South Asia
Bangladesh political strike follows labor unrest
A general strike called by the Islamist opposition has shut down much of Bangladesh—weeks after garment workers walked off the job and burned factories.
Tag: struggle within Islam
Iran
Iran hangs 16 after Baluch border clash
Sixteen accused militants were hanged in Iran’s Baluchistan province—in apparent retaliation for the deaths of at least 14 border guards in an ambush just the night before.
Afghanistan
Malala Yousafzai: still a hero!
Malala Yousafzai has not been co-opted by international accolades, as evidenced by her protests against US drone strikes—to President Obama’s very face.
Greater Middle East
Egypt: clashes in Cairo, insurgency in Sinai
While the new deadly street clashes in Cairo made international news, near-daily insurgent attacks on Eyptian security forces in the Sinai Peninsula continue with little notice.
Afghanistan
Pakistan stock market soars on terror wave
Over the past year of growing violence and chaos in Pakistan, the Karachi Stock Exchange surged more than 44%, placing it among the world’s top-performing stock markets.
South Asia
Bangladesh MP sentenced to death for war crimes
The International Crimes Tribunal Bangladesh sentenced Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury, a lawmaker for the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, to death for war crimes.
Greater Middle East
Syria: civil wars in the civil war
As the Free Syrian Army now battles jihadist rebels as well as the regime, the two biggest jihadist factions are fighting each other for control over oilfields in Syria’s north.
Africa
Somali Islamic scholars denounce Shabab in fatwa
Some 160 Somali religious scholars came together in Mogadishu to issue a fatwa denouncing al-Shabab, saying the rebel group has no place in Islam.
Greater Middle East
Are you ready for World War 5?
The fearful synergy of regional sectarian war and Great Power rivalries holds the menace of the looming Syria intervention setting off a new global conflagration.
Greater Middle East
Syria: ‘sectarian cleansing’ on both sides?
A Syrian rebel offensive targeting Alawite villages in the coastal governorate of Latakia has seen some 200 people killed and left nearly 3,000 families displaced this month.
North Africa
Tunisia: feminist, rapper icons for left opposition
Amid growing protests, Femen activist Amina Sboui and rapper "Weld El 15"—both facing criminal charges—have become heroes for Tunisia's secular opposition.
Greater Middle East
Yemeni pro-democracy leader barred from Egypt
Egypt banned Yemeni activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Tawakkol Karman from entering the country for “security reasons”—to protest from the Muslim Brotherhood.