Full text of the Fifth BRICS Summit Declaration and action plan

DURBAN, South Africa, March 27: Leaders of the BRICS nations, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa wrapped up their latest round of summit Wednesday in South African city of Durban. The following is the full text of the declaration and action plan of the summit: Fifth BRICS Summit Durban: 27 March 2013 BRICS Read more

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Indonesia, Islam And Democracy

By Bawono Kumoro* Indonesia During a ceremony at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, where he received an honorary doctorate, President Yudhoyono tackled the global perception that Islam and democracy could not work together. The president said that he believed Indonesia was a good example to highlight how democracy, modernization and Islam worked hand in hand.Furthermore, President Read more

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Turkey’s lost and future opportunities in Syria

by Foti Benlisoy and Annalena Di Giovanni Turkey A few months ago, in January 2013, an accident in a steel factory of Gaziantep, a bordering town in southwest Turkey, claimed the lives of seven workers. Under normal circumstances such news would have passed unobserved and eventually forgotten; Turkey is after all a country in which Read more

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MESA protests UAE “Blacklisting” of Dr. Kristian Coates Ulrichsen

*His Excellency Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan Minister of Foreign Affairs
United Arab Emiratesvia fax +971 02 444 7766 Your Excellency, I write to you on behalf of the Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA) and its Committee on Academic Freedom (CAF) to register shock and deep dismay at the denial of entry Read more

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Iraqi analysts: Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria mirrors al-Qaeda in Iraq

by Mohammed al-Qaisi Al-Qaeda in Iraq attacks places of worship, culture and education deeming them blasphemous, officials say.  As tensions increase between Syrian citizens and members of extremist group Jabhat al-Nusra (JAN) Iraqi officials, researchers and security leaders warned of similarities between JAN and al-Qaeda in Iraq in terms of ideology and strategy. “We are Read more

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The Iranian key to the Syrian crisis

by Heiko Wimmen The deep implications of Iran’s strategic and ideological investment in the Assad regime forces international efforts for a ‘grand bargain’ to face the stark and unpalatable reality of political compromise in Syria. As the Syrian crisis continues its descent into a protracted civil war, a ‘political solution’ remains the professed preference of Read more

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