On Thursday Israel announced that it will start deducting tax revenues collected on behalf of the Palestinian Authority (PA) to satisfy the mounting unmet claims of Israeli utility companies owed several hundred million dollars. By treaty, Israel is responsible for
When it comes to Indian elections, the numbers are always mind boggling. India, with more than 820 million eligible voters, is, as the saying goes, by far the world largest democracy. India’s democracy is several hundred million voters larger than
Whatever reservations China’s top officials might have had directly confronting their American counterparts in the past, appeared to vanish completely during this week’s visit to China by US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel. Following their meetings in Beijing, General Chang Wanquan,
As US Secretary of State John Kerry prepared to return home empty handed yet again from two weeks of overseas diplomacy, he told reporters in Morocco that as far as his Middle East peace initiative goes, it is “reality check
Several hours after Mahmoud Abbas appeared on television to announce he was breaking off negotiations with Israel and the United States, John Kerry took to the microphones in Brussels to solemnly declare no such thing ever happened. “Let me make
Tensions on the Korean peninsula are as heightened as they have been since the end of the Korean War in 1953. Yesterday, North Korea responded to a long planned South Korean amphibious naval exercise by firing a thousand missiles and
US Secretary of State John Kerry hurriedly broke off talks with European allies on the small matter of Russia’s invasion and annexation of Crimea to race back to Israel to try and salvage what he regards as his far more
Jordan’s King Abdullah urged Israel’s opposition leader on Monday to make sure his country’s government does not quit negotiations until “peace is achieved” warning that the “chance for peace will not be repeated”. Quoting from a statement issued by the
Allegations of fraud and corruption do not seem to have hurt the electoral prospects of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as his ruling Justice and Development Party won comfortable victories in yesterday’s municipal elections throughout the country. The elections
Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister says his country will sign a formal reconciliation agreement next month that restores full ties with the Jewish state following Israel’s agreement to pay “compensation” to the families of the Turkish citizens on board the Mavi
In its lead story today, the New York Times hailed Japan’s overnight decision to transfer 700 pounds of weapons-grade plutonium to American oversight as President Obama’s “biggest single success” in his “five year long push to secure the world’s most
If Friday’s Israeli media reports about last week’s Washington visit by Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas prove true, President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry could well face their most difficult foreign policy challenge to date – namely, figuring out
In between shilling for more last minute health care sign ups and explaining in great detail the deep nuance of his NCAA bracket picks, President Obama managed to find a few minutes yesterday to instruct White House spokesman Jay Carney
As Europe’s post-cold war architecture crumbles in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula, the prime architect of President Obama’s “reset” policy still argues it has been a great success. Deputy National Security Advisor Tony Blinken is quoted
As Europe’s post-cold war architecture crumbles in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula, the prime architect of President Obama’s “reset” policy still argues it has been a great success. Deputy National Security Advisor Tony Blinken is quoted
In a sizable escalation of its threats to annihilate Israel, Iran’s official Fars News Agency today prominently featured the Lieutenant Commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Command Council boasting that Iran’s military was prepared “to destroy ‘the Zionist Regime’” at a moments
In a sizeable escalation of its threats to annihilate Israel, Iran’s official Fars News Agency today prominently featured the Lieutenant Commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Command Council boasting that Iran’s military was prepared “to destroy ‘the Zionist Regime’” at a moments
The Palestinian Authority’s unanimous refusal Monday to recognize Israel as a Jewish state must not be permitted to impact the current US push for an Israeli-Palestinian framework agreement, according to State Department Spokesman Jennifer Psaki. Such an agreement, now being pushed
Appearing on state-owned Russia Today, failed three time GOP presidential candidate and former Congressman Ron Paul accused the United States of seeking to profit from the crisis in Ukraine as a way to assist American ’empire building’ and to promote
The White House appeared to double down on its policy of engagement with Iran following Wednesday’s dramatic pre-dawn high seas capture of an Iranian missile cache destined for Hamas by Israeli naval commandos. Senior administration officials worked quickly to prevent the raid
At the same time the US State Department is relaxing entry requirements to visa applicants with Islamist terrorist connections, and reassuring President Putin of Russia that any sanctions against travel to the US placed upon those responsible for Russia’s invasion Ukraine
A major rift between the oil rich Persian Gulf states got much wider Wednesday following the joint decision of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates to withdraw their ambassadors from Qatar. They accused the tiny gas-rich monarchy of
If past is prologue, then looking back at history might be one way to better understand the escalating power struggle between East and West now unfolding in Ukraine. Historic parallels are ever precise. There are always differences in scale and
In a bombshell interview with Bloomberg’s Jeffrey Goldberg, President Obama issued his most direct public threats ever against Israel and its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. ‘Bibi’, the President all but said, ‘if you don’t accept the peace plan that my
As President Putin carefully assembles the legal plinth upon which to seize the strategically vital Crimean Peninsula; and perhaps other regions of the ethnically divided Ukraine, the script he is using has very familiar story lines. Russian media proclaims that
Ousted Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovitch has resurfaced five days after being ousted as president of the beleaguered East European country. He issued a detailed statement released by the Russian Itar-Tass news agency claiming he is still the legitimate elected President
Held at gunpoint by an al-Qaeda offshoot in the northern Syrian town of Raqa, up to 20 regional Christian leaders on Sunday were forced to publicly chose between converting to Islam, signing an Islamist document formally submitting themselves and their
Outrage is growing at U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power’s Sunday night tweet which seemed to suggest that terror victim Daniel Pearl shared some of the responsibility for his own murder at the hands of al-Qaeda terrorist Khaled Sheik Muhammed, who kidnapped,
Several Lebanese media outlets are reporting at least two Israeli Air Force strikes on Hezbollah arms depots in which several Hezbollah terrorists were killed. The attacks appear to have occurred near the towns of Janta and Nabi Sheet both of
Talks resumed in Vienna on Tuesday between Iran and the P5+1 negotiating partners (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany) on a permanent agreement on Iran’s nuclear program with new information that Iran was aggressively moving
In addition to failing to diminish the popularity of the man expected to become India’s next Prime Minister, the Obama Administration’s ham-handed attempt to influence India’s upcoming national election appears to have backfired following the recent announcement that the U.S. was relaxing visa
Up to a dozen terrorists from the Jihadist group Boko Haram staged a pre-dawn ambush Sunday against the Christian border town of Izge that left at least 90 Christian villagers dead. Witnesses to the early morning attack against the
