Category: Blogs

Top News: Russia blocks UN condemnation of regime assault on Aleppo

By MENASource

Russia on Friday blocked a US-drafted United Nations Security Council statement condemning the Syrian government’s increasing military offensive on Aleppo that has killed approximately 200 and wounded nearly 900 since Sunday. France asserted Friday that the regime’s indiscriminate killing of civilians amounts to war crimes. The US move, followed by Russia’s counter-move, heightened diplomatic tensions ahead […]

A Corruption Investigation Arrests Turkey’s Political Calm

By Ross Wilson

The sweeping anti-corruption arrests carried out this week by Turkish law enforcement authorities and the government’s stern response in sacking a wide range of police commanders mark the biggest political crisis in Turkey since 2007 and signal a further intensification of conflict and turmoil as the country looks at a series of elections in 2014-15. […]

Chinese Military Ship Will Help Guard Destruction of Syria’s Chemical Weapons

By New York Times, Reuters, & South China Morning Post

From Jane Perlez, New York Times:  The same day that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel of the United States blasted the actions of a Chinese ship in the South China Sea as “irresponsible,” China announced that it would deploy a military ship to work with an American vessel involved in the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons.

This Week in South Asia: December 14-20

Commentary from the South Asia Center on the most relevant news from the region, and suggested “must-read” analyses from the week.

NIST Attempts to Lift All Boats with Draft Cyber Framework

By Danielle Kriz

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released its important and much-anticipated Preliminary Cybersecurity Framework (PDF). The Framework plan was put forward in February 2013 as part of  President Barack Obama’s cybersecurity Executive Order to push a collaborative concept in which NIST takes the lead in coordinating with all interested stakeholders in the development […]

Why are European Allies Arming China?

By David Lague, Reuters

If the People’s Liberation Army went to war tomorrow, it would field an arsenal bristling with hardware from some of America’s closest allies: Germany, France and Britain.

Student Protests: A Microcosm of Egypt’s Street Dynamics

By Rana Muhammad Taha

With several months passing since the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s universities have become a frontline in the fight between two polarized segments of Egyptian society. While the capital city’s universities – Cairo, Ain Shams and Al-Azhar – universities have witnessed constant protests and clashes for weeks, the struggle has extended into the […]

Top News: Egypt a World Leader in Detaining Journalists, Says Report

By EgyptSource

Egypt was the ninth worst offender this year for jailing journalists in a list topped by Turkey, Iran and China, according to a study released by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on Wednesday.

Youthful Saudi Reformers Only Safe in the Twittersphere

By Kristin Smith Diwan

The emergence of social networking has opened novel means of communication and connection worldwide. But perhaps nowhere were these new vistas more welcomed than in Saudi Arabia. The virtual communities of Facebook and Twitter offer a means to circumvent the gender confines and sociopolitical restrictions of the Kingdom’s highly segmented and controlled public life. And […]

Three Cheers for China!

By Robert A. Manning

At a moment when few give the Obama administration much credit for either competence or strategy, a cascade of events in East Asia in recent days, not least John Kerry’s trip to Southeast Asia, point to important gains for the stabilizing and offshore-balancing role of US policy toward the Asia-Pacific.