Tag - middle-east

 
 

MIDDLE EAST

JAPAN
Oct 4, 2015
New ministry intelligence unit to monitor terrorists in four regions
A new intelligence unit to be launched under the Foreign Ministry next April will use four groups to monitor terrorists in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
Japan Times
JAPAN / GENERATIONAL CHANGE
Oct 4, 2015
Chance chat in Gaza alters a life
Kenji Sekine might have ended up as a wine importer at a supermarket chain in Tokyo had it not been for a chance encounter with a Palestinian boy during a trip to the Middle East in early 1999.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 20, 2015
The Syrian crisis's tangled web
Syria is a tangled web of humanitarian, political and religious complexities that seem impossible to disentangle. Yet if solutions are not found the flood tide of refugees and human misery will only grow worse.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 16, 2015
Europe's new geography
Only by repairing its balance sheet through fundamental economic and monetary reforms can the EU possibly ameliorate the continent's other problems.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 16, 2015
A crisis of shame engulfing Eastern Europe
Only when Eastern Europe comes to terms with its murderous past will its people be able to recognize their obligations to save those fleeing in the face of evil.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 14, 2015
Palestinian leadership in crisis
Mahmoud Abbas' exit as Palestinian president could serve as an opportunity to challenge the moral collapse of the Palestinian Authority. But don't count on it.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 7, 2015
What's with news media that censor news?
The mainstream media should realize that publishing graphic war-related images can help jar the world into taking action, and censoring such images delays action.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 1, 2015
Refugee crisis is suddenly Merkel's biggest challenge
In the past two weeks, Germany has been shaken by a perfect storm of headlines that have elevated the refugee issue to the very top of the public and political agenda.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 28, 2015
Oil is Islamic State's lifeblood
A key to defeating the Islamic State militant group is preventing it from gaining control of lucrative oil fields.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 28, 2015
War on Islamic State has given Jordan new life
Tiny, oil-poor Jordan has parlayed the war against Islamic State into tangible gains.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 25, 2015
End of Iran's Islamic revolution
For Iran, what counts now is no longer ideology, but national interest and realpolitik.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 24, 2015
Cultural treasures are also victims of conflict
Of the 1,007 known World Heritage sites, 48 are now in danger of being destroyed due to military conflict.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 24, 2015
How IS pushes Egypt toward chaos
The Egyptian government should be very careful about attempting to associate Islamic State terror with the Muslim Brotherhood.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Aug 19, 2015
Germany feels migrant strain, forecasts 750,000 will seek asylum this year
The German government will sharply raise its forecast for the number of asylum seekers expected to arrive this year to a record-breaking 750,000, coalition sources said on Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 14, 2015
The rise and fall of Arab revolutionary discourse
The Arab Spring has shifted from an innocent, unifying, empowering and popular movement into a complicated, cunning, disuniting, disempowering and elitist one, where the people do not matter in the least.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 14, 2015
Islamic State's perverse militarization of 'hijra'
Before 'hijra' became militarized, it was used to hold the present accountable to the past. In this richer, if more elusive, sense, hijra far exceeds — indeed, confounds — Islamic State's remit.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 11, 2015
Iran deal didn't trigger an arms race
The hyper-arming of the Middle East dates to the mid-2000s, before the U.S. and its partners began negotiating in earnest with Tehran over nuclear weapons.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 10, 2015
The U.S. picked the wrong ally in the fight against IS
The U.S. miscalculated by bringing Turkey into the battle against the Islamic State extremist group.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 28, 2015
Darker horizons ahead: rethinking the war on IS
The war on Islamic State and other extremist groups cannot possibly be won as long as corrupt, violent regimes remain the only alternative to radicalization and extremism.
EDITORIALS
Jul 27, 2015
Turkey joins war on Islamic State
Ankara's reluctance to join the fight against Islamic State ended last week after the militant group targeted Turkey in two attacks.

Longform

Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals