South Sudan reach Abeyi deal, and Syria’s Assad makes new promises to reform. All this in today’s security briefing.

Pakistan: the hard reality

Anatol Lieven 21 June 2011
Pakistan is too often portrayed in flawed and reductive ways that flatten its complexity and offer misleading guidance to policy-makers. This makes it all the more important to acknowledge some difficult truths about the country, says Anatol Lieven.

Maritime disputes intensify in South China Sea

Radu Nikolaus Botez 15 June 2011
Long-standing maritime disputes between China and its neighbours intensify. Afghan President Hamai Karzai visits Islamabad. Departing US Defence Secretary Gates criticizes European reluctance to contribute to Nato efforts and Syrian troops move forward as the number of refugees to Turkey increases. All in today's security briefing.

With eye to US, post-bin Laden Pakistan turns to 'all-weather' friend China

Radu Nikolaus Botez 8 June 2011
Pakistan and China hail their relationship during a recent state visit of Pakistani prime minister Yousaf Gilani to Beijing. In Sudan, fighting between Northern and Southern armed forces in the contested border region intensifies. India buys transport aircraft from the US in the highest value military contract between the two countries. Russia cancels joint military exercises with India. All in today's Security Briefing.

Rape in Pakistan: the real verdict

Ayesha Khan 17 May 2011
The gang-rape of Mukhtaran Mai launched a nine-year court battle that concluded with a verdict by the Supreme Court of Pakistan acquitting all but one of the accused. Her case illustrates how both the formal and informal systems of justice share the same hostility to women who defy social norms and demand justice in cases of rape, says Ayesha khan

NATO’s collateral tyrannicide

Tjebbe van Tijen 7 May 2011
Will the killing of Osama Bin Laden bring justice and peace to the world? There is a growing body of evidence reaching back through the centuries, to suggest that it will not.

This week's editor

Heather McRobie


Niki Seth-Smith is a freelance journalist and co-editor of OurKingdom.

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