In recent weeks, Pyongyang has begun yet another charm offensive by reaching out to Beijing, Washington, and Tokyo. The diplomatic initiative follows the anointing of the more dynamic and charismatic Kim Jong-un as leader, leading pundits to perceive subtle new signs of impending North Korean economic reform and a less …
On August 24, foreign ministers from Latin America And the Caribbean Will gather in Washington for a meeting of the venerable Organization of American States (OAS). They will dive headlong into the dispute involving WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, diplomatic-asylum-granting Ecuador, and theU.K. Why now? Why Washington? Why the OAS? Probably …
Egypt is preparing a military offensive against Islamist militants in the Sinai who have launched a series of terrorist attacks against Egyptian border guards in an effort to weaken the central government and provoke a war with Israel. This campaign is expected to include armored forces and air strikes in …
The fracture between Iran’s autocratic government and its people is growing ever wider in the aftermath of the two earthquakes that hit northern Iran last weekend. Tehran’s inadequate response is drawing strong criticism from theAzerbaijan region ofIran, where 16,000 people are now homeless and the official count is now 306 …
Yesterday, WikiLeaks creator Julian Assange, a 41-year-old Australian fleeing rape charges, stood on the balcony of Ecuador’s London embassy and told the President of the United States to get off his back. “I ask President Obama to do the right thing: the United States must renounce its witch-hunt against WikiLeaks,” …
After hiding in the Ecuadorian embassy in London for two months, Julian Assange was granted asylum in Ecuador yesterday to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted on charges of two counts of sexual assault. Assange wanted to take on the mightiest government in the world by publicizing massive …
As the persecution and human rights violations against ethnic minorities in Burma continue, the U.S., ASEAN, and other stakeholders need to examine their engagement with the Burmese military regime with this problem foremost in their minds. Rohingya Muslims are one of the most oppressed ethnic minorities in the world. Since …
U.S. government red tape is preventing American Iranians from sending much-needed aid to the thousands of victims of Saturday’s two earthquakes in northern Iran, aid organizations say. The earthquake killed 300 people and injured thousands in northern Iran. Food and material aid are desperately needed, but aid organizations are telling …
Inserting himself into the biographies of past presidents on the White House website apparently wasn’t enough for President Obama. His State Department is now editing its descriptions of foreign countries into yet another taxpayer-subsidized campaign commercial for the Obama Administration. The State Department has recently ended its long-running series of …
Production by U.S. embassies of the State Department’s long-running series of annual “Background Notes” covering every country in the world had long been considered a useful service for the American public. Now, however, they appear to have morphed into yet another taxpayer-subsidized campaign commercial for the Obama Administration. The old …
