April 2023

Bangladesh: Proposed Members of a Possible CTG and a Reconstituted EC
By Dr Q M Jalal Khan:We should continue to build pressure for a neutral Caretaker Government (CTG) and a neutral Election Commission (EC) in order to save the people of Bangladesh from the claws and clutches of the fascist Hasina and her Bangladesh Awami Leaguers full of crooks and clowns and sycophants and scoundrels. Read More

Saudi Arabia To Launch World's Richest T-20 League
By Syed Rifaquat Ali: Saudi Arabia is planning to launch world's richest T-20 League, parallel to Indian Premier League (IPL), but far, far greater commercially. This is a step laudable  as IPL is a mix of politics and sport,which belittles the stupendous effort of the organisers. The very fact that the Pakistani cricketers, some of them commanding world-wide reputation, are banned from participating in IPL. Read More

Iran and Saudi Arabia: A Chinese Win-Win
By Pepe Escobar: The idea that History has an endpoint, as promoted by clueless neoconservatives in the unipolar 1990s, is flawed, as it is in an endless process of renewal. The recent official meeting between Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Beijing marks a territory that was previously deemed unthinkable and which has undoubtedly caused grief for the War Inc. machine. This single handshake signifies the burial of trillions of dollars that were spent on dividing and ruling West Asia for over four decades. Additionally, the Global War on Terror (GWOT), the fabricated reality of the new millennium, featured as prime collateral damage in Beijing. Read More

Saudi-Iranian Détente Is a Wake-Up Call for America
By Stephen W. Walt: The détente between Saudi Arabia and Iran—with China playing a facilitating role—is not as momentous as Richard Nixon’s visit to China in 1972, Anwar Sadat’s trip to Jerusalem in 1977, or the 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Even so, if the agreement sticks, it’s a pretty big deal. Most importantly, it is a wake-up call for the Biden administration and the rest of the United States’ foreign-policy establishment, because it exposes the self-imposed handicaps that have long crippled U.S. Middle East policy. It also highlights how China is attempting to present itself as a force for peace in the world, a mantle that the United States has largely abandoned in recent years. Read More

China again renames 11 places in disputed Arunachal Pradesh
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali: China has for the third time renamed 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh which it calls “Zangnan, the southern part of Tibet”. The move is expected to further intensify tension and deepen mistrust between New Delhi and Beijing who are in the middle of their worst bilateral chill in decades, according to First Post newspaper. The names were in Chinese, Tibetan and pinyin characters, in accordance with regulations on geographical names issued by State Council, China’s cabinet, said a report by the Global Times of China. Read More

Russian Foreign Policy paper stresses boosting relations with the Islamic world
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov recently presented an updated Foreign Policy paper at a meeting of the Security Council of the Russian Federation. Among other things, the Foreign Policy paper says Russia seeks to strengthen the comprehensive mutually beneficial cooperation with the Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Tellingly, with a Muslim population of around 23 million, Russia is an observer member of the OIC. In October 2003, Vladimir Putin became the first head of state of a non-Muslim majority state to speak at the OIC, a group of 57 Muslim states. Read More

Myanmar is building spy base on Coco Islands, Chinese hand suspected
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali: Satellite images have revealed that Myanmar’s Coco Islands, which is located at a strategically crucial point in the Bay of Bengal, is witnessing a steady makeover with tell-tale signs of military modernization and facilities to support aircraft, reports Chatham House website. The islands are experiencing a steady makeover, with tell-tale signs of military modernization and facilities to support aircraft. Instead of the phantom Chinese intelligence post still prevalent in the popular imagination, the latest images reveal that Myanmar may soon be intending to conduct maritime surveillance operations from Great Coco Island, the largest in an isolated archipelago that lies just 55 kilometres north of India’s strategic Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chatham House said. Read More

International Cricket In Peril
By Syed Rifaquat Ali: It seems politics has seeped in international competitive cricket as a result of which the spirit of friendliness and camaradarie amongst the cricket-playing countries is disappearing with each passing year. The International  Cricket Council  (ICC) ODI World Cup, scheduled to be held in India this year from October 5 to November 19. Ten teams will participate in the World Cup, but India has refused to entertain Pakistan, one of the formidable teams and most potent challenger to arch rival India, according to press reports. Read More

HEADLINES

 The Journal of America Team:

 Editor in chief:
Abdus Sattar Ghazali

Senior Editor:
Prof. Arthur Scott

Special Correspondent
Maryam Turab