Quit or double down? The risks for Israel rise in step with the number killed on both sides of the conflict in Gaza.
Tag: diplomacy
BERLIN — How is Germany supposed to react to the U.S. spying activities that have come to light recently? The political opposition seems to think the answer is simple: Expel all U.S. intelligence agents! Allow whistle-blower Edward Snowden asylum! Immediately halt all negotiations regarding the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)! Stop all cooperation with […]
MOSCOW — Earlier this week, all of Russia’s ambassadors were called home from their stations abroad to attend an event with members of the Russian Parliament and, of course, President Vladimir Putin. The only ambassador missing at the event was Mikhail Zurabov, ambassador to Ukraine. Apparently, the time he spent in Moscow after being recalled […]
BRUSSELS — The Ukraine crisis and Russia’s aggressive behavior have hit NATO right between the eyes. Utterly caught off guard, the defense alliance has begun asking itself how it must react, both in the short-term actions, as well as bigger questions about NATO’s role for the future. The pressure to be decisive has a firm […]
The Saudi Embassy in Tokyo is closely following the case of a Saudi citizen studying in the country, recently arrested for breaking four 300 year-old Buddha statues at a temple in the capital. The embassy has reportedly condemned the statues’ destruction as “contrary to the principles of Islam,” and has reached out to the temple’s […]
There is a more than three-decade-long clash of cultures between Egypt’s secular establishment and Iran’s post-revolution clerical regime. The brief interlude following the election of Muslim Brotherhood President Mohammed Morsi was, alas, too brief to notice any significant change. But all eyes in Tehran were back on Egypt this past weekend for the inauguration of […]
A military pact between Manila and Washington sealed on Obama’s trip to Asia is giving Beijing the jitters.
-OpEd- This is the time of year when American colleges inform applicants whether they’ll be accepted or not. Admission to prestigious universities grows tougher every year. Stanford University“s acceptance rate has fallen from 22.4% in 1970 to 5.7% in 2013. It’s the same for the University of Chicago, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, […]
History says a hegemonic power and a rising power may be inevitably bound for war. What both Washington and Beijing can do to avoid that.
BERLIN — It looked as if a great moment might be in the making: German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his Polish colleague Radoslaw Sikorski had teamed up with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, and the trio flew to Kiev for joint talks with the then-Ukrainian government and opposition. At the time violence on Maidan […]
TEL AVIV — When Stanley Fischer left his senior post at the International Monetary Fund in 2001, he made sure to mention of one of his closest IMF friends and colleagues during his farewell speech. That friend is Alassane Ouattara, who served as Ivory Coast’s prime minister in the early 1990s before moving on to […]
In Tehran, concern is growing that tensions between Western capitals and Moscow over the showdown in Ukraine could undermine progress on resolving Iran’s own standoff with the West over its nuclear program. Several political observers worried about the possible weakening of Russian influence should it face sanctions or diplomatic isolation concerning in response to its […]
Polls show most Americans want U.S. ties with Cuba normalized, even as the forces still hold strong among those who prefer the status quo. Time may have come for change.
French President Francois Hollande is as popular in official circles in Washington as he is unpopular with the citizens of the country that elected him. Story of a unique alliance.
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Rouhani Slams ‘Semiliterate’ Critics
With his rapprochement policy and chummy tweets in English, Iran’s Hassan Rouhani has carved out a rather pleasant public image since being elected president last year. But don’t tell that to his conservative critics in the Iranian parliament. Rouhani lashed out this week at critics of the Geneva accords as being “semiliterate,” the Farsi-language Prague-based […]
Bashar al-Assad still in power in Syria, al-Qaeda still strong in Iraq. The West’s double failure, incapable of building a common strategy, is a sign of a now ‘post-American’ region.
MOSCOW — Last week’s U.S. criminal complaint alleging that Russian diplomats in New York systematically defrauded Medicaid reads like a low-down scam at its worse. Moscow, however, is convinced that it is actually the latest geopolitical chess move, the result of deteriorating relations between the two countries. As the accused diplomats prepare to return to […]
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After Geneva: Iran’s Glasnost Moment
Iranians hope a deal on the country’s nuclear program and a softening of sanctions mark a turning point. But what will Iran’s hardliners say?
Putin is doing everything to not be remembered by history as the one who “lost” Ukraine. Mother Russia’s imperial face is on the line.
WASHINGTON — Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has arrived for a two-day visit to Washington at a moment in U.S.-Turkish relations that can largely be gauged by decisions related to other countries. Davutoglu will meet top U.S. officials, including his American counterpart Secretary of State John Kerry, who will have high on the list of […]
ISTANBUL — The Republican era of Turkey began with the rejection of the Ottoman past by those destined to fill the ranks of the civilian and military cadres under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. This new establishment was keen on modernization and Westernization, with the ultimate goal of creating a modern nation-state from the […]
GENEVA — The resumption of talks this week on Iran’s nuclear program will provide a clear opportunity to verify Hassan Rouhani’s true intentions. During his charm offensive at the United Nations General Assembly at the end of September, the new Iranian President, a moderate religious figure, surprised many by meeting with French President François Hollande, […]
Washington’s government shutdown forced President Barack Obama to miss the recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. But even if this was cited as yet another harmful consequence of the sorry state of U.S. domestic politics, it may paradoxically wind up helping America exert its influence in the long run in Asia-Pacific regional affairs. At an […]
Will Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff call off a state visit to Washington?
