Atif Shamim Syed

In the early hours of Tuesday morning January 1, 2013, the US Senate hastily approved a tax deal that prevented the country from falling off the fiscal cliff. The legislation now awaits the President’s signature. The term ‘fiscal cliff’ was being used, in its present context, in order to refer to the possible decline in […]

On December 26, 2012, President Mohamed Morsi of Egypt signed into law the new constitution of his country. The primary law of Egypt was approved by the Constituent Assembly in November 2012 and was passed in a referendum a month later. After the adoption of the new constitution, the provisional constitution of 2011 was rendered […]

When enquired about Barack Obama’s recent trip to the Middle East, most Palestinians will probably reply that they would have been better off without it. The general feeling among Palestinians is that they were let down…again. Palestinians hoped that Mr Obama would persuade the Israelis into imposing a freeze on settlements so that peace talks […]

There have been recent headlines in the international press about an exponential increase in the production of unconventional gas in the US. There have also been reports by respected organisations including the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicting that the US will not only become self sufficient in energy, but will also become the world’s largest […]

For too many in Pakistan, the very word ‘US’ now evokes visions of drones, slogans of “You are with us or against us” or high and mighty pronouncements such as “Do more.” Many now find it impossible to understand how the United States of America that constantly seems to point its big guns at an […]

Former US Senator Chuck Hagel is widely considered as President Obama’s most favoured candidate to be the next Secretary of Defence after the incumbent, Leon Panetta’s retirement. However, since his name came up for nomination, Hagel has been under serious attack from the extremely powerful pro-Israeli groups for having made a few comments about Israel […]

Palestine is witnessing a new round of violence, one that has cost nearly 1,300 Palestinian lives and has maimed thousands of others. World opinion is unfairly tilted towards Israel. Most commentators, politicians and journalists in the west blame Hamas for the escalation. They argue that Hamas provoked Israel with its rocket attacks to a point […]

Former commander-in-chief of the armed forces of Egypt, Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has secured a crushing victory in the presidential elections held between May 26 to 28, almost a year after Egypt’s first democratically elected president, Mohammed Morsi, was deposed and imprisoned after mass protests. In his presidential bid, Mr Sisi was confronted with a single […]

Last month, the President of China, Xi Jinping, visited four Central Asian countries before attending the 13th summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Bishkek. During these visits, Mr Xi discussed plans of mutual cooperation that would bring billions of dollars of investment to the region. The trip is regarded as a Chinese ploy […]

The Army insists that it did not carry out a coup. In fact, overthrowing Mohamed Morsi, the first elected president of Egypt, was what the majority of Egyptians wanted. His fall came about in the wider public interest of the people of Egypt. It is true that Mr Morsi’s government was inept and inefficient, and […]