By Naveed Qazi | Editor, Globe Upfront T he streets of Venezuela are like a battlefield. The blue smoke of teargas engulf the cities like Caracas, the country’s capital. Thousands of people have been marching on the streets to end the rule of Nicolas Maduro’s socialist government beginning March, 2017. People have been joining protests from the slums of Petare to low-income quarters of Caracas city such as El Valle and La Vega. Graffiti’s such as “ Abajo La Dictadura ” meaning “ Down With Dictatorship ” in Spanish greet the photojournalists on streets.  Infact, on 207 th anniversary of Venezuela’s independence from Spain, over two million protested against the government. The event had been called as the ‘ mother of all marches ’ on the international media. The critics of Nicolas Maduro think that him rewriting the constitution will be a final blow to their democracy. While many of his supporters belonging from United Socialist Party, known as Chavistas, h...

By Naveed Qazi| Editor, Globe Upfront I t has been just one year, since April 2016, when Panama Papers were leaked to the public.  Some 11.5 million digital records exposed dark deeds of the corporates running away from tax evasion, international sanctions, kleptocracy and from fraud. Panama Papers (also known as Mossack Fonseca papers) burst the scene by shaking  governments, and triggering scores of investigations around the world. Even till now, the papers are giving rise to new controversies. The impact of Panama Papers has been widespread with investigations launched in 80 countries, questioning political leaders, business oligarchs, and others. About 400 journalists collaborated and analysed the leaks. It is perhaps the biggest data journalists have worked with. This leak has been bigger than the US diplomatic cables released in 2010 and the secret documents given to Edward Snowden in 2013. An anonymous whistleblower, John Doe, leaked d...

By Naveed Qazi | Editor, Globe Upfront EMMANUEL MACRON’S VICTORY OVER Marine Le Pen in the 2017 French presidential election marked a decisive break with France’s post-war political tradition. By defeating the far-right candidate in the second round and succeeding François Hollande, Macron not only disrupted the immediate rise of the far right but also dismantled the dominance of France’s traditional governing parties. Sworn in at the Élysée Palace at the age of 39, he became the youngest French head of state since the establishment of the Fifth Republic—an emblem of generational change and political experimentation. Contemporary international press coverage highlighted the symbolism of his youth, with outlets such as BBC News, Reuters, and TIME noting the historic nature of his ascent and its implications for both the European Union and post-Brexit politics. Macron’s campaign slogan, “Ensemble, La France,” resonated with an electorate weary of ideological stagnation and economic p...

By Naveed Qazi | Editor, Globe Upfront Political theatrics appeared in the Macedonian senate in April 2017, when people wearing balaclavas and draped in the yellow and red flag of their country exchanged punches with another group of men dressed in shirts. Scenes had translated from war of words to fighting. These rebels were supporters of Macedonian Conservative party, who were protesting against the appointment of its first ethnic Albanian parliamentary speaker, Talaat Xhaferi. Macedonian 2016 protests, also known as ‘Colourful Revolution’ have inflated the crises this year. Last year, European countries such as Italy, Serbia, Germany, Bulgaria and Croatia had called for peace. The ongoing protests have triggered new ethnic tensions and constitutional crises. Hundreds of protesters, some of them armed and masked people, had stormed the Senate building and attacked representatives, displaying an unprecedented form of anarchy. Police, in retaliation, had thrown stun grenades to...

Source: Google Images United States is willing to act both with military combat, and political diplomacy, with North Korea under the current global scenario. President Trump is paranoid about stockpiles of nuclear weapons, which North Korea possesses, and wants their immediate removal. It is because Kim Jong-Un has increased missile testing, since he took over the country, in 2011. That’s why, a military strike has already been discussed, in the White House. Americans think that North Korea is not a regional problem anymore, but an international problem. Fox News poll cites North Korea as a bigger threat to the United States, than ISIS, and believes, that it is the US military, that can stop North Korea’s nuclear program, and diplomacy will not yield any productive measures. The United States has already sent a nuclear-armoured submarine to the region, to boost its military strength. It is working for harsher sanctions against the communist country. Japan, also, has entered into ...