Author: Imran

Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have agreed to form a central bank and a single currency, with no indication that they will adopt sound currency like the gold-backed (or oil-backed) dinar instead of the troubled Western fiat currency model: Gulf Nations Sign Monetary Pact (Al Jazeera) As Zardari continues to challenge the idea that…

Competing governments, along with differences in birthrates, refugee population, cultural and religious attitudes, and prosperity all contribute to the growing distinction between Gaza and the West Bank The Palestinians’ Opposite Poles (Washington Post) “[P]ublic silence and private anger” is Pakistani reaction to US suggestions that would threaten their plans to stabilize relations with Afghanistan after…

Lured by unfulfilled incentives by Afghanistan’s central government, many insurgents simply return to the Taliban as the only means of supporting their families: Afghan Promises to Insurgents Often Empty (Washington Post) One government ironically bails out another in the name of “market principles”: Dubai Receives a $10bn Bailout from Abu Dhabi (Guardian) The US military…

Israeli human rights groups allege investigations into increasing attacks on Palestinians by Jewish settlers are inadequate; “We will burn you all” is scrawled on a mosque wall … Fire Attack on West Bank Mosque (BBC News) … Meanwhile, Israel cites manpower problems to delay the Court-ordered dismantling of illegal outposts needed to sustain the settlement…

Even after conceding three deaths in custody, Iranian officials “have done their utmost to ensure that accounts of rape are discredited and not circulated”: Iran Protests: Amnesty International Details Abuse of Protesters (Christian Science Monitor) Security analyst says arrests “suggest that Pakistani law enforcement has stepped up its anti-militancy efforts, even against groups such as…

A wartime president accepts the Nobel Peace Prize because war is justified “as a last resort or in self-defense; if the forced used is proportional; and if, whenever possible, civilians are spared from violence,” but makes no mention of Gaza: Text of Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize Speech (AP / Yahoo) As Iranians deal with unprecedented…

Two hundred and four have already been arrested in another breakout of angry dissent in Iran … Violent Protests in Iran Carry Into Second Day (NY Times) …joined by Iranian Kurds … Student Protests Erupt in Over a Dozen Iranian Cities (Indybay.org) … while in Turkey a constitutional court may “undermine the government’s efforts to…

Re-enforcing US fears of homegrown terrorists: U.S. Citizen Charged with Conspiring to Aid Terrorists in 2008 Mumbai Attack (Washington Post) US ultimatum threatens to “use considerably more force on the Pakistani side of the border to shut down Taliban attacks” Pakistan Told to Ratchet Up Fight Against the Taliban (NY Times) Turkey has an opportunity…

“They said if I collaborated with them it would be a good thing for the Palestinians, that it would help them target Hamas leaders, not accidentally kill civilians… They said I would get a permit to enter Israel in return. They offered money, they said I would be allowed to travel abroad”: Israel Accused of…

Israel continues to suffocate the citizens of Gaza without fear of international reprimand… Israel Closes Sole Oil and Gas Terminal on Gaza Border (CS Monitor) …”That an Irish foreign minister is not permitted to visit a region to assess a humanitarian situation is almost without precedent and is tantamount to censorship”: Report: Israel Denies Irish…