Tag Archives: Conflict

Peace down the line: Are Iran and the US ready to talk?

On Friday the 27th September, the president of the United States and his Iranian counterpart had a 15-minute phone talk, which signalled the first such high-level dialogue between these two countries for over 30 years. Since the Iranian Shah was Read on! →

A rebel fighter signals victory after he fires a shoulder-fired missile toward a building where Syrian troops loyal to President Bashar Assad were hiding in the Jedida district of Aleppo, Syria on November 4, 2012.

Syria: Assad might negotiate, but why would the rebels?

We are only engaging with half the problem on Syria. As hard as it might be to persuade Assad that he cannot win the war, it may be harder to persuade the rebels they should stop fighting it. The reason Read on! →

Syrian rebels from the “Al-Qasas Brigade” or “Justice Brigade” run through an olive grove to avoid Syrian Army snipers as they travel between villages on foot in the northwestern Jabal al-Zawiya area.

Syria: Would any US-led strike on Syria remain limited in scope?

In August 2012, President Obama declared that any use of chemical weapons by the government of Bashar al-Assad would cross a game-changing red line. When the Assad regime deployed sarin gas on a Damascus suburb, almost exactly a year later, 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! →

Secretary of State Clinton & EU High Representative Catherine Ashton meet with the Bosnia and Herzegovina's tripartite Presidency, Bakir Izetbegovic (L), Nebojsa Radmanovic (2nd R) and Zeljko Komsic

Bosnia: Independence never far from the minds of Bosnian Serbs

As relations between Serbia and Kosovo improve after an agreement signed last month giving extensive rights to Serbs and their municipalities in Kosovo, there are renewed demands in the Republika Srpska for it to separate from Bosnia and Herzegovina. On 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! →

A woman is treated for what appears to be breathing difficulties at a clinic in the north of Aleppo Read

Syria: The race for Assad’s chemical weapon stockpile

The last few weeks have been generous in events and catastrophes, from the Boston bombings to the attack on the French embassy in Libya. One event that has been strangely overlooked, but is of critical importance, is the suspected use Read on! →

Rohingya children in a refugee camp.

Burma: Can Burma become a multi-ethnic Asian star?

When President Obama visited Burma last year, he was careful to temper any praise he had for the recent reforms undertaken by Burmese President Thein Sein and his government.

Somalia: Can US recognition bring stability?

After over two decades of famine, Islamic extremism and piracy, Somalia may be showing signs of revival.