The Pivot to China

The Pivot to China

When President Xi Jinping visited the United Nations in Geneva last month, before his landmark pro-globalization speech in Davos, he said China’s proposition to the world was to “build a community of shared future for mankind and achieve shared and win-win development.” Then came the astonishing numbers. “In the coming five years, China will import US$8…

Pakistan’s Eurasian Solution for Afghanistan

Pakistan’s Eurasian Solution for Afghanistan

Moscow will host six-party talks about Afghanistan on 15 February, with Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Iran, India, and naturally Russia expected to be represented. Moreover, ZamirKabulov – thought of as being the leader of the “Islamophile” South Asian faction in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – extended an invitation to the US as well, though stipulating…

The Games Continue, Turkey Attacks Syrian Army, Protecting ISIS in Al Bab

The Games Continue, Turkey Attacks Syrian Army, Protecting ISIS in Al Bab

In the northern Aleppo countryside, the towns of Tell Rifaat, Menagh, Mayer, Tell Jibbin, Ma’arasteh Khan and Hardatnin have joined a reconciliation agreement with the Syrian government after talks with a Russian mediation. Tell Rifaat and Menagh had been controlled by the Kurdish YPG. On February 9, an escalation erupted between Syrian government and Turkish…

UN’s $2Bln Yemen Appeal? Send the Bill to Washington, London and Riyadh

UN’s $2Bln Yemen Appeal? Send the Bill to Washington, London and Riyadh

The United Nations this week launched an emergency appeal to raise $2 billion for humanitarian aid to Yemen – the Arabian Peninsula country where war has been raging for nearly two years. The UN says some 12 million people – half the population – are facing starvation unless the international community urgently comes to their aid….