Israel launches attack on Gaza -- first since cease-fire; US and South Korea finish naval drills; US underlines committment to Japan in face of burgeoning missile threats from North Korea; UK to stop giving aid to South Africa; Queen Beatrix of Netherlands abdicates; and more
Read MoreIsrael
No two-state solution = no democratic Jewish state
Obama's visit to Israel and Palestine may have been a subtle but determined new attitude towards restarting the moribund peace negotiations. No guarantees, and hopefully not another case of misguided hope, but theAmerican President made it clear that no separation wall and no missile protection system offers long term solutions.
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Thursday March 21
Obama makes first presidential trip to Israel; hackers cause network failures in South Korea; Chinese bloggers flood Russia's embassy with nationalist microblogs; NATO reaches agreement with Afghan government over withdrawal from Wardak province; more hunger strikers at Guantanamo; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Friday March 15
First pope from the Americas begins new job; Xi Jinping formally sworn in as China's president; Tokyo denies claim Japanese government offered to pay Algeria ransom for release of prisoners; Khmer Rouge leader dies; new Israeli government to be sworn in; and more
Read MoreThe Responsibility to Protect Syrians
As official records show more than one million Syrians have fled their own country, and more than 70,000 have been slaughtered by their President's troops, the world's Responsibility to Protect (R2P) seems to be gathering dust.
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Tuesday December 4
Judges in Egypt boycott referendum on Morsi's powers; North Korean missile now on launch pad; Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng urges Communist Party chief to effect political reform; Taliban suicide bombers hit US-Afghan air base; Europe to act on Israel's settlement actions; and more
Read MorePalestine's long overdue arrival
The world's recognition of Palestine is a symbolic, moral and real victory for Palestinians in their struggle to end the 45 year belligerent occupation and secure an independent state. Those who oppose such aspirations are out of step with the rest of the world, and its time they realised that.
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Tuesday November 27
Egyptian president attempts to ease crisis over perceived power grab; Vietnam ejects new Chinese passports; Australian defense minister apologises to military personnel who were abused during their service; more than 200 killed in Bangladeshi clothing factory fire; Israeli defense minister to retire; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Friday November 16
China passes leadership to older, more conservative lineup; North Korea suspected of giving arms to Syria; Israel-Gaza violence escalates; Eurozone slides into double-dip recession; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Thursday November 8
Tough hurdles for re-elected Obama; China's Communist Party to work against corruption; cost of cleaning up Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant estimated at $63 billion; Thailand and Burma support Dawei Economic Zone; suicide bomber strikes market in Peshawar; Israel opposes enhanced UN status for Palestine; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Friday October 26
Benghazi suspect dies in Cairo shootout; Chinese ships seen in disputed territory; new right-wing party mooted for Japan; Greece claims to have been given bailout extension, European Central Bank says it was unaware of move; Sudan blames Israel for factory bombing; and more
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Friday October 19
Violence erupts in Greece over austerity measures; China condemns Japan shrine visit; South Korean President Lee Myung-bak makes a surprise visit to site of shelling by North Korea; Russian opposition leader detained; Iran warns Israel to back off over nuclear sites; and more
Read MoreUnholy gaffes in the Holy Land
If US presidential hopeful Mitt Romney's current trip is to establish his foreign policy credentials, he should have stayed at home...but then he'd have missed out on the cash.
Read MoreClinton's democracy headaches
US recognition of Egypt's democratically elected Islamist President, begs questions over the fate of Gaza's democratically elected Islamist leaders, how the US forces old Egyptian military friends to play democratic ball, and, right next door, convince Israel to chuck out a report that, if implemented, will end Israel's (albeit disputed) claim to be a democracy.
Read MoreWinning the War of Empty Stomachs?
Palestinian prisoners have ended their mass hunger strike before anyone died. Now the world needs to ask some serious questions about the mass incarceration of Palestinians as a tool to break their resistance to occupation.
Read MoreWorld News Brief, Wednesday March 7
Netanayahu insists Iran is developing nuclear weapons, therefore Israel is justified in attacking Iran's nuclear facilities; Asian markets drop in response to China's slowing economic growth; Tibetan teen is latest to set fire to himself as protest against Beijing's Tibet policy; Syria consents to United Nations visit; thousands protest in Russia after Putin's win; and more
Read MoreAnti-Israel bombings not casus belli
Suspicion that Iran is responsible for bomb attacks on Israeli embassies are no more - or less - credible than suspicion Israel has assassinated a number of Iran's top nuclear scientists. True or not, they should be pause for thought, not cause for war.
Read MoreTime for a pre-emptive strike on Israel's itchy trigger
A pre-emptive strike on Iran will blow apart the Middle East, and Israel will suffer long and hard. Don't do it.
Read MoreGutsy UNESCO exposes US 'democracy'
The US hissy fit punishment of UNESCO for its recognition of Palestine makes even more of a mockery of America's continuing role in Middle East peace negotiations.
Read MoreShock, horror, naked political self-interest on display
Obama's dreaded 3am phone call may soon be to tell him Palestinians protesting for their freedoms, as their Arab neighbours are doing, have been mowed down at Israeli controlled checkpoints. What will he suggest to Netanyahu then?
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