The China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA), went into effect on 1st of January tyis year. For China, the benefits are clear, but Southeast Asia will be paying a big price for a bad deal.
Vice President Joe Biden is in the Middle East this week to promote restarting of the stalled peace talks, but the talks will not lead to anything unless the starting point is equality.
Due to its lack of a coherent policy towards Afghanistan and Pakistan, India is repeatedly losing opportunities to help stabilise this critical part of its neighbourhood.
Despite the official propaganda, the China-Asean free trade agreement that came into effect on January 1, 2010, will benefit China, but is likely to disadvantage the Asean Countries.
Obama administration approved 70 million dollars of military assistance to Yemen, just the amount of development aid that the Bush senior withdrew for Yemen's refusal to approve the first Gulf war at the UN Security Council 20 years ago.
Although the Gaza Freedom March did not enter Gaza, due to the obstacles imposed by the Egyptian government that eventually lead to divisions among the marchers, the protests organised in Cairo caught the attention of the international media and showed that the people of Gaza were not forgotten...
The Goldstone report is significant not only because of its detailed documentation of war crimes committed in the Gaza war, but also because of its direct reference to universal jurisdiction, that calls on all governments to arrest and try any individual responsible for the alleged crimes.
Expulsion, or displacement, directly caused by the decision of a government to make way for a military base, is but one of the many problems local communities face when they are confronted with a foreign military presence.
The US crusade to bury the Goldstone report (holding Israel and Hamas
accountable for war crimes) was one of the fiercest of any waged in
recent years.
Obama should be leading global efforts towards real nuclear disarmament - and he could begin by talking to Iran about supporting a nuclear weapons-free zone.
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