Secretary of State John Kerry meet with PM Benjamin Netanyahu, at the David Citadel Hotel Jerusalem April 9, 2013

USA: A naïve push for Israeli-Palestinian peace?

The recent attempt to restart the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations by the United States has been met with significant scepticism and criticism. There have been a number of obstacles that have hindered renewed efforts by the United States to restart the Israeli Read on! →

Thein Sein, President of Burma (Myanmar), speaking during the World Economic Forum on East Asia in Nay Pyi Taw, Burma, June 6 ,2013.

Burma: Is Wirathu really the ‘Burmese Bin Laden’?

In recent months, international media has reported on the sporadic violence and ethnic tensions which have gripped the fledgling south-east Asian country of Burma. Reports show how the majority Buddhist population has conducted an almost systematic programme of harassment, persecution Read on! →

Some militant Buddhist monks have been active in the violence against the Rohingya Muslim minority.

Burma: Buddhism and the rise of Burmese militant nationalism

Compassion, humility, and tranquillity: these are the images that we have typically come to associate with Buddhism in the West. It is a religion that preaches non-violence, and many in the Europe and America have adopted its philosophies as a Read on! →

The Brahmaputra is one of the major rivers of Asia. It originates in the Himalayas and flows through China and India to Bangaldesh

India: Water security at risk as agreement with China fails

China and India recently failed to sign a bilateral agreement on how to share the water of the Brahmaputra River despite meeting to discuss the issue in May. Prime Ministers from both countries met in New Delhi to discuss several Read on! →

A Mongolian nomad milking a cow

Mongolia: UNEP’s answer to food wastage

Mongolia is one of the fastest growing countries in the world and has now been put under the spotlight by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP). One of the biggest contradictions of our times, the shortage and wastage of food, Read on! →

Local out fishing for the family dinner on the beach in Savaii, Samoa

Samoa: Will the island be ‘exploited’ by Chinese firms?

Samoa is no stranger to colonisation. In 1830 Christian missionaries destroyed the Samoan religion; Germany ruled Western Samoa from 1899 until 1914; and after that the country passed over to New Zealand’s rule. It was not until 1962 that Western Read on! →

Translators have played a vital role in the US operations in Iraq.

Iraq: America’s forgotten allies

The recent 10th anniversary of the start of the Iraq War, has led many commentators to reflect on what was undoubtedly the biggest U.S foreign policy mistake of a generation. Many have noted the human cost of a conflict which Read on! →

Mobile phones and social media have become integral when reporting on the Arab Spring.

The Arab Spring: A broadcast revolution

The Arab Spring movement across the Middle East and North Africa will be remembered not by the professional news recordings and photographs of experienced journalists, but rather by the shaky hand held footage and images captured on the mobile phones Read on! →

Second day of Husby riots, three burning cars

Sweden: Failing integration policies sets Stockholm suburbs in flames

Whilst the rioting and violence in Stockholm may have subsided in recent days, burnt out cars on the city streets suggest there is a deep issue behind the unrest. But the cause of such scenes, which mirror those of London Read on! →

The coffee industry is especially bug in East Africa, but much of it is processed in Europe instead of inside Africa.

Intra-African Trade: A first step to a continental free trade zone

Africa is touted as the continent of opportunities, where there are endless resources available for economic growth and transformation. But for Africa to take its rightful position in the world’s global economy, then it must dream of becoming borderless in Read on! →