Prof. Vijay Prashad discusses with Prof. Aijaz Ahmad the recent developments in the war-torn African country of Mali. On January 11 this year, the French troops launched an offensive on Mali. Prof. Prashad questions the so-called "humanitarian visions" of France and places the French bombardement in Mali in the category of "resource wars". Prof. Ahmad calls the French involvement as "an old colonial hangover" and also, a strategy of expanding the Euro-American military presence in the African continent. Is Mali another Afghanistan in the making?

The formation of the Anjuman-e-Mazareen-e-Punjab (Association of Punjab’s Tenants) in Pakistan signaled the re-carving of political space by Punjab’s peasants.  This interview with Asad Farooq, Professor in the Law Department at LUMS, charts the development of Anjuman-e-Mazareen-e-Punjab from its formation to its recent struggles. The interview was conducted by Qalandar Bux Memon, co-editor with Madiha R. Tahir and Vijay Prashad of Dispatches from Pakistan (LeftWord, 2013).

Senior Journalist Seema Mustafa discusses with NewsClick the current political scenario in Pakistan. She says the Pakistani Taliban and terrorism within is a major problem in Pakistan. The pull-out of US troops from Afghanistan, slated in 2014 is also a major worry for Pakistan. In the ensuing General Elections in 2013, She feels the PPP led by Zardari, is better placed to make a come back.

At the sidelines of the 16th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit in Tehran, Iran, the governments of Afghanistan, India and Iran will hold a small conclave.

Victor Kamyshanov, President of the International Federation for Peace and Conciliation, discusses Russia’s increasingly vital role in world politics and its views on global issues such as energy and nuclear disarmament. In addition, he talks of Russia’s improving relations with its neighbors, BRICS countries, and its stance on Iran and Syria in opposition to the United States. Kamyshanov was in New Delhi recently to attend the meeting of Peace Organizations of BRICS Countries, hosted by the All India Peace and Solidarity Organisation (AIPSO).

Two successive UN Special Rapporteurs on extrajudicial killings, summary or arbitrary executions, have said that use of drones by the US for targeted killings violate international law. Christof Heyns, the current UN special rapporteur said in Geneva last week that the US drone warfare threatens the regime of international law built up over the last 50 years.

A blinkered look at the future of US involvement in Afghanistan and Pakistan continues to place hope in those who have failed so far.

Wired has reported that a virus has hit the US drone fleet operating out of Creech Airbase in Nevada. This has not stopped the Predator and Reaper drones from operating in Afghanistan, West Asia and now also North Africa, the areas the US considers as “war zones” – a shadowy war in which the ratio of high valued targets to actual “kills” are now (2009-2010 figures) running at 1: 147.

Fahim Khan, of the Dawn Group of Newspapers, comments on the conjencture that the Pakistani security establishment finds itself in - under pressure from the US demanding action on fundamentalists (some of whom it is closely allied with), hardly any support for its actions from the people of Pakistan and a political establishment that is attempting to assert its independence. A Newsclick Production.