Afghanistan has announced three days of official mourning for the country’s former king, Mohammad Zahir Shah, 92. Announcing his passing, President Hamid Karzai, a relative, hailed Zahir Shah as the “father of the nation.” (RFE/RL) An editorial bidding him farewell… Read moreAfghan king, paradoxical voice for secularism, dead at 92
In the July 22 ballot, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan secured the largest share of votes in a Turkish election since 1965, in a contest which saw heated controversy about the country’s future as a secular republic. His Justice and… Read moreTurkish nationalism loses at polls—Kurdish nationalism wins?
Iranian intelligence operatives detained over a dozen squirrels found within the nation’s borders earlier this month, claiming they were serving as spies for Western powers determined to undermine the Islamic Republic. “In recent weeks, intelligence operatives have arrested 14 squirrels… Read moreImperialist rodents threaten Iran, Iraq
Boy, does it ever look like a case of “meet the new boss” in Ethiopia. A front-page story by Jeffrey Gettleman in the New York Times July 22 informs us that the government is blocking food aid to the restive… Read moreEthiopia blocks food aid to Ogaden
A three-judge panel of US Court of Appeals in Washington DC July 20 ordered the government to turn over virtually all its information on Guantanamo detainees who are challenging their detention, rejecting an effort by the Justice Department to limit… Read moreFederal court: US must disclose info on Gitmo detainees
A very amusing New York Times profile July 21 of Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammed, the former firebrand cleric who is now exiled in Lebanon and barred from returning to his former home of Britain. The man who once praised the… Read moreKinder, gentler Omar Bakri disses “Sheikh Google”
In a surprise ruling July 20, Pakistan’s Supreme Court dealt a harsh blow to President Pervez Musharraf, voting unanimously to restore Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry to his post. The court also voted 10-3 to dismiss charges of misconduct that… Read morePakistan: race between jihad and democracy?
At least 12 people were injured and 59 arrested July 17 when Honduran police violently cleared several roadblocks set up by protesters demanding a new mining law. Salvador Zuniga, consultant to the Coordinator of Peasant and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras… Read moreAnti-mining protests repressed in Honduras
Writing for The Guardian July 19, Seumas Milne relates a revealing meeting with Iraqi insurgent leaders in Damascus, who say they are uniting in a new front, to be called the Political Office for the Iraqi Resistance. They say a… Read moreIraq: insurgents form new front —minus al-Qaeda?
From the Washington Post, July 18: BAGHDAD — They arrived early yesterday morning in a straight line of official-looking vehicles, about 125 men dressed in Iraqi Army fatigues and carrying standard-issue weapons. Aziza Abdul Jabbar and her relatives ran out… Read moreIraq: co-existence as target
Lawyers across Pakistan boycotted courts July 18, the day after a bomb attack on an anti-government rally by attorneys in Islamabad killed 15 people. Gen Musharraf strongly condemned the “terrorist attack” and called for calm, but lawyers called the blast… Read moreLawyers protest Islamabad terror
Remember when this kind of thing was science fiction? From AP, July 16: Pilotless Robot Bomber Squadron Heads for Afghanistan, Iraq BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq — The airplane is the size of a jet fighter, powered by a turboprop engine,… Read moreFlying robots to attack Afghanistan, Iraq
