Today, the United Nations released a report detailing the civilian death toll in Afghanistan in 2008. According to the report, 2,118 civilians were killed in 2008 - 828 by the American-led coalition forces. Most of those were, unsurprisingly, killed in the various air...
The truce agreement that aims to bring peace to the restive Swat Valley in return for the implementation of Islamic law has been popular among those who it directly effects. The militant factions in the area have been pushing for this for a long time, and the civilian...
The national spokesman for the Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) publicly welcomed the agreement between the NWFP provincial government and the local TTP branch of the Swat Valley regarding the enforcement of Islamic law in Malakand. Maulvi Omar added that the TTP...
IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei says that Israel's status as the Middle East's only nuclear power and its only non-signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is a major obstacle to efforts for global nuclear disarmament. "What compounds the problem is that...
The European press is buzzing with questions about the revelation that the British nuclear submarine HMS Vanguard and the flagship of the French nuclear strike force Le Triomphant collided with one another under the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The collision was at...
While most people had assumed that Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman would eventually wind up in the camp of the Likud Party, it seems that a public snub by Likud and growing efforts by the Kadima Party may put him into the centrist party's bloc. "Bibi doesn't...
Three US Predator drones attacked a building in the Kurram Agency of Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) today, killing at least 31 people. The site was reportedly being used by the Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the militant faction with whom the...
In an interview with Fareed Zakaria aired on CNN today, Afghan President Hamid Karzai lashed out at his critics in the US and Britain, saying he had expected "better judgment" from the Obama Administration and expressing hope that "as they settle down, and as they...
The Israeli cabinet may be presented with the terms of a Gaza ceasefire as soon as Wednesday, but Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says that the ceasefire will not mean the opening of border crossings into the strip, which Israel has kept closed to all but the bare minimum...
With the third largest number of seats in last week's Israeli election, Yisrael Beiteinu head Avigdor Lieberman has emerged as something of a kingmaker. While his endorsement is no guarantee of a coalition, it seems unlikely either Kadima or Likud would be able to...
