Germany Is Missing Its Chance in Africa

During her 2007 trip to Liberia, Angela Merkel received a white chicken as a traditional welcoming gift. In Germany, most people think of wars, poverty and hunger when they think of Africa. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s stopover on the continent, where she will travel to three countries in just three days, is unlikely to […]

Tank Deal Reveals New Arms Exports Approach

A secretive plan to sell tanks to Saudia Arabia has caused a furor within Germany’s governing coalition, members of which are demanding an explanation. The deal, which violates a tradition of avoiding weapons sales in conflict areas, signals a fundamental shift in German arms trade. Is Chancellor Angela Merkel’s foreign […]

Veteran lawyer Raja Aziz Addruse dies at 75

KUALA LUMPUR (July 12, 2011): Raja Aziz Addruse, one of Malaysia’s most respected lawyers, passed away at about 1pm today at his residence in BukitTunku, here. He was 75. Raja Aziz who hailed from Chemor, Perak, had recently sought treatment in Singapore for cancer-related ailment and was reported to be […]

Pakistan ‘punished’ in Pipelineistan

Before the end of 2011, Pakistan will start working on its stretch of the IP (Iran-Pakistan) gas pipeline – according to Asim Hussain, Pakistan’s federal minister for petroleum and natural resources. The 1,092 kilometers of pipeline on the Iranian side are already in place. IP, also known as “the peace […]

PM’s UK visit to steer KL-London ties to new heights

LONDON:The official visit by Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to the United Kingdom beginning Tuesday is an opportunity for both sides to take stock of the current state of bilateral ties with an eye towards steering them to new heights.Describing Kuala Lumpur-London ties as substantial and multi-faceted, Malaysian High Commissioner to the UK […]

Is the world against us?

Op-ed: We tend to feel isolated, but recent events show Israel does have friends in the world Being alone is something that we Jews are used to. From our inception, we walked a different path as outsiders to the larger religious, cultural, and national identities. Our tradition taught that it […]

Poll: Young in Malaysia, Indonesia oppose polygamy

The vast majority of young Muslims in Indonesia and Malaysia appear to disapprove of the traditional acceptance of polygamy but remain reluctant to openly support interfaith marriages or premarital sex, a new survey shows. In the survey coordinated by two German-based cultural organizations, 86.5 percent of 1,496 Indonesians interviewed and 72.7 percent […]

The Good Short Life

I HAVE wonderful friends. In this last year, one took me to Istanbul. One gave me a box of hand-crafted chocolates. Fifteen of them held two rousing, pre-posthumous wakes for me. Several wrote large checks. Two sent me a boxed set of all the Bach sacred cantatas. And one, from […]

President’s brother shot dead in Kandahar

Taliban claims responsibility for death of Ahmed Wali Karzai, considered the ‘super governor’ of southern Afghanistan. Ahmed Wali Karzai, half brother to the Afghan president and one of the most powerful men in the country, has been killed by one of his own bodyguards, according to a member of his security team. […]

Women Nudged Out of German Workforce

Germany is a place where gender stereotypes remain engrained in the mind, and in key institutions across society. Only about 14 percent of German mothers with one child resume full-time work, and only 6 percent of those with two. Europe’s economic powerhouse, does not lack pluck: it rebounded from two […]

Cyprus naval base blast kills 12, shuts down power plant

Smoke rise above Cyrprus’ primary electricity generator that was damaged by an explosion’s concussion wave near the Evangelos Florakis naval base in Mari, Cyprus, on Monday. (AP) NICOSIA: Cyprus’s defense minister and army chief resigned after munitions dump blast that killed 12 people on Monday, government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou said. […]

US raises Iran rhetoric

By PHIL STEWART | REUTERS BAGHDAD: The United States will take unilateral action when needed to deal with the threat to American troops in Iraq from militias armed by Iran, US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said on Monday. US forces officially ended combat operations in Iraq last August but […]