In The News

Saudi Arabia “Threatens Skype Ban”

March 28, 2013
Skype, WhatsApp and Viber offer an array of free messaging and telephone calls. All are cross-platform internet services with widely popular free plans that reach out to numerous nations. Demanding the right to monitor the applications, the government has given the three companies a week to respond. Reports have emerged that the telecommunications regulator may block the services and may have...

Pakistan’s Army of Overseas Workers Keeps Economy Afloat

Khurrum Anis March 26, 2013
Inequality among nations encourages workers in poor nations to hunt for jobs abroad – and send funds home to families. Writing for Bloomberg, Khurrum Anis describes a young man dropping out of school and selling the family’s two buffalo to purchase a visa to work in Dubai so his family can build a new home and brothers can marry. “Almost 10 million Pakistanis work overseas and the sum they’ve...

Peace Deal for Turkey

Mohammed Ayoob March 25, 2013
Promised rapprochement between Kurdish rebels and the Turkish government has implications for the Middle East, particularly Syria, Iraq and Iran, nations that also have sizable Kurdish minorities concentrated in contiguous regions. Jailed Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan issued a statement on the Kurdish New Year, calling for an immediate end to hostilities against the Turkish state, without...

No Shift in Iran's Nuclear Behavior, Despite Sanctions

Joby Warrick, Anne Gearan March 21, 2013
Sanctions have hurt the Iranian economy, but may have also strengthened leaders’ resolve to defy the US and Europe by pursuing a uranium-enrichment program. “[H]ardships have not triggered significant domestic protests or produced a single concession by Iran on its nuclear program,” report Joby Warrick and Anne Gearan for the Washington Post. “Although weakened, Iran has resisted Western...

EU Fails to Speak With One Voice on Syria

Joshua Chaffin March 19, 2013
The Syrian rebels are outgunned and the bloodshed continues. European leaders have disagreed how to bring the civil war in Syria to swift, humane conclusion. France and Britain want to end an arms embargo for opposition groups, particularly moderates; Germany resists. A compromise emerged Monday, with the EU allowing security advice, but not actual arms transfer. Such arguments underscore the...

Growing Divide in Saudi Arabia Between Rulers, Ruled

Karen Elliott House March 15, 2013
Saudi Arabia has a diverse arsenal for squashing dissent against the repressive regime, ranging from bribes and government jobs to harassment and long jail sentences. Two moderate activists received 10-year prison sentences for supporting a constitutional monarchy and human rights, reports author Karen Elliott House in an opinion essay for the Washington Post. The Arab Spring has spurred activism...

The Kafkaesque Reality of Pakistan's Blasphemy Laws

Samira Shackle March 13, 2013
Blasphemy is a serious crime in Pakistan, but the law sets out no guidance, standards on evidence or safeguards against false accusations. As such, the law is subject to great abuse. Witnesses, police and court officials avoid repeating alleged comments, out of fear of attracting new charges. “The blasphemy law has created and facilitated a culture of vigilantism,” writes Samira Shackle in the...