Human Rights Watch investigated six US drone strikes in Yemen and reports that 69 percent of 82 killed were civilians – undercutting claims that drone technology targets specific threats. “[T]he human rights groups said they were able to shed further light on the incidents by interviewing survivors...
Click here for the article in The Washington Post.
Chinese authorities in the Sichuan province have announced that followers of the Dalai Lama can publicly display his images, and officials in the area have been ordered to cease criticism of the spiritual leader, according to a report by US-funded Radio Free Asia. China took control of Tibet in...
Click here for the article in The Sydney Morning Herald.
The exercise of power is bizarre and tenuous in North Korea. Jang Song Thaek, second in command and uncle to dictator Kim Jong Un, was abruptly purged and executed. “Prospects of continuing purges loom, wiping out any lingering hopes that the Kim regime will follow the Chinese model and embark on...
SEOUL: In a country where purges are as commonplace as polling in democratic countries, the summary execution of North Korea’s number two figure Jang Song Thaek, 67, was breathtaking in its brutality. Extensive tentacles of his power and influence...
Abrupt changes in prices of an essential commodity like oil immediately create winners and losers. Oil prices have fallen since July due to new supplies coming on line and exporters seeking to hold on to market share. If sustained for long, the price drop will transform the global economy and...
Geopolitics of oil: Saudi oil Minister Ali al-Naimi gloomy about the impact of collapsing oil prices (top); President Joko Widodo plans to use the windfall to upgrade Indonesia’s creaking infrastructure
NEW HAVEN: Oil shocks four decades ago...
David Autor, David Dorn, Gordon Hanson, and Kaveh Majl
Putin rejects EU or NATO membership for neighboring states for Russia. “Indeed, the existence of a European model continues to guide and encourage those pursuing transparent, democratic governance in many post-communist countries,” explain three professors with the University of California at...
Click here for the article in Project Syndicate.
As the United States withdraws forces from landlocked Afghanistan, it needs cooperation from Pakistan for the easiest exit route and support against the ongoing war on terrorism. Pakistan resents US drone attacks and other intrusions, yet with a troubled economy, also relies on funding from the...
The drone dilemma: President Obama meets Pakistani Premier Sharif who sorely needs US and IMF funds, top, but Pakistanis demand an end to drone attacks
LONDON: The United States and Pakistan are like an incompatible couple who can’t help bickering...