South Asia

NOVANEWS By Thomas Gaist World Socialist Web Site Multiple car-bomb explosions killed some 125 and injured 150 in Baghdad Saturday. Online media sites linked to Islamic State in Iraq and Syria claimed responsibility for the attacks, claiming they were directed against Shi’ites, regarded as apostates by the reactionary Sunni fundamentalist group. The bombing, the latest in a string of major terror attacks, struck in the middle class neighborhood of Karrada, home to Shi’ites, Sunnis and many others. The bombs detonated just after midnight local time, when the streets were crowded with families breaking their daytime Ramadan fast. At least 25 of the dead were children. The horrific atrocity comes on the heels of similar terrorist attacks in Istanbul, Bangladesh and Kabul, and an...

NOVANEWS By Stephen Lendman Global Research   They’re coming in rapid fashion – in late June/early July alone: Istanbul blasts inflicting mass casualties; Dhaka, Bangladesh shootings and hostage takings; slaughter in Baghdad, killing over 200 and wounding hundreds more – the latest of numerous violent incidents since GW Bush’s 2003 naked aggression; and on America’s Independence Day, an apparent suicide bombing meters from its Jeddah, Saudi Arabia consulate, followed by multiple blasts rocking the area. Whether these and similar attacks are terrorism, false flags, lone wolf incidents or something else requires understanding how they began in the first place. In his memoirs, titled “From the Shadows,” former CIA director/defense secretary Robert Gates said US intelli...

NOVANEWS By Yvonne Ridley  Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi is one of the most famous women in the world. She is a holder of the Nobel Peace Prize and hailed as “the Mandela of Asia” because of her human rights record. However, when we look at her continual lack of concern about the plight of the Rohingya people in the former Burma, you have to question the level of her compassion and integrity. You may gasp at this and I must admit that I never thought that I would ever write that about such an iconic figure. I, like tens of thousands of others around the world, campaigned long and hard to have the pro-democracy leader freed from the shackles of the Burmese junta which kept her under house arrest for years. When she was finally released to lead her country to a better future there were tea...

NOVANEWS Malaysian cartoonist 'Zunar' faces 43 years in prison over drawings and tweets criticising PM Najib Razak Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque faces nine charges in total and if convicted is almost certain to spend the next four decades in jail John Hall Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque, who uses the penname Zunar, faces nine charges in total and if convicted is almost certain to spend the next four decades in jail EPA/FAZRY ISMAIL A Malaysian cartoonist faces spending the next 43 in prison after draconian sedition laws were used to charge him over tweets and drawings criticising prime minister Najib Razak. Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque, who uses the penname Zunar, faces nine charges in total and if convicted is almost certain to spend the next four decades in jail. Mr Ulhaque remains defiant, h...

NOVANEWS   By Sajjad Shaukat On December 9, this year, the fifth ministerial Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process Conference was held in Islamabad in which high-level representatives of supporting regional and international organizations from over 30 countries including especially the US, China and Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj participated. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani addressed the opening ceremony of the conference. The participants realized the importance of the conference as an important regional platform aimed at a stable, peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan which was not only in its own interest, but also vital to peace, stability and prosperity of the ‘Heart of Asia’ region as a whole—it was collective responsibility to help Afgha...

NOVANEWS By Andrew Korybko Oriental Review Myanmar passed an historic milestone on 15 October, signing into effect what its government terms to be a “Nationwide Ceasefire Accord” (NCA) between itself and eight ethnically centered rebel organizations. As positive of a step as this may notionally be towards resolving the world’s longest-running civil war, it’s substantially without a solid backbone, as at least seven of the country’s strongest rebel formations followed opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi’sadvice in taking their time and refusing to sign. With the nationwide elections just under one month away, it’s obvious that the NCA will become the most polarizing electioneering tool for both the government and the opposition, with each side evoking the agreement as a means of furthe...

NOVANEWS Shocking Image Shows New Wave of Saudi Zio-Wahhabi 'ISIS' Recruitment in Indonesia A horrific photo of a newborn baby propped next to an automatic machine gun and grenade is fueling concerns that the so-called “Islamic State” (ISIS/ISIL) is infiltrating Indonesia with its extremist ideologies. A horrific photo of a newborn baby propped next to an automatic machine gun and grenade is fueling concerns that the so-called “Islamic State” (ISIS/ISIL) is infiltrating Indonesia with its extremist ideologies. 'Uncles and aunts come and fight in Syria for “jihad” wherever you are', a sign next to the baby reads, challenging locals to follow the call of extremists and travel overseas to Syria and Iraq. Virtually a unanimously Muslim country, Indonesia is becoming a targeting ground for...