South Asia Investor Review

In a rare act of courage by a serving congressman, Rep Thomas Massie of Kentucky has detailed strong-arm tactics of the Israel lobby to ensure unquestioning support for Israel. He said that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), also known as the Israel lobby, is unique in that it has designated representatives (Massie calls them "AIPAC persons") assigned to each Republican member of Congress to ensure the lawmakers vote for bills Israel supports. Massie has now banned his assigned  "AIPAC Person" from his office.  AIPAC Guy Threatening US Politician. Source: Jake Shields In spite of working on behalf of a foreign government, "AIPAC persons" are not registered as foreign agents under FARA (Foreign Agents Registration Act). Others, such as Paul Manafort (working for Russia) and Ghulam Nabi Fai (representing Pakistan's interests), have been prosecuted, convicted and jailed for violating FARA. No other foreign country has such an organizati...

Iran has become the 9th member of the the elite group of nations capable of launching satellites into space. The other eight members of this exclusive club are Russia, United States, France, Japan, China, United Kingdom, India and Israel. The satellite, named Omid (Hope), carried on a two-stage Safir-2 rocket, was meant for telecommunication and research purposes, Iranian state TV said. Iran's entry in space marks the 30th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. According to Iran's state television , "The Omid national satellite is a light satellite. This satellite has been put into the orbit to set up a two-way communication with the land station, to determine the orbit specifications, telemetry, and the specifications of subsystems". John Pike, an expert at the US-based think-tank GlobalSecurity.org, confirmed to the BBC that the launch had been a success and the satellite was now established in a low Earth orbit. At that altitude it is likely to remain in...