THE QUESTION

What are people talking about in your part of the world in the realm of business, culture, or society?
Posted by Amar C. Bakshi on November 20, 2006 1:00 AM

FROM THE PANEL

Maziar Bahari is an award winning documentary filmmaker and journalist from Iran. His films include “The Voyage of the Saint Louis,” “Targets: Reporters in Iraq,” “Football, Iranian Style” and “Along Came a Spider” for which he received an Emmy nomination in 2005. He is also one of very few journalists who has worked in Iraq consistently for the past four years. Bahari is the Newsweek correspondent in Iran.

An Iranian Dissects U.S.-Iran Talks

Tehran, Iran - Mr. Cheney and co. may like to topple the Ayatollahs. Many Iranian men would like Britney Spears to convert to Islam and marry them. Neither is on the cards, but U.S.-Iran dialog must be.

Maziar Bahari Tehran, Iran | 200 COMMENTS
Nov 24, 2006 at 9:16 AM
Saul Singer is Editorial Page Editor and author of the weekly column “Interesting Times” for the Jerusalem Post. He is the author of Confronting Jihad: Israel's Struggle and the World After 9/11. Before moving to Israel from the Washington area in 1994, Mr. Singer served for ten years as an advisor on the personal and committee staffs of the United States Congress, including the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Senate Banking Committee, and Senator Connie Mack.

Israel's Rumsfeld Takes Heat

Jerusalem, Israel - Topic A here is whether the Defense Minister Amir Peretz will resign or be forced out like Rumsfeld was in the U.S. Topic B: Shelling in Sderot. Topic C: Confronting Iran.

Saul Singer Jerusalem, Israel | 34 COMMENTS
Nov 23, 2006 at 3:41 PM
Yossi Melman is a senior commentator for the Israeli daily Haaretz. He specializes in intelligence, security, terrorism and strategic issues. An author of seven books on these topics, his most recent book, The Nuclear Sphinx of Tehran: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the State of Iran was published recently by Carroll & Graf.

Proof of West Bank Theft

Tel Aviv, Israel - The Israeli colonizing movement in the occupied West Bank is practically thievery, wrapped in false "security" arguments.

Yossi Melman Tel Aviv, Israel | 82 COMMENTS
Nov 22, 2006 at 8:53 AM
Michael Young is the Opinion Editor and a columnist for Lebanon’s The Daily Star newspaper. He is also a contributing editor and contributor at Reason magazine, where he writes bi-weely articles.

Syria's Demands, Hezbollah's Mistakes

Beirut, Lebanon - Minister Pierre Gemayel assassination in Lebanon must be understood in the context of the ongoing effort by Syria to undermine the tribunal currently being set up to try those accused of killing late prime minister, Rafiq Hariri.

Michael Young Beirut, Lebanon | 95 COMMENTS
Nov 21, 2006 at 3:43 PM
David Goodhart is founder and editor of Prospect magazine, the London-based current affairs monthly. Before starting Prospect in 1995 he worked for 12 years for the Financial Times, including a spell as correspondent in Germany. He is the author of several books and pamphlets, the latest for the think tank Demos is titled Progressive nationalism: citizenship and the left.

The End of the United Kingdom?

London, England - A successful multinational state and key U.S. ally could start to unravel in the coming months: I mean, of course, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

London, England | 241 COMMENTS
Nov 21, 2006 at 12:00 PM
William M. Gumede is Associate Editor at Africa Confidential. He is Research Fellow at the School of Public and Development Management, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. He recently released the bestselling book Thabo Mbeki and the Battle for the Soul of the ANC.

Let S. Africans Eat Soccer in 2010?

Johannesburg, South Africa - Should a developing country pay huge sums of money to host the world's biggest and most expensive global event, the Soccer World Cup, while many of its citizens live in grinding poverty? South Africa says yes.

