James M Dorsey Gulf states are in a pickle. They fear that the emerging parameters of a reconfigured US commitment to security in the Middle East threaten to upend a more-than-a-century-old pillar of regional security and leave them with no good alternatives. The shaky pillar is the Gulf monarchies’ reliance on a powerful external ally that, in the words of Middle East scholar Roby C. Barrett, “shares the […]
Matein Khalid My periodic please-all summer asking my friends to accumulate energy stocks on the 77-65 Brent sell off in July has been vindicated with a vengeance this autumn as energy is the best performing sector in both September and October with the XLE now up a stellar 46%, who could have imagined that Oxy would rise from 10 to 35 when Brent was $35, the world […]
By James M. Dorsey Two separate developments involving improved relations between Sunni and Shiite Muslims and women’s sporting rights demonstrate major shifts in how rivalry for leadership of the Muslim world and competition to define Islam in the 21st century is playing out in a world in which Middle Eastern states can no longer depend on the United States coming to their defence. The developments fit into […]
Dr. Louis Perron Angela Merkel’s reign will soon come to an end, but after Germans went to the polls yesterday, it is still unclear who will govern after her. Let alone in what coalition. Almost exactly a year ago, the Social Democrats (SPD) were at 15% in the surveys. The chancellorship seemed out of reach. How did the SPD manage to get close to 26% last night […]
James M Dorsey A year of diplomatic relations between the United Arab Emirates and Israel has proven to be mutually beneficial. The question is whether the assumptions underlying the UAE’s initiative that led three other Arab countries to also formalise their relations with the Jewish state will prove to be correct in the medium and long term. UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed laid out the strategic […]
Start with the majority of Democratic governors who had the common sense to shut their states down then compare that to the Republican governors that chose money over the safety of their residents . Lets see the daily death rates between Red and blue states . Adblock test (Why?)
SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 31 August 2021 – The upcoming Singapore Convention Week (SC Week) 2021 will bring together leaders from the legal, business and government sectors in the international dispute resolution scene. Themed ‘A World in Transition’, the global legal conference will be held virtually from 6 to 10 September 2021. Participants will discuss the latest trends and innovations in international dispute resolution amidst a […]
James M Dorsey Pakistani efforts to exploit the Taliban victory in Afghanistan threaten to reinforce ultra-conservative inclinations in Pakistan itself, the world’s second-most populous Muslim majority country, long accused of supporting militant religious groups. The notion that religious ultra-conservatism may not remain contained to Afghanistan may be one reason why US President Joe Biden decided to effectively abandon Central Asia with his withdrawal of US forces from […]
KUALA LUMPUR, MALASIA – Media OutReach – 25 August 2021 – The international Forex broker OctaFX turns ten years old. This past decade culminates in 6.6 million Forex trading accounts opened, 200,000 Trade &Win gifts delivered, over 102,000 followers on social media, 44 Forex industry awards received, providing services in more than 100 countries, and 500 million trades executed on the platform since inception—to just name a […]
By Matein Khalid Mark Twain was so right when he observed that “history does not repeat but it surely rhymes”. In 1992, Soviet vassal President Najibullah was publicly hanged by the Taliban when it seized Kabul in 1996. Shah Shuja, the grandson of the Afghan state’s founder was put on the throne by the East India Company and its Bengal Army but was murdered in 1842 by […]
James M Dorsey Taliban advances in Afghanistan shift the Central Asian playing field on which China, India and the United States compete with rival infrastructure-driven approaches. At first glance, a Taliban takeover of Kabul would give China a 2:0 advantage against the US and India, but that could prove to be a shaky head start. The potential fall of the US-backed Afghan government of President Ashraf Ghani […]
James M Dorsey Israel’s first post-Netanyahu government is seeking to rebuild fractured relations with the Jewish Diaspora and rebrand the country as a liberal rather than an illiberal democracy against the backdrop of uncertainty about future US policy towards the Middle East and continued unconditional backing of the Jewish state. Uncertainty about US reliability has been reinforced by the US negotiation with the Taliban and subsequent withdrawal […]
James M. Dorsey A recent analysis of Middle Eastern states’ interventionist policies suggests that misguided big power approaches have fueled a vicious cycle of interference and instability over the last decade. Those approaches are abetted, if not encouraged by US and Chinese strategies that are similar, if not essentially the same, just labelled differently. The United States has long opted for regime stability in the Middle East rather than […]
James M Dorsey This month’s indictment of a billionaire, one-time advisor and close associate of former US President Donald J. Trump, on charges of operating as an unregistered foreign agent in the United States for the United Arab Emirates highlights the successes and pitfalls of a high-stakes Emirati effort to influence US policy. The indictment of businessman Thomas J. Barrack, who maintained close ties to UAE Crown Prince […]
James M Dorsey A recent unprecedented alliance between Muslims and Evangelicals takes on added significance in a world in which human rights are on the defensive, religious groups tend to forge political as well as ideational partnerships, and the role of the clergy in multiple Muslim-majority countries has come under scrutiny. The alliance potentially could create a platform for voices in the Muslim world, particularly the Middle East, […]
By James M Dorsey When Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid recently sparked a war of words with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki he was doing more than resisting Central European attempts at rewriting the history and legacy of the Holocaust and right-wing nationalistic flirting with anti-Semitic tropes. The war centred on a bill debated in the Polish parliament that makes it essentially impossible for Jews to claim property they […]
James M Dorsey Education is emerging as a major flashpoint in competing visions of a future Muslim world. Rival concepts being instilled in a next generation are likely to shape what amounts to a battle for the soul of Islam. Reports earlier this year published by the Israel-based Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-SE) chart the divergence in educational approaches. At one end of […]
A virtual week exploring the issues affecting over 5 billion citizens in Asia – the built environment, access to education and reskilling, and food security. HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 24 March 2021 – The Economist Events hosted its inaugural Technology for Change Week Asia virtually on March 8th-12th 2021. The event brought together more than 70 cross-industry expert speakers and 1,800 delegates from […]
By Jenny Farrell On March 5, 2021, we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the legendary communist leader Rosa Luxemburg’s birth. No one who wishes to get a sense of Rosa Luxemburg as a person, both political and private, will regret watching Margarethe von Trotta’s meticulously researched 1986 film of the same name available with […]
The post Celebrating Rosa Luxemburg’s 150th Birth Anniversary On March 5, 2021 first appeared on IPA Newspack.
By David Trujillo The door is wide open now to the people in the United States. The opportunity for socialism is a serious option for a new political future. Let’s get real: The Republicans have abdicated democratic responsibilities. They have given up on our basic democratic values and the U.S. Constitution. The Republican Party […]
The post Americans Have Earned The Right To Look To A New Progressive Future first appeared on IPA Newspack.
By James M. Dorsey Demonstrating for the third week their determination to force the country’s military to return to its barracks, protesters in Myanmar appear to be learning lessons from a decade of protest in the Middle East and North Africa. By the same token, Myanmar’s protesters, in stark contrast to public silence about the military’s brutal repression of the Rohingya minority in recent years, seem to […]
By Barun Das Gupta India-Sri-Lanka relations under the presidency of Gotabaya Rajapaksa will be interesting to follow. It may be recalled that when Gotabaya became the president of Sri Lanka in November, 2019, there was palpable unease in the South Block. Both he and his brother Mahinda (former president and present prime minister) are […]
The post Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Is Trying To Opt For Independent Policy first appeared on IPA Newspack.
