Faced with considerable pressure to tap into the eurozone bailout fund, Ireland seems about ready to buckle. In particular, Spain and Portugal (worried that Ireland’s troubles will spread, sending their bond yields, and thus borrowing costs, even higher) have shouted from the rooftops of the necessity for Ireland to apply for bailout funds. Although the […]
Namibians and the world today woke up to media reports and news that suspicious baggage, with a detonator and a ticking clock destined to be loaded on a German-bound plane was intercepted Wednesday at the Hosea Kutako International airport in Windhoek, Namibia’s capital city. This is still a developing story, but I can’t fathom the thought […]
Israel will pull out of Ghajar, a small town on the Lebanese border that Israel acquired when it took over the Golan Heights, with residents in the early 1980s accepting Israeli citizenship. Ghajar residents are predominantly Muslim, with the town divided in half on each side of the border. Israel has been pressured to leave […]
It is Haiti, It is rape, it is UN peacekeepers and it is nothing new. Peacekeeping patrol Port-au-Prince, Haiti– At a time when uncertainties about upcoming Haitian elections are high, when anxieties over the cholera epidemic are rampant and prevalent rumors identifying peacekeepers as epidemic originators persist, the humanitarian organization must allocate resources to combat […]
This blog may have been the first news source anywhere (or at least the first non-Azeri source) to confirm that Adnan Hajizade was actually released from prison – although RFE/RL was apparently first to report the court’s decision to release him. See attached two superb pictures taken by freelance journalist Turkhan Karimov. Karimov emailed me, saying […]
After a brief calm in which it looked as if modest post-election violence might abate Guinea has experienced the storm. Opposition leader Alpha Conde has been declared the winner. Resultant violence has led to the imposition of a state of emergency. Now the key is stanching the violence. What is done is done. And a […]
On November 19 and 20, Lisbon will be hosting the latest NATO Summit. The main purpose behind the Summit will be to adopt a new ‘Strategic Concept’ and try to bring Russia closer to the Alliance. This Summit is extremely important for the future of the Alliance and transatlantic relations. For these reasons, I will […]
In a surprise move, jailed “donkey blogger” Adnan Hajizade was released from prison in the last two hours. He had been serving a two-year sentence on charges of “hooliganism” after being mauled by thugs in a Baku cafe in 2009. Coincidentally, the charges and the assault took place not long after Hajizade produced (and starred […]
We all know Pakistan is facing serious challenges and regretfully, there are no simple solutions for these problems. So far, repeated experiments with democracy and dictatorships in the country have yielded nothing, but more failures and even more misery. When Benazir returned to Pakistan to help steer the country in the right direction, she was […]
Speaking of football results, I was remiss this weekend in pointing out that Lubumbashi-based DRC club TP Mazembe won this year’s CAF Champions League, completing a repeat of last year’s win, a feat Les Corbeaux also accomplished in 1967 and 1968. They won the continent’s crown jewel for professional clubs by drawing Esperance 1-1 after […]
Zambian police arrested and charged Emmanuel Mwamba, former Zambian president Fredrick Chiluba’s Public Relations aide, for allegedly authoring and publishing contemptuous articles on the online publication Zambia Watchdog. More: http://www.africanews.com/site/Expresident_Chilubas_aide_arrested/list_messages/36106Ex-president. Also see: http://www.zambianwatchdog.com/2010/11/17/police-to-arrest-emmanuel-mwamba-today/ Charles Andrianasoavina, a colonel with the Madagascan military, announced on Wednesday that he and a group of dissident top-ranking officers have taken […]
A callow United States team defeated Bafana Bafana 1-0 today in a friendly at Cape Town’s Green Point Stadium that the South Africans really controlled throughout. I am often asked about what happens if the US faces off against South Africa in soccer or in rugby. In both cases I support South Africa for the […]
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