William M. Gumede South Africa | 35 COMMENTS
Nov 21, 2006 at 7:58 AM
Masha Lipman is the editor of the Pro et Contra journal, published by Carnegie Moscow Center. Lipman is also an expert in the Civil Society Program at the Carnegie Moscow Center. She served as deputy editor of the Russian weekly newsmagazines, Ezhenedel’ny zhurnal from 2001 to 2003, and of Itogi magazine from 1995 to 2001. She has worked as a translator, researcher, and contributor forMoscow bureau of The Washington Post and has had a monthly op-ed column in The Washington Post since 2001.

Why Russia Banned "Borat"

Moscow, Russia - The Russian government banned "Borat" for offending ethnic sensibilities. This is hypocrisy; and it's the first time they've banned art since Communism fell.

Masha Lipman Moscow, Russia | 95 COMMENTS
Nov 20, 2006 at 11:25 AM
Dr. Ali Ettefagh serves as a director of Highmore Global Corporation, an investment company in emerging markets of Eastern Europe, CIS, and the Middle East. He is the co-author of several books on trade conflict, resolution of international trade disputes, conflicts in letters of credit, trade-related banking transactions, sovereign debt, arbitration and dispute resolutions and publications specific to the oil and gas, communication, aviation and finance sectors. Dr. Ettefagh is a member of the executive committee and the board of directors of The Development Foundation, an advisor to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, and an advisor to a number of European companies. Dr. Ettefagh speaks Persian (Farsi), English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Arabic and Turkish.

Iran Grows and Privatizes

Tehran, Iran - Against all odds, Iran's economy is burgeoning. Of course, we're experiencing some growing pains, but just recall the bad publicity China faced two decades ago and look where it is now.

Ali Ettefagh Tehran, Iran | 62 COMMENTS
Nov 20, 2006 at 7:45 AM
Christine Ockrent is regarded as one of France's most respected broadcasters, the only journalist granted an interview with Saddam Hussein in the middle of the Gulf War. As well as becoming the first woman to anchor and edit the prime time news, Christine has also edited the current affairs journal L'Express, worked as the deputy director-general of France's TF1 channel and presented the country's flagship magazine and program on French and European politics, France-Europe Express. She also anchors a monthly program on international affairs on TV5Monde.

Segolene Royal Triumphs

Paris, France - Royal won the Socialist party primaries in France. She embodies the contradictions of the French psyche. We think of ourselves as revolutionaries but hate change.

Christine Ockrent Paris, France | 6 COMMENTS
Nov 20, 2006 at 4:38 AM
Bashir Goth is a veteran journalist, freelance writer, the first Somali blogger and editor of a leading news website. He is also a regular contributor to major Middle Eastern and African newspapers and online journals.

Christmas Transcends Religion

Somalia/UAE - While sending e-mail greetings cards to my Christian friends around the world, I face a dilemma. Should I use the traditional "Merry Christmas" or opt for the rather trendy and politically correct "Season's Greetings"?

Bashir Goth Somalia/UAE | 19 COMMENTS
Nov 16, 2006 at 1:32 PM
Daoud Kuttab is a Palestinian journalist. He was born in Jerusalem in 1955. Presently he is a visiting professor at Princeton University in the United States. Mr. Kuttab is the former director of the Institute of Modern Media at Al Quds University in Ramallah, Palestine and the founder of AmmanNet, the Arab world's first internet radio station. His personal web page is www.daoudkuttab.com

Highrises Sprout Up in Amman

Amman, Jordan/Ramallah, Palestine - For the past three years, Jordan's capital has been experiencing a huge building boom, much of it a result of the huge influx of Iraqis and Palestinians. Prices are skyrocketing, and many citizens fear for their skylines.

Daoud Kuttab Princeton, NJ | 0 COMMENTS
Nov 16, 2006 at 12:12 AM

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PostGlobal is an interactive conversation on global issues moderated by Newsweek International Editor Fareed Zakaria and David Ignatius of The Washington Post. It is produced jointly by Newsweek and washingtonpost.com, as is On Faith, a conversation on religion. Please send your comments, questions and suggestions for PostGlobal to Lauren Keane, its editor and producer.