Asia

“We can probably take another six months, but at some point it’s going to be very hard to face the situation.”

Pakistan Invites Saudi Arabia to Invest in China Economic Corridor

Islamabad (AFP) – Islamabad has invited Saudi Arabia to invest in the Beijing-funded, multi-billion dollar infrastructure corridor being constructed in Pakistan, its information minister said Thursday, as concerns grow over the country’s debt levels. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is an ambitious plan to build energy and transport links connecting the western Chinese region of […]

Myanmar

Myanmar: Nobelist Suu Kyi silent as Rohingya Crisis Rolls On; let’s at Least help the Refugees

Reese Erlich

I sneaked into Myanmar on a tourist visa because the military junta running the country made it almost impossible to travel as a journalist. So I thought I was the only foreign reporter in the capital of Yangon in July of 1995. I was relaxing one morning when BBC TV ran a bulletin that famous […]

China

Dragon Waiting: After Idlib, Will Beijing Bring Syria into its One Belt Network?

Neil Thompson

As speculation grows that the Syrian army under the regime of Bashar al-Assad is preparing to strike at the Idlib de-escalation zone, the last piece of Syrian territory with a significant rebel presence left active, it seems as if the brutal civil there is at last drawing to a bloody conclusion. Like Iraq, Syria may […]

Afghanistan

Parade! How Trump Redefined Victory in Afghanistan as “Attacking our Enemies”

Nick Turse

New York (Tomdispatch.com) – 4,000,000,029,057. Remember that number. It’s going to come up again later. But let’s begin with another number entirely: 145,000 — as in, 145,000 uniformed soldiers striding down Washington’s Pennsylvania Avenue. That’s the number of troops who marched down that very street in May 1865 after the United States defeated the Confederate […]

Iran

Pakistan sides with Iran, as Trump cuts $300 mn in Aid

TeleSur

(TeleSur) – Pakistan and Iran started cooperating on border security last year and during this latest meeting, the officials discussed military and security cooperation. Pakistan newly elected Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, in a conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, said that the two countries were connected by inseparable bonds of history, religion […]

China

China defies Trump on Iran, Creating new Benchmark Crude Market in Yuan

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – China’s new futures market in Shanghai is trading in the Chinese currency, the Yuan, rather than dollars. One reason for dumping the dollar in this regard is that the Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Asset Control is trying to stop countries from buying Iranian petroleum. The Dept of […]

China

As Trump dismantles American Power, China bids to Become Sole Superpower

Alfred W. McCoy

(Tomdispatch.com) – As the second year of Donald Trump’s presidency and sixth of Xi Jinping’s draws to a close, the world seems to be witnessing one of those epochal clashes that can change the contours of global power. Just as conflicts between American President Woodrow Wilson and British Prime Minister Lloyd George produced a failed […]

Afghanistan

Afghanistan: Taliban Advances Cast Doubt on Trump’s Double-Down Policy

AFP

By Thomas WATKINS | – Washington (AFP) – A year since President Donald Trump unveiled his strategy for Afghanistan, a fresh wave of violence and bloodshed has assailed the war-torn nation and overshadowed some small glimmers of progress. Each successful attack represents a massive setback not just for the Afghanistan government, which is pushing for […]