The real scandal revealed on closer examination of diplomatic cables from the MENA region, is the gulf that separates what US diplomats acknowledge in private and what US leaders say (and do) in public, vis-a-vis democracy promotion in the Middle East
Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri returns to Beirut in the face of opposition demands that he remain in exile. Years of political repression in Tunisia may be at an end as President Ben Ali flees the country. Iraqi soldiers shoot US counterparts, wounding three. All this and much more, in today
What message should Tunisians and the peoples and governments of the Arab world and beyond take from the Tunisian uprising, asks Mohammed Hussainy.
Egypt's recent elections went very much as expected. This, however, doesn't mean they were insignificant.
After four years, the UN peace mission in Nepal will leave the country with an uncertain political and security future. Kyrgyz national commission blames Uzbeks for last year’s deadly ethnic violence. Sudan may be removed from the US state terror sponsor list by summer, officials say. All this and
In the end one never knows why it is that social conditions erupt into revolt. More often than not they do not. But still, there are a number of factors which might explain the current unprecedented protests
Abolkacim Ashabi once wrote, "If the people one day decide to live, fate must answer and the chains must break." Bouazizi’s martyrdom may have triggered a popular revival, many now believe, which will ensure that it is only a matter of time before Ashabi’s prophecy is fulfilled.
Much media coverage of conflict in the Ivory Coast relies on a familiar explanation of Africa's wars - that they stem from immutable tribal and sectarian differences. Despite religious and ethnic faultlines, conflict in the Ivory Coast is above all political, argues Patrick Meehan.
South Sudan heads to polls amid renewed violence in Abyei. At least fourteen dead in Tunisian employment protests. Eta declares “permanent and general” ceasefire.
Violence and a culture of reactionary anti-Westernism has left young Algerians poorly equipped for today's world. Many take the dangerous option of clandestine migration for Europe. No wonder those who stay behind are now taking to the streets against corrupt, self-enriching autocrats
President-elect Alassane Ouattara has called for a West African intervention force to remove Laurent Gbagbo from power in Ivory Coast. Women face an increased risk of sexual violence in post-quake Haiti, says new Amnesty report. Police kill two protestors and detain opposition leaders in Arusha, T
Defence Secretary Robert Gates urges Congress to allow lesbians and gays to serve openly in US military; Anger and confusion in Ivory Coast, as results of first presidential election in a decade are torn up; British government considers selling its intelligence agencies' services to private compan
