Regions

In another sign of strengthened ties between Venezuela and Russia, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin visited Hugo Chávez on Friday. Together they toured the Kruzenshtern, a Russian ship docked at the Venezuelan port city of La Guiara, and spent time in Miraflores, the equivalent of Venezuela’s White House. While in Caracas the leaders signed agreements to […]

At The Washington Post Michael Gerson worries that internal politics in Southern Sudan will prove to undermine or even destroy the region’s prospects for independence. It’s a legitimate concern, but the question I have is whether hints of unrest or even division would provide Khartoum with the pretext to cancel the independence referendum that is […]

There has been a game afoot since President Obama took office last January. While much has been made of Obama’s sweeping domestic agenda, his foreign policy ideas are no less ambitious. In the end, his foreign and domestic agendas are closely related, as the goal of both is to protect and improve America. In the […]

© Flickr DFAIT.maeci On March 29, Canada hosted a closed-door ministerial meeting in Chelsea, Quebec attended by the five Arctic littoral states. Denmark, Norway, Russia, and the U.S. came, having been invited by Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon. One of the biggest headlines in the run-up to the event, and now in its aftermath, however, […]

Three big stories coming from Kenya: Kenyan officials have denied any connection between their country and Somalia’s radical Islamist group al-Shabab. I suppose this was the inevitable spin from Nairobi, so I am not surprised. But it seems to me that the more prudent response would be something along the lines of “we are alarmed […]

It looks to me like the media outlets in Bangladesh are out for blood.  The 668 BDR mutineers have been hauled up in front of a three member special court.  All eyes are on 59 year old BDR Subedar Major Gofran Mallick are the leader of the conspiracy and the consequent bloody mutiny that stained […]

Tensions between the United States and Israel have rapidly escalated lately, fueled in part by continued Israeli construction in controversial areas, including East Jerusalem. The Obama administration has repeatedly implored the Israeli government to expand a freeze on settlements to include Jerusalem, an issue at the forefront of meetings last week between Prime Minister Binyamin […]

As I anticipated, the prