Wikileaks/Iraq: Irresponsible Journalism or educating the masses on the reality of war?

There was much anticipation from campaigners pro and anti-war deliberating what might be the content of the latest release of documents from WikiLeaks known as the Iraq War Logs http://wikileaks.org/ This “not for profit” media organisation is described on its website as “an international public service that allows whistleblowers and journalists to get suppressed information out in the public domain as safely as possible, writes Carol Grayson

Al-Qaeda Unlucky Again in Cargo Bombing Attempt?

The Oct. 29 discovery of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) inside two packages shipped from Yemen launched a widespread search for other devices, and more than two dozen suspect packages have been tracked down so far. Some have been trailed in dramatic fashion, as when two U.S. F-15 fighter aircraft escorted an Emirates Air passenger jet Oct. 29 as it approached and landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. To date, however, no other parcels have been found to contain explosive devices.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula

Last week Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), al-Qaeda’s branch in Yemen, attempted to plant bombs on cargo planes and airliners bound to the US. Although the investigations are still ongoing, Quilliam has produced a briefing paper to illuminate AQAP’s aims, tactics and strategy and shed light on local efforts to tackle Islamist militancy in Yemen. It also suggests how western government can tackle jihadist threats arising from Yemen, one of the world’s poorest countries.

Asia Despatch exclusive: The children of war

War makes everybody potentially vulnerable. Although children show incredible strength and resilience, their young age makes them more vulnerable than adults. War exposes children to a whole host of risks, some of them unimaginable. Hamza Ameer documents the whole account.

Pakistan: A land of Refugees

Displacement and Predicament are the two words, Pakistan inherited along with independence from the British rulers. However, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction are the two most recent terms, which have become part and parcel of Pakistani political jargon since October 2005 earthquake. The tetrad can be studied into two phases with a difference that the former was handled through the spirits of “facilitation and accommodation” and later has opened a Pandora box of the perceived and unperceived problems for terrorism-battered Pakistan. They range from economic, social, and cultural to environmental and, hitherto, the government seems to have devised no concrete policy to address even the immediate concerns. However, such issues go beyond the scope of this piece of writing, writes Amna Khokhar

Strategic Talks on Child Rights begins

Beijing, 4 November 2010 – Senior government ministers and officials from 28 countries across Asia and the Pacific gathered in Beijing today for the High Level Meeting on Co-operation for Child Rights in the Asia-Pacific Region. The meeting, held from 4-6 November, is being hosted by the All China Women’s Federation, the National Working Committee [...]

Drying Foreign Aid Promoting Extremism in Flood Affected People:Oxfam

International development agency Oxfam has warned that the Funds for United Nation Pakistan ’s appeal after the unprecedented floods hit Pakistan , are drying up and threatening millions of lives. Three months after unprecedented floods devastated Pakistan , cases of disease are on an increase, Asia Despatch reports

Iran’s forex reserves over $100b

“The country’s foreign currency reserves have been estimated at 100 billion dollars, but it is definitely more than this figure,” Ahmadinejad told participants at a national conference on development of the banking system in Tehran.

India remains distant on truck trade with Pakistan

Pakistan is unhappy with India for violating bilateral trade agreements. Not a single truckload of Pakistani goods from has been allowed into India since 2007. Against this around 100 trucks come into Pakistan on a daily basis.

Thanks to Pakistan ’s weak foreign policy and dearth of competent negotiators the neighboring country has been violating bilateral agreements with Pakistan for the last four years by denying trucked Pakistani goods into its territory. Writes Sajid Aziz

NATO makes alliance with Russia

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) officials have revealed their proposal with Moscow regarding a vastly stepped up Russian involvement in the Afghan war is in the final stages of negotiation and they are hopeful of formal agreement being reached at the alliance’s two-day summit in Lisbon from November 19.