The topic of Lebanese arms is in the news once again. Externally, the United States has put on hold $100 million in military aid for fear that the weapons may fall into the hands of Hizballah. Internally, Prime Minister Hariri is talking up elevated arms control in the wake of a sectarian altercation in Beirut […]
Almost every news outlet is engaged with Pakistan’s flood and the dire needs of her people. The different ways in which terrible fortunes await those who have just narrowly missed losing their lives is mind-boggling. Disease is germinating in viral dark, wet corners. Given this attention, it is heart-breaking that the private and public donations […]
The world is watching in shock as Pakistan grapples with one of the worst floods in history. This week the UN estimated that the floods in southern Pakistan have displaced about a million people in a matter of two days. The massive floods began almost a month ago and have since displaced about 20 million […]
In a sad indicator that Mexico’s drug violence has reached a new level, 72 bodies were found on a ranch near Monterrey, about 100 miles south of the U.S. border. The 58 men, 14 women were believed to be illegal immigrants, crossing through Mexico from Brazil, Ecuador, El Salvador, and Honduras. The lone survivor, who […]
Johannesburg (52), Nairobi (56), and Lagos (59) made the Foreign Policy magazine’s 2010 Global Cities Index. The index provides a comprehensive ranking of global cities’ performance by measuring their influence on the world stage, ranging from the size of the economy, politics to culture. Not a surprising choice here, but personally I find the three […]
Two new reports – by Morgan Stanley and the Asian Development Bank – offer optimistic, albeit caveat-filled, appraisals of India’s long-term economic outlook. But whether the country can fulfill its potential is still an open question.
I have struggled to try to understand what happened in Kyrgyzstan this summer, specifically the “interethnic” clashes in June. My graduate studies focus on Central Asia in the 19th century, and frankly, much has changed. I am sometimes ill-equipped to fully explain whats happening now with my knowledge of the 19th century. This upcoming semester […]
The possibility of the ANC government cracking down on the media and the concerns over the implications of the Protection of Information Bill (2010) and the possible establishment of a “media tribunal” (the tribunal and the act are not the same thing) continue to vex observers both in in and outside of South Africa. See […]
The High Court down the 7th Amendment to the Constitution of Bangladesh. This ruling deems unconstitutional the various decrees General Ershad passed through under martial law between March and November 1982. The 7th Amendment retroactively legitimated the very acts that successfully engineering the coup undertaken by then Chief of Army staff H.M. Ershad. Thus, striking […]
Terror Cops is the title of a new book by Harry Keeble that puts on display how terrorist cells are created, how terrorist training camps in the UK are used, and how security forces work with the Muslim community. Terror Cops is a white-knuckle ride into the battle against extremism. The book gives unprecedented insight […]
A run of coordinated attacks that spanned the length of the country killed at least 56 people today in assaults aimed at Iraqi army and police forces, one day after the U.S. announced that its combat troops had fallen below 50,000.
Most people would find it hard to upstage a meeting between the head of a giant nuclear power and one of the world’s most high profile rock stars. But most people are not Putin (thank God!?). By single-handedly harpooning a whale while shouting “Living in general is dangerous!”, the Prime Minister not only made Medvedev’s […]
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