Photosource: npr.org By Naveed Qazi, Editor | Globe Up Front A handcuffed and disheveled Julian Assange was dragged out of Ecuadorian embassy in London, in April, 2019, after seven years of confinement. The footage showed him heavily bearded, and his silver coloured hair tied to his back. He had shouted, ‘UK must resist’, before officers escorted him into a police van. Before the arrest, Assange had barged past the police officers, returning to his private room, and had commented before them: 'this is unlawful'. The Ecuadorian government had offered him asylum, after a diplomatic row with the US Government, over an alleged cable, reflecting widespread corruption within the Ecuadorian police force. The Wikileaks founder had reached the tenure limit of his asylum, since June 2012, and had invited metropolitan police officers inside the embassy premises, to avoid being extradited to Sweden, in connection with sexual assault allegations against him. He was th...

Photo Source: Guardian By Naveed Qazi | Editor, Globe UpFront T he loss of Ankara and Istanbul, in the 2019 mayoral election, has proved a major setback for Recep Tayyib Erdogan.  Many neighbourhoods in Turkey were tense lately, as people were glued to the television sets, in regards to the recent mayor election outcomes, that reflected a somewhat changed democratic mindset. Erdogan seems to have become aloof, recently, with very few aides and ministers, hanging around with him, in his presidential palace.  In Erdogan's political lobby, he has been seen someone like an Ottoman Sultan, having an imperial presidency under his name. But, if  Erdogan amends the constitution now, to stir up voter base, then he wouldn’t enjoy political authority. This mayoral election has been seen as a referendum, and his overall leadership evaluation, against the backdrop of economic meltdown in the country. Supporters of Republican Peoples Party had been seen jubilati...

Photo Source: Al Jazeera By Naveed Qazi | Editor, GlobeUpFront Donald Trump’s recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights on 25 March 2019 marked one of the most controversial foreign policy decisions of his presidency. As reported by Al Jazeera, the proclamation was signed at the White House alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and it effectively endorsed Israel’s 1981 annexation of the territory captured from Syria during the 1967 Six Day War. The move was unprecedented: no other major power had recognised Israel’s claim, and the UN Security Council had repeatedly affirmed that the Golan Heights remained occupied Syrian territory. The timing of Trump’s decision was politically significant. According to Victor Kattan in JSTOR, the proclamation came just two weeks before Israel’s general election, providing Netanyahu with a symbolic victory to present to his electorate. In the United States, the announcement coincided with the annual conference of...

Photo source: The Atlantic By Naveed Qazi | Editor, Globe UpFront It was before dawn, when a militia mercilessly attacked a Mali village of Ogossogou, killing more than a hundred people in an instant, on March 23rd 2019. The victims had included pregnant women, young children and the elderly. It even included the village chieftain, and his grandchildren. Although there had been some runaway survivors, in the nearby Peulh village, where Muslim Fula tribes lived, it soon became improbable to probe the number of killed, in the rampage, as per inputs from President of Peulh group, Tabital Paulaaku. Some footages of the charred dead bodies appeared, and there was also fire in the village homes. In response to this horrifying episode, Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga said that new military chiefs would be named. In January, the Dogon hunters were blamed for killing thirty-seven people. The Dogon militia also faced strong drawbacks in the past, where several of its armed men we...