There has been a large explosion in the centre of the Afghan capital, Kabul, followed by heavy gunfire. Afghan Channel One TV quoted police as saying a group of assailants had entered the Directorate of the Afghan Public Protection Force (APPF). A guesthouse used by staff of the...

How the U.S. should respond to Iran’s election This week, in one arbitrary swoop, Iran’s Guardian Council  shrunk the list  of presidential candidates for next month's election from 686 to eight eligible individuals.  It should come as no surprise that all of the...

Syria’s Internet network has long been kept under close surveillance. Now it turns out that the surveillance has been stepped up. Reporters without Borders said. The   Telecomix   hactivist group   has revealed that 34 Blue Coat servers   are operating in...

For analysts familiar with the politics of Syria, the country’s descent into chaos amounts to an all-too-predictable pattern. It also parallels what  Rami Makhlouf , a major regime figure and first cousin of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, bluntly announced in an interview with...