What’s at stake for Saudi-East Asian relations?
Saudi Arabia’s King, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, accompanied by a large delegation including royal family members and ministers, paid a month-long visit (that started from the end of February) to East Asian-Pacific countries, including Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Japan, and China. It is rare in Saudi diplomacy to have such long foreign visits. Thus, the […]
#TurkishAirlinesHelpSomalia Social Media Campaign
There has been a social media campaign that started on March 15 with the hashtag #TurkishAirlinesHelpSomalia. This hashtag is referring to the people of Somalia that are currently experiencing a life-threatening famine and now this social media campaign is raising awareness to the issue. According to the UN humanitarian office, around six million people are […]
Russia’s S-400 in Turkey not to be integrated into NATO system
S-400 missile system that Ankara plans to buy from Russia will not be integrated into NATO missile defense system, the Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Işık said. “The Russian S-400 system will not be integrated into NATO missile defense system,” Sputnik cited Işık as saying. On Wednesday, Turkish Defense Minister said that Ankara and Moscow made […]
The “Real Asia Pivot”: Trump Will Do What Obama Only Talked About
Former President Obama should be given credit for recognizing this and for attempting, however weakly and ineffectively, to transition American attention further east. Ironically, due to his Administration’s failures, it is likely to be the successor to America’s self-purported “First Pacific President,” the ever-pugnacious but unabashedly pro-American Donald Trump, who will have to implement a […]
Ashraf Aboul-Yazid signs “the Memory of Silence” in Mumbai Poetry Festival
In Mumbai, 22nd and 23rd April 2017, a Paperwall Media and Publishing Initiative hosts its Mumbai Poetry Festival in the New Library Hall, in Mumbai- a city of dreams. PMP has been a part of the publishing industry for the past 25 years. It began in 1992 with Abhidha, a journal dedicated to Marathi poetry, which […]
Globalisation, Nationalism and the Future
The Trump era is raising many questions worldwide. It is also becoming increasingly evident that people are looking more within that without their own nation—claiming the need to return to a so-called “nationalism”. Based on this trend, a “clash of civilizations” seems imminent. Few continue to be interested in the notions of a global citizen […]
The Political Egyptian-Korean Swing of the Presidential Case
Sometimes, it feels like political news comes as an immediate response to the political situation of another country. One clear example is the same corruption found in many Egyptian governmental establishments that actually got the Korean President, Park Geun-hye, impeached by the Korean parliament. Despite the chaos it is causing in Korea, many citizens of […]
Iran’s defense budget increases by 86%
Iran has boosted its defense budget by 86% in the past four years, the Iranian Government Spokesman Mohammad Baqer Nobakht said. “Our budget in the defense and security field has increased 86% in the past 4 years,” he said. According to him, the budget for the upcoming Iranian fiscal year (to start March 21) is […]