Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has ruled this Central Asian state for the entirety of its independent existence following the disintegration of the U.S.S.R, cruised to reelection this Sunday in polls that reportedly saw over 90% of eligible voters turn out. Critics, though, say the election was a choreographed farce. …
arab uprisings
Promises Unkept: The Latest on Eman el-Obeidi
Last Saturday, March 26th, a woman burst into the dining room of the Rixos hotel, one of the two Tripoli luxury hotels where foreign journalists are forced to stay. Libyan security guards had taken her, she said, and gang raped for two days. Within minutes of her appearance, hotel staff and the ubiquitous government minders that frequent …
Inside Gaddafi’s Compound
At nine pm the announcement went out over the hotel PA system: “All Journalists, there will be a trip planned to Baab al-Aziziya after dinner. Please gather in the lobby.” We duly trudged to the waiting busses, newcomers such as my self curious to see Gaddaffi’s compound, and veterans hoping against expectations that the man …
Is Gaddafi’s Regime Seeking an Exit Strategy?
If the end game is afoot in the Libya conflict, it has little to do with the provision of armaments, CIA mentoring or air cover to the rebel forces. The counteroffensive by loyalist troops that has driven the rebels all the way back to Ajdabiya, the last town before their Benghazi stronghold, has put paid to hopes of the rebels storming …
Al Qaeda Goes Glossy
And you thought print was dead. The latest contender in the current-affairs magazine market carries the innocuous title Inspire, and the cover art of its fifth edition, Spring 1431 (or 2011 if you follow the infidel calendar) would not look out of place on the New Age self-help shelves of your news agent. But its publisher, al-Malahim …
Using Google to Understand the Middle East’s Revolutions
Given the rapid pace of change in the Middle East these days, it is becoming increasingly difficult to get a bead on what, exactly, the people behind the revolutions are thinking. We can look at new reports and interviews by journalists on the ground, but such endeavors are by default individualistic. Even if I interview 100 Egyptians …
Syria’s Alawites: The Minority Sect In the Halls of Power
In Syria, the house that the Assads built is facing its greatest challenge in decades. The country’s entire cabinet — in power since 2003 — resigned Mar. 29, in a bid by President Bashar Assad to nip a burgeoning uprising in the bud. Hundreds of thousands have reportedly rallied in support of the regime, following a fierce …
‘Arm the Rebels’ Cry Reflects Western Desperation on Libya
Talk by U.S. and British leaders of the possibility of arming Libya’s rebels is a sign of desperation. After all, the amorphous rebellion appears to have little military organization, and Secretary of State Clinton admits that the allies “do not know as much as we would like to” about its makeup. Leaders of the Benghazi-based National …
In Cairo, Revolutionary Zeal Turns Into Revolutionary Tchotchkes
The following post is by reporter and videojournalist Jesse Hardman
Egypt’s Jan. 25 uprising might have freed the country politically, but it also significantly disrupted the local economy. Around Cairo, with tourism dead and business in general down, people are looking for ways to stay afloat financially. Many have turned to the …
What Is Libya’s Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa Doing in Tunisia ?
“The counsel general decided not to come to work today,” the man at the Libyan consulate in Sfax, Tunisia, told me. Like many other journalists in this sun-bleached industrial city a few hours from the Libyan border, yesterday I had been promised a visa “soon,” and to “come back later.” Which I duly did, making the tired …
What’s at Stake at the London Meeting on Libya?
The following is a guest post by TIME‘s Vivienne Walt, who is attending the meeting in London over the future of Libya.
Ten days after French and U.S. jets launched Operation Odyssey Dawn in an effort to halt Muammar Gaddafi’s advance on Libyan rebels, the 37 countries involved in the sprawling military coalition converged in London …
China’s ‘Jasmine Revolution’ Crackdown Shows No Sign of Easing
More than a month after an online call for anti-government protests in major Chinese cities, a crackdown on dissent continues. On Friday writer Ran Yunfei, who has been in police custody since February 19, was formally arrested on suspicion of “inciting subversion of state power,” the advocacy group Human Rights in China …
By Leaving Regime Change to the Libyans, Obama Aligns U.S. and Arab Goals
The U.S. and its allies saved the Libyan rebellion from being crushed by Gaddafi, and will continue to restrain the dictator from rolling back rebel gains. Now, “We will deny the regime arms, cut off its supply of cash, assist the opposition, and work with other nations to hasten the day when Gaddafi leaves power,” President Obama said …