RECENT months have witnessed a dramatic spurt of killings in Iraq. There have been reports almost every day of dozens of civilians and officials being targeted in sectarian attacks. In April, 700 people were killed, making it the deadliest month in Iraq in the last five years. The month of May was even deadlier as Shia militant groups and the Iraqi army has started to retaliate. The death toll passed the thousand marks. Many of the deadliest attacks have happened in Shia areas and had all the hallmarks of Al Qaeda operations.

THE Left members of the European parliament are organised as GUE/NGL (The European Left/Nordic Green Left) under the presidentship of Die Linke (German Left Party) which has the largest representation in the European parliament. GUE/NGL organised a seminar on 'China in the 21st Century – Present and Future' on June 6-7, 2013 at the European parliament in Brussels.

THE results of the closely contested general elections, held on May 5, have come as a stark revelation of the highly polarised nature of Malaysian politics. Though the united opposition won over 50 per cent of the votes, it could not even manage to secure a simple majority in the national legislature. Some 85 per cent of the country’s 13.3 million voters had turned out to cast their ballots in what was being described as a “watershed” election.