Asia

By Laureen Fagan ( Sustainability Times ) – The clash over water rights led to fighting between Iran and Afghanistan recently, in the latest battle over water resources among neighboring nations—clashes that are expected to become all the more common in hot and arid regions like the Middle East and Africa’s Sahel. At least two […]

China

Sudan conflict: how China and Russia are involved and the differences between them

The Conversation

By Marcel Plichta, University of St Andrews and Mateja Peter, University of St Andrews | – As clashes continue between the Sudanese military and rapid support forces, the current and historic role of foreign governments in Sudanese affairs is under close examination. Unsurprisingly, the Sudan conflict has amplified concerns from the US and other countries […]

China

Is China trying to supplant Washington as Peacemaker between Israel and Palestine?

Ramzy Baroud

Dr Ramzy Baroud RamzyBaroud ( Middle East Monitor ) – Remarks on 24 May by China’s Ambassador to the UN on the situation in Occupied Palestine were impeccable in terms of their consistency with international law. Compared with the position of the US, which perceives the UN and the Security Council in particular as a […]

China

India, 3rd biggest CO2 Emitter, will Pause new Coal Plants for 5 Years in favor of Batteries, New Solar

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Sibi Arasu at the Associated Press reports that the Indian government is going to pause new coal plants for 5 years in favor of concentrating on new battery power. This step is a huge about-face for India, and it matters. Some 73% of Indian energy still comes from coal, and […]

Afghanistan

The Water Wars Begin: Did Climate Change contribute to Saturday’s Deadly Iran-Afghan Border Clash over Helmand River?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Iran’s Tasnim News Agency reports that on Saturday deadly clashes broke out between Iranian border guards in the Zabul district of Sistan and Baluchistant Province and their opposite numbers on the Afghanistan side in the Keng District of Nimruz Province. Tasnim wrote, “Conscript “Mehdi Ahmadi” was martyred while guarding the […]

Bangladesh

Iran leads charge for De-Dollarization at Asian Banks Meeting

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Asian Exchange Union is not a famous international organization, but its meeting on Tuesday in Tehran may have started the ball rolling on a momentous change in global finance, since it dealt with the possibility of de-dollarization. According to the Iranian press, banking representatives from Iran, Nepal, Maldives, Pakistan, […]

Far Right

White Nationalists, Hindu Supremacists: the Pathologies of the World’s Two Largest Democracies

Tomdispatch

By Priti Gulati Cox and Stan Cox | – ( Tomdispatch.com ) – Are you worried about the rising political power of violent white nationalists in America? Well, you’ve got plenty of company, including U.S. national security and counterterrorism officials. And we’re worried, too — worried enough, in fact, to feel that it’s time to […]

China

China’s Solar Power Installations Skyrocket by 36.6%, may install 100 Gigs of New Solar this Year

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – In the first four months of 2023, China’s solar power installations increased by an incredible 36.6 percent year over year, to a total of 440 gigawatts.And no wonder. China’s major power firms’ investments in solar energy skyrocketed by 156.3% over those four months in the previous year, to $10.6 billion. […]

Afghanistan

Women’s secret war: the inside story of how the US military sent female soldiers on covert combat missions to Afghanistan

The Conversation

By Jennifer Greenburg, University of Sheffield | – A US Army handbook from 2011 opens one of its chapters with a line from Rudyard Kipling’s poem The Young British Soldier. Written in 1890 upon Kipling’s return to England from India, an experienced imperial soldier gives advice to the incoming cohort: When you’re wounded and left […]