“I would not call it a war, but the sanction of a monstrous violation of human rights,” the French president tells Le Monde.
REUTERS Worldcrunch ISLAMABAD – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry agreed with Pakistan on Thursday to re-establish a “full partnership” — a partnership hurt by U.S. drone strikes and a 2011 NATO air attack in which 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed. Speaking after talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Islamabad, Kerry said the […]
BERLIN – After the fall of Mohammed Morsi in Egypt, the West is still trying to figure out what words to use to describe what is happening. In Berlin, no one wants to use the P-word, so instead of referring to a military putsch, Germany’s Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle spoke of a “stay in democratic […]
Monday, June 9, 2014 POROSHENKO INITIATES PEACE TALKS Newly inaugurated Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said violence in the country must end “this week,” as he took part in peace talks with the Russian ambassador to Kiev and a representative for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Financial Times reports. Meanwhile, fighting continued […]
A recent visit to Beijing by a top Pyongyang envoy may be the precursor to reigniting of negotiations between the two Koreas. Eyes now on Xi Jinping’s visit with Barack Obama.
KCNA (North Korea), AP Worldcrunch PYONYANG – U.S. citizen Pae Jun-ho who was recently sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in North Korea, has started life a “special prison,” state media said Wednesday. Pae, known in the U.S. as Kenneth Bae, has been detained in North Korea since last November. He was tried on […]
KCNA (North Korea), CNN (USA), BBC NEWS (UK) REUTERS Worldcrunch PYONGYANG – U.S. citizen Pae Jun-ho, detained in North Korea since last November, has been sentenced to 15 years of hard labor, North Korean state news reported on Thursday. Pae Jung-ho, known in the U.S. as Kenneth Bae, was tried on April 30, for allegedly […]
20 MINUTES, LE MONDE, LE FIGARO (France), REUTERS Worldcrunch PARIS – French President François Hollande has condemned a car bomb attack that hit France’s embassy in Libya’s capital Tripoli early Tuesday, injuring two French guards. “France expects the Libyan authorities to shed light on this unacceptable act so that the perpetrators are identified and brought […]
The onus is on Washington and Beijing to forge a new, much deeper diplomatic bond to stop the Korean Peninsula and Japan-China conflicts from sliding into open war.
CAN U.S. AND RUSSIA START DIALOGUE ON UKRAINE? U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov are meeting today in Paris with other world leaders, on the sidelines of a long-planned conference on Lebanon. The encounter will be an attempt “to ease mounting tensions,” according to France24. It comes after Kerry’s […]
BEIJING – It has been several weeks since North Korea conducted its third nuclear test on February 12. The international community has condemned it, and the worry expressed is unprecedented. China, in a very unusual move, summoned the North Korean Ambassador to Beijing the same day. The UN Security Council immediately made a declaration condemning […]
DIE WELT (Germany), TIMES OF ISRAEL (Israel) Worldcrunch BERLIN – What does a German tourist do in Bali when his wallet gets stolen? He goes right away for help to the German consulate in Denpasar, the capital of the Indonesian island. But an Israeli in the same bind has a problem: Indonesia does not recognize […]
DIE WELT (Germany) AL ARABIYA (U.A.E) Worldcrunch BERLIN – Call it the, “high-five heard “round the world.” The simple sporty gesture, exchanged between German Parliament Member Claudia Roth and Alireza Sheikhattar, the Iranian Ambassador to Germany, has set off a wave of controversy. Through a spokeswoman, Roth, co-chair of Germany’s Green Party, said she reacted […]
As tensions increase again on the Korean Peninsula, and China rethinking its rapport with Pyongyang, a reset could be in order between Seoul and Beijing.
LIBERATION, LE NOUVEL OBSERVATEUR, L’EXPRESS, FRANCE INFO (France), REFORMACOM (Mexico) Worldcrunch Florence Cassez, a French woman sentenced to 60 years in jail in Mexico for kidnapping, is on her way back to France. Cassez, 38, is expected to land in Thursday afternoon in Paris, where she will be welcomed by France’s Minister of Foreign Affairs […]
THE JAPAN TIMES, THE ASAHI SHIMBUN, (Japan) THE NEW YORK TIMES (USA), BBC NEWS (UK) TOKYO – Japan’s new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has unveiled his Cabinet lineup, as he begins the task of resuscitating the country’s economy. Parliament voted Shinzo Abe back to power after Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda resigned Wednesday, ending the country’s […]