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ISTANBUL — Amid the mostly positive spin following the Iran nuclear talks in Istanbul on Saturday, one person who won’t have long to celebrate is Helga Schmid. The European Union deputy foreign policy chief was charged with the daunting task of coming up with a detailed agenda and substantive work plan to present to the six nations of the P5+1 group — the United States, United Kingdom, China, France, Russia and Germany — and Iran when they meet again in Baghdad late next month. International negotiators declared the talks with Iran, the first held in 15 months, a success, noting […]

International relations experts are pretty much down on everything nowadays. America, we are told, is incapable of global leadership: too discredited overseas, too few resources back home, too little will — period. For a brief moment there, while China held up the global economy during the recent financial crisis, much credence was given to the notion that we were on the verge of a Chinese century. But that popular vision has also waned surprisingly quickly, and now the conventional wisdom centers on China’s great weaknesses, challenges and overall brittleness. Amazingly, where we spoke of a U.S.-China “G-2” arrangement just a […]

With some 6,000 new patients every year, an orthopaedic centre in Kabul highlights the growing number of civilians severely injured by bombs that have grown more powerful than ever before. World News Videos by NewsLook

Mali’s new interim leader threatened to wage total war on Tuareg rebels and Islamists controlling the north of the country as he was in sworn in Thursday, ending a brief stab at military rule. World News Videos by NewsLook

Over the past decade, rising energy prices and new techniques and technologies have allowed global energy companies to bring online new oil and gas reserves in East African countries, including Tanzania and Mozambique. But as the demand for fossil fuels grows among energy-hungry emerging economies, investors are also opening up production in previously unexplored areas. And in East Africa, this means major opportunity as well as major uncertainty. “What could really make a difference is if these countries coordinate their strategies and their resources effectively,” said Richard Downie, deputy director of the Africa program at the Center for Strategic and […]

It is no surprise that piracy has steadily climbed up the ranks of threats to India’s security, given India’s energy trade with the Middle East. But now, with vast untapped oil reserves reported in Somalia and just off its coast, piracy emanating from the Horn of Africa is impinging on India’s future energy sourcing opportunities as well. Further complicating India’s plans for the region is the nexus between Somali pirates and the al-Qaida affiliate al-Shabab, which still has a significant presence in central Somalia and provides sanctuary to pirate fleets operating out of the central Somali city of Harardhere in […]

The debate over whether or not the United States is in decline is more than just a parlor game among pundits and academics, as the answer to that question informs starkly different policy choices for the country. For significant portions of the anti-interventionist left and right — the latter represented by the small but vocal constituency of GOP presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul — a United States that is in decline ought to cut back on its engagements abroad and avoid playing the role of the world’s policeman, and instead focus on rebuilding America’s domestic institutions, particularly its economy. While […]

CARTAGENA, Colombia — The Organization of American States prides itself on being the world’s oldest regional organization. Yet, as its members prepare for the Sixth Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, Colombia, this weekend, its relevance in today’s world, especially amid Latin America’s recent wave of regionalism, will be called into question. The OAS remains the best-organized and most inclusive body in the Western Hemisphere, and apart from bilateral relationships, it is considered the prominent link between the United States and Latin America. Nevertheless, the region’s increasingly diversified global engagement and a growing sense of autonomy among Latin American nations […]

Turkey’s gradual transition to democracy under the rule of a moderate Islamist party has prompted much praise, along with a concerted effort — particularly by Ankara — to promote the Turkish model as a template for the post-Arab Uprising states. Indeed, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) has achieved much since ascending to power a decade ago. Democratic plaudits, however, miss a gaping crack in the democratic structure the AKP has built: the government’s frontal assault against freedom of the press. Turkey has become one of the world’s top violators of press freedom. The most recent ranking from Reporters Without […]

A few months ago, I penned an essay for a WPR feature issue on counterinsurgency arguing that the U.S. Army was adrift as it transitioned out of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In terms of the Army’s direction, that remains the case: While the U.S. Navy and Air Force have already crafted a narrative for how they can help the United States meet the security challenges of the 21st century, the Army is still pining for the days when the Soviet Union and its armies, poised to storm across the Fulda Gap, presented an intellectually simpler problem to solve. […]

Colombia is in the midst of a mining boom, with high commodities prices and Chinese demand placing its nascent mining sector at the center of the country’s economic development model. The challenge for Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos is to capitalize on the sector’s promise, while avoiding some of the environmental and social challenges that have impacted other South American mining countries, such as Chile and Peru. These challenges are particularly salient for newcomers like Colombia, whose mining sector is slowly taking off. Excluding oil, mining now accounts for 30 percent of the country’s foreign investment and 24 percent of […]

United Nations-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan visits a refugee camp in Turkey amid a deadline to stop a government crackdown in Syria edges closer. World News Videos by NewsLook

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday urged nuclear-armed North Korea not to go ahead with its planned rocket launch if it wants a “peaceful, better future” for its people. World News Videos by NewsLook

In the midst of commemorations of the 100th anniversary of the birth of its founder, Kim Il Sung, North Korea is apparently preparing to fire a ballistic missile. While Pyongyang insists the rocket launch is for the sole purpose of sending a satellite into orbit, most analysts say the launch is an effort to develop ballistic missile technology to support North Korea’s growing nuclear weapons program. The satellite launch is seen as a clear violation not only of United Nations resolutions requiring North Korea to suspend activities — including launches — related to its ballistic missile program, but also of […]

Argentine officials have been ratcheting up the pressure on Spanish-owned oil company YPF-Repsol, demanding increased investment in hydrocarbon production against a backdrop of declines in output that have made Argentina one of the fastest-growing import markets for natural gas. The threat of a similar scenario with oil has the government on the offensive against the nation’s top energy company. The gas shortage is reverberating throughout the rest of the economy, driving import restrictions to shore up the trade balance and tighter currency controls to ensure the availability of dollars for purchases of foreign gas. Looking forward, the government’s posture on […]

Last week, the Indian Express, a leading national newspaper, reported that a routine military drill in January meant to test Indian army units’ mobility in fog conditions instead exposed the depth of distrust between India’s military and civilian leaders. According to the article, two Indian army units advanced on the Indian capital, New Delhi, as part of the drill. But because the military had not notified the Defense Ministry of the troop movements, as protocol requires, civilian authorities reacted by raising an alert before ordering the military to return the troops to their bases. “It is really good that all […]

Since sovereignty over Hong Kong was returned from Britain to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on July 1, 1997, the island has maintained the rule of law and civil liberties. Nevertheless, politically and economically, Hong Kong has also experienced some degree of “mainland-ization” under the “one country, two systems” system that frames relations between the Special Administrative Region and Beijing. At the same time, economic integration with the island has resulted in a process of “Hong Kong-ization” of the mainland, if less dramatically. The impact of both phenomena has implications not only for relations between the two, but also […]