In this Friday, December 23, 2011, photo, Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, left, and Myanmar lower house speaker Thura Shwe Mann, right, pose for photos during their meeting at parliament buildi

Protesters gesture during a demonstration demanding the prosecution of Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sanaa, Yemen, Tuesday, December 27. (AP Photo) Why does change seem so desirable and so exhila

IN THE mountainous state of Nagaland, in far north-eastern India, they have a unique tradition. It is called the Feast of Merit. To host a Feast of Merit, one must invite the whole village to a feast and that f

In this Tuesday, November 22, 2011, photo, dalit Hari Kishan Pippal, 60, a member of India's outcast community once known as untouchables, sits on a scooter inside his Honda dealership showroom in Agra, India.

The morning skies were unusually clear when we congregated at the Chumukedima Police NAPTC complex ground for the departing DGP’s farewell parade. Bright red and yellow poinsettia flowers blossomed around

Christmas is ‘Good News’ because it gives the ‘Hope of Eternal Salvation’. ‘Good News’ simply means ‘Gospel’. The word ‘Gospel’ means ‘Good Tidi

Democracy has, today, become a buzzword not only in the discourse of political science but also in day to day life. Yet, there is no precise definition of democracy due to numerous types of democracy (such as A

A crisis of governability has beset the Western world. It is no accident that the United States, Europe and Japan are simultaneously experiencing political breakdown; globalization is producing a widening gap b

My neighbour is building a new house. As a matter of fact there is nothing new about that piece of news. Almost everyone seems to be in the process of building either a new house or pulling down an old house to

The second year of the Arab uprisings opens a complex period in which the potential of the Arab world to move towards democracy and human security will be acutely tested. This makes careful assessment and polic

 In this August 23, 2011, file photo, rebel fighters stomp on the head of a Moammar Gadhafi statue inside his compound in Bab al-Aziziya in Tripoli, Libya. Hundreds of Libyan rebels stormed Gadhafi's compo

During the last two and half years of my association with uncle Niketu Iralu, he planted this idea in my mind: “The kingdom of God could be a model for our nation building.” Indeed, this must have b

Women in one of the many villages in Nagaland are seen cleaning the rice days before the Christmas feast. (Photo Credit: Azera Rahman/WFS) Christmas is here. No, it’s not December 25 yet. But then, y

It's been a bad year for dictators. It all begin in January with the Arab Spring; from Tunisia to Egypt to Libya, and perhaps extending eventually to Syria, leaders who had oppressed their people have found the

After Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, the US has now turned its belligerent attention towards Pakistan. But opening up a new battlefront, this time in Pakistan, in the run-up to the presidential elections, will

NORTH KOREA as we know it is over. Whether it comes apart in the next few weeks or over several months, the regime will not be able to hold together after the untimely death of its leader, Kim Jong-il. How Amer

With only nine women senators representing 54 million women in Nigeria, international support should focus on the broader political cycle and the numerous obstacles to women's political participation, rather th

Once a year the Russian leader Vladimir Putin engages in a bizarre ritual: he holds a marathon question-and-answer session broadcast live on Russian television. Year after year, he beats his own record for the

Residents of Paekryeong island walk to board a ship leaving for their home, a day after North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's death was announced, at Incheon port in Incheon, South Korea on Tuesday, December 20, 20

Consider the following picture: Recent growth has relied on a huge construction boom fueled by surging real estate prices, and exhibiting all the classic signs of a bubble. There was rapid growth in credit R