Eric Randolph

US to begin direct peace talks with Taliban in Afghanistan

guardian.co.uk — The US will begin direct peace talks with Taliban leaders over the future of Afghanistan within days, it was revealed on Tuesday, after Washington agreed to drop a series of preconditions that have previously held back negotiations.

UKIERI Study India Programme

studyindia.co.uk — This summer you could join 200 other British students on a comprehensive and immersive introduction to incredible India. This is your chance to learn what it's like to live, work and study in India. The three-week programme includes an internship at a top company or NGO.

Only Hindutva can transform country: RSS chief

hindustantimes.com — Backing Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi's elevation in the BJP, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat today said that Hindutva was the only way to bring about change in the country.

Buddhist monks visit Yangon mosque

mizzima.com — Written by Mizzima News Category: Myanmar A group of Buddhist monks were welcomed to the C.S. Arkatti Jamah Mosque in Yangon's Kyauktada Township on June 16. The group included Ashin Panahwunsa of the Saffron Monk Network and Ashin Sandhasiri, a member of a mobile food donating organization in Insein Township.

Chidu’s ‘Ferrari’ of reforms has an autorickshaw engine

firstpost.com — The completely pointless Union cabinet reshuffle yesterday (17 June) tells us three things: one, the Congress party has given up on its government; two, from now on politics will dictate policy and not economics (assuming the reverse was ever true of UPA); and, three, the role of P Chidambaram is not so much to push reforms as to keep up the illusion of forward movement alive so that the economy does not capsize in the run-up to the elections.

In-principle agreement on repatriation program

mmtimes.com — In-principle agreement on repatriation program By Tim McLaughlin | Tuesday, 18 June 2013 Bangladesh's foreign minister says Myanmar has agreed in principle to restart a long-delayed voluntary repatriation program for Muslim refugees living in the country, although he conceded that it may not eventuate.

Syria: Inventing a Religious War

nybooks.com — Syria: Inventing a Religious War Since late May, pictures of Hezbollah militants standing amid the ruins of al-Qusayr, the former Syrian rebel stronghold, have offered dramatic evidence of the extent to which foreign Shia fighters are shifting the course of the Syrian war.

Laos Returns North Korean Refugees to the North

blogs.cfr.org — On Saturday, the Washington Post ran a front-page article on the story of North Korean refugees, or defectors, in Laos. It has been well-known for years that many North Koreans who try to get to South Korea transit through either Laos, Thailand, or Cambodia after leaving China.

What privacy? " LRB blog

lrb.co.uk — Perhaps the most - if not the only - surprising thing about 'the spy story of the age' is that anyone should be at all surprised that the NSA is doing a lot of snooping on the internet. If the documents that Edward Snowden leaked to the Guardian show the worst that the spooks are [...]