West Asia & North Africa Digest by Ambassador Mahesh Sachdev | April 2020
I) Political Developments Regional Impact of Covid-19: By end of March almost all countries of WANA region were affected by Covid-19 pandemic albeit to varying measure. The impact was both direct – with increasing number of patients with concomitant human despair, as well as indirect, with mounting collateral economic and political costs. Further, while the […]
West Asia & North Africa Digest by Ambassador Mahesh Sachdev | March 2020
I) Political Developments Regional Impact of COVID-19:By February end, most of the region had been afflicted with incidence of Novel Corona Virus disease (COVID-19). First death from the diseased in the region was reported on Feb 19 in Iran – and the country soon earned the dubious distinction of being world’s most afflicted after China. The disease […]
West Asia & North Africa Digest | February 2020
I)Political Developments Trump’s “Deal of the Century” US President Donald Trump launched his Middle East Peace Plan on January 28 at the White House in presence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but in conspicuous absence of any Palestinian representative. It was essentially the political proposal complimenting the economic component of the plan released earlier on June […]
West Asia & North Africa Digest | January 2020
Political Developments Islamic Ummah: A 4-day “Islamic Summit” hosted by Malaysia ended on Dec 21 without issuing any final statement and generating more heat than light. The event was attended by some 20 Muslim countries, prominent among them Iran, Turkey and Qatar. It was snubbed by Saudi Arabia which saw it as an attempt to challenge […]
West Asia & North Africa Digest | December 2019
I) Political Developments Arab Spring 2.0:Second season of Arab Spring is currently in full bloom in Iraq, Lebanon, Sudan and Algeria. There are a number of common multiples among these four countries. All of them are listed in the Corruption Perceptions Index of Transparency International as endemically corrupt: Syria (178th out of 180 in 2018), Sudan (172nd), […]
West Asia & North Africa Digest | November 2019
I) Political Developments Unrest in Iraq and Lebanon: Arab Spring 2? During much of October 2019, Lebanon and Iraq were both convulsed by widespread anti-establishment demonstrations led by their youth. These popular manifestations railed against the perceived hijacking of the popular mandate by powerful interest groups such as militias and sectarian entities in each of these […]
World Review | Pramit Pal Chaudhuri | May 2020
HIGHLIGHTS • IMPACT OF RACE PROTESTS IN US On May 25, a white police offer in Minnesota placed his knee on black American George Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes, asphyxiating him. The murder, caught on video, triggered widespread protests. The rioting, the worst the United States has seen since the 1960s, has spread to […]
World Review | Pramit Pal Chaudhuri | April 2020
US POLITICS AND THE PANDEMIC What If the US Cancels its Elections?There is a way Mike Pompeo could be sworn in as the next United States President. The combination of the Covid-19 pandemic and President Donald Trump’s unconcern about constitutional propriety has led to speculation that the US presidential elections in November could be cancelled. The […]
World Review | Pramit Pal Chaudhuri | February 2020
US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS Biden is Democratic Party FrontrunnerThe race to be the Democratic Party presidential candidate tightened dramatically after the Super Tuesday set of primaries leaving only centrist Joe Biden and leftwing Bernie Sanders in the fray. Biden’s subsequent victories in key states like Michigan has left him the clear frontrunner. Biden’s dramatic resurgence began […]
World Review | January 2020
BREXIT FOCUS Brexit At Last: UK officially leaves the EUThe United Kingdom officially left the European Union on January 31st, 2300 GMT. The day before, the European Parliament ratified the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, 621 to 49 votes, in an emotional session that concluded with the members of the European parliament singing “Auld Lang Syne.” Several […]