Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has asked UN to grant Palestinians the status of “non-member observer state”, stressing that a “Palestinian state must be realized” One year after his bid for full membership of the United Nations failed because of a lack of support in the Security Council, Mr. Abbas returned to the UN General Assembly. […]
Asia
EU Sanctions in Syria: Slow Tools for an Urgent Objective
The uprising in Syria has led the European Union (EU) to employ an instrument it rarely uses in the Mediterranean: sanctions. Since May 2011, the EU has deployed its sanctions toolbox in support of the anti-regime uprising in Syria. The objective of the EU is to increase pressure on the Assad regime to end repression, […]
Summer heat in Hong Kong
The summer has been hot in Hong Kong this year, and not only because temperature reached 32 degrees amid intense humidity. 100 000 people, mainly Hong Kong students, have been taking to the streets, and demonstrating in front of the government headquarters to oppose a new education curriculum, called the “moral and national education”. […]
International Community Pledges $6.4 Bln to Yemen
International donors have pledged $6.4 billion to Yemen to support the country’s socioeconomic development plan, political transition and efforts to rebuild after it was rocked by political unrest and Al-Qaeda attacks. At the end of their meeting in Riyadh, which brought together more than 280 participants from 27 countries, 36 regional development & international finance […]
Iraq: The cost of the Political crisis
Tensions between the governments in Baghdad and the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan are jeopardizing the country’s effort to stand again on its feet. Iraq is now the second largest oil producing country within the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) but it is also loosing $200 each second because of the frequent blockage of […]




