The Syrian crisis has entered its most dangerous stage, requiring urgent attention to issues that the international community and Syrian opposition have largely been ignoring.
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Sanaa/Brussels - In Yemen, political negotiations have given way to violent confrontation. Hostilities erupted on 23 May between military forces controlled by President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s son and nephews and fighters loyal to the preeminent sheikh of the powerful Hashed confederation, Sadiq al-Ahmar.
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By Michael Nagler
Berkeley, California - The astonishing breakthrough in Egypt, when President Hosni Mubarak stepped down after weeks of protests, has rightly galvanised attention around the world. Yet as usual, there has been little commentary from the non-violence standpoint. While US President Barack Obama at least used the words “non-violence” in his recent congratulatory speech, we should realise that there is much more to the potential of non-violence than just protesting without weapons.
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By Lina Attalah
Cairo - In April 2006, hundreds of Egypt’s Alexandrian Christians gathered to mourn the death of 78-year-old Nushi Girgis, a Christian who was stabbed at St. Mark and St. Peter’s Church during one of a series of attacks on churches in the city that year. As the crowd walked down the street, chanting religious hymns, people began throwing stones from their balconies. The scene quickly turned violent, pitting Muslims against Christians.
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The latest round of U.S. State Department cables released by Wikileaks have hardly been surprising to anyone who follows foreign affairs. North Korea is a crazy state that everyone in the region wishes would collapse. Iran is the problem that dominates the security concerns of all its neighbors.
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Kabul/Islamabad/Brussels - U.S. plans to withdraw its forces from Afghanistan by 2014 would lead to a collapse of the government in Kabul and serious security risks for the region.
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African Union peacekeepers, especially those deployed in Somalia, are ill-equipped for the task, an industrialist says. Paramount Group executive chairman Ivor Ichikowitz says “African peacekeepers are deployed in some of the most dangerous environments, such as Somalia and Darfur.
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By Nicolas von Kospoth
As news agencies reported early this week, the attraction which the governments of Iran and Bolivia feel towards each other has now become manifest in a number of bilateral agreements in various areas, including defence. According to different sources, Bolivian Economy and Finance Minister Luis Arce announced plans to purchase different defence-related equipment from Iran.
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Segregation of inmates, the denial of radical texts and aggressive screening of clerics all are needed to stop Islamist radicalization from taking root in Canadian prisons, a new study recommends.
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Jakarta/Brussels - The Indonesian government could reduce the circulation of illegal firearms by improving procedures for guarding and monitoring police and military armouries, conducting regular audits of gun importers and enforcing controls over the “airsoft” industry.
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