BRUSSELS, Oct 30 (IPS) —Pakistan's political leaders are involved in a dangerous game that is pulling the South Asian nation in different -- and perilous directions that further entrench the dominance of the military, Pakistani military and political analyst retired Lt Gen Talat Mansood says.

BRUSSELS, Sep 19 (IPS Asia-Pacific) - South-east Asia is back on the development path more than a decade after the 1997 Asian financial crisis, which sent many economies reeling and slashed their growth rates. Experts, however, caution that pre-crisis levels of economic growth have yet to return.

BRUSSELS, Jan 28 (IPS)- Despite their stark differences on various levels, including in political systems, China and India together are knocking on the doors of the western world -- and it could just be a matter of time before economic world powers let them in.

Analysis by John Feffer

NEW DELHI, Jun 21 (IPS) - Before the age of colonialism, India was a world power. Now, like China, it is returning to the global stage. With economic growth topping 9 percent in 2007, an acknowledged nuclear capability, and a growing role in international relations, this South Asian country has attained the status of an emerging power.

By Peter Dhondt
 
BRUSSELS, Jun 19 (IPS) – People in Europe and the United States may tend to associate Islam with immigrants, autocratic regimes in the Middle East and political violence. But many more Muslims live in democratic countries in Asia, where political developments are less spectacular and not as headline-grabbling, but as decisive.

Analysis by John Feffer

WASHINGTON, Jun 13 (IPS) - Last year’s coup in Thailand, continued extrajudicial killings in the Philippines, limitations on religious freedom in Malaysia -- South-east Asian democracies are not exactly flourishing these days.

By John Feffer

WASHINGTON, May 25 (IPS Asia-Pacific) - South-east Asia’s key diplomatic grouping, the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN), has big plans for its 40th birthday this year.

   After four decades of being largely a political and security alliance, the 10-nation ASEAN, created on August 1967,  is accelerating its plans for economic integration. In fact, ASEAN leaders are so eager to pull together into an economic community that they have moved up economic benchmarks originally planned for 2020 up to 2015.

   By John Feffer

WASHINGTON, May 2 (IPS) - Japan was slow to realise the strategic importance of Central Asia, but has since engaged all five countries in the region, both bilaterally and multilaterally, and now plays a balancing force there.

By John Feffer

WASHINGTON, Apr 27 (IPS) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's first visit to the United States comes at a time of great uncertainty for both Japan and Asia. The North Korean nuclear crisis remains suspended between crisis and resolution. The free trade agreement between the United States and South Korea, still unratified, will have an unclear impact on the rest of East Asia.

Analysis 

By John Feffer

WASHINGTON, Mar 31 (IPS) - Although only 4 percent of its territory lies in Europe, Turkey has long been anchored in the West. But with full membership in the European Union on hold, the Middle East the focus of global attention, and both China and India on the rise, Turkey has begun to turn to the East.