South Asia

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Washington Post reports that when US Secretary of State “Benghazi Mike” Pompeo gave his breathless news conference last Thursday to finger Iran for the oil tanker explosions in the Gulf of Oman, he indicted Iran for another act of violence at the same time. Mary Papenfus at HuffPo notes […]

Afghanistan

How US “good guys” wiped out an Afghan family

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism

By Jessica Purkiss and Mateen Arian This story was published in partnership with: The New York Times. ( The Bureau of Investigative Journalism) – It was 4am when Masih Ur-Rahman Mubarez’s wife Amina called, an unusually early time for their daily chat. When he picked up the phone, he could hear the panic in her […]

Buddhism

Sri Lanka’s Mainstream Muslims Caught in Nexis of Extreme Nationalisms and Fringe Radicalism

The Conversation

Even though most Sri Lankan Muslims are Sunni, it is a diverse community, with some following the mystical form of Islam, Sufism

Featured

“The Nearest in Love:” On how the Sri Lankan Death Cult Betrayed the Islamic Values of the Qur’an

Juan Cole

“You will find that the nearest to them in love are those who say ‘We are Christians.'”

astronomy and outer space

The Coming Great Satellite Space War between Nuclear-Armed India and Pakistan

Dilip Hiro

In late March, India launched a rocket shooting down one of its satellites, proving it could preemptively “blind” the Pakistanis

Bangladesh

Bangladesh to Exile 100K Rohingya Refugees to an Island “Prison”

Human Rights Watch

Dumping a battered and traumatized people on Bhasan Char to face yet another threat to their survival is not a solution.

Climate Change

Climate Crisis: Glacier Melt, Droughts, Floods require Indo-Pak Cooperation to Avoid Disaster

contributors

By Omair Ahmad | – (The Third Pole) – With glacier retreat, permafrost melt, and extreme rainfall events, ICIMOD’s HIMAP report suggests that the countries of the Hindu Kush Himalayas have to start cooperating far more closely, or pay a huge price Water in the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region is going through large and […]

Afghanistan

Trump says ‘it’s time’ to end Afghan war – can he?

AFP

“Ultimately, we need to get to a Taliban-Afghanistan discussion”

Afghanistan

Trump & Taliban Close to Deal on US Withdrawal, but Risk of Free For All

AFP

Trump decided last month to pull half of the 14,000-strong force from Afghanistan