Ukraine’s young government is running out of viable options for restoring its control of eastern regions and preserving the country’s territorial integrity. Government and police buildings in more than a dozen places are still held by pro-Russian protesters, sometimes led by masked and well-armed men in uniform. The response from Kiev to this assault has been inconsistent and hesitant. Amid a war of words between Washington and Moscow, the “agreement” […]

Candidate Narendra Modi is spoofed using an iconic scene from Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator A barrage of political spoofs on the internet and TV is ensuring that every Indian politician is cut down to size, writes Jay Mazoomdaar. For a people not known to take themselves lightly, a surprising number of Indians are laughing their way to the general election. A generous dose of irreverent political humour is now […]

ISLAMABAD — Most didn’t notice the new library at this Islamic seminary for girls near Pakistan’s capital, until locals saw the paper sign in Urdu posted on its wooden door: “Library of Osama bin Laden, the Martyr.” Cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz, a radical preacher who runs the Jamia Hafsa madrassa, wanted to honor the memory of the al-Qaida leader, killed in a May 2011 raid by U.S. Navy SEALs on […]

Editor’s note: Howard Hall is director of the University of Tennessee’s Institute for Nuclear Security and Oak Ridge National Laboratory Governor’s Chair in Nuclear Security. Natalie Manayeva is research assistant at the University of Tennessee’s Institute for Nuclear Security. Dean Rice is adjunct faculty at the University of Tennessee and former congressional policy/legislative aide on energy and national defense. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the authors. […]

An “anti-terrorist operation” is under way in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region against pro-Russia protesters, Kiev declared on Tuesday, with armored personnel carriers seen on the road in the restive area. Twenty-four hours after a Ukrainian ultimatum expired for the protesters to lay down their arms, acting President Oleksandr Turchynov told Parliament the operation would be “conducted step by step, responsibly, cautiously.” “The aim of these actions is to protect the […]

The face-off between the West and Russia over its annexation of Crimea and threat to invade eastern Ukraine has raised calls for the expansion of shale gas production and hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, to reduce Europe’s reliance on Russian gas. While the Obama administration is pushing to begin exporting natural gas to Europe, the call for Europe to start fracking operations of its own is being spearheaded in Europe by […]

Russia warned Tuesday that any use of force inUkraine‘s eastern region could lead to civil war, as Kiev seeks to regain control after pro-Moscow uprisings in three cities. Pro-Russian protesters seized government buildings in the cities of Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv on Sunday. Rebels occupying Donetsk’s regional government building Monday declared a “people’s republic” and called for a referendum on secession from Ukraine to be held by May 11. There […]

Today, in India’s remote northeastern states of Assam and Tripura, the first wave of the country’s 814 million eligible voters will cast their ballots as the largest election in world history gets underway. Any time the world’s most populous democracy goes to the polls, it’s a momentous undertaking. But with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stepping aside after a decade in charge, analysts say voting will take on an even greater […]

Around 14 million Afghans have registered to vote Afghans have begun voting for a new president in what will be the nation’s first ever transfer of power through the ballot box. A massive security operation is under way to thwart the Taliban which has vowed to disrupt the election. Eight candidates are vying to succeed Hamid Karzai, who is barred by the constitution from seeking a third consecutive term as […]

As the U.S. rebalances its security strategy toward Asia, the U.S. Marine Corps is rebuilding its expertise for amphibious warfare, which was eroded during wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The WSJ’s Yuka Hayashi reports. POHANG, South Korea—The U.S. Marine Corps is rebuilding its forces in East Asia, beefing up amphibious fighting capabilities that had been eroded during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The effort, which Marines showed off this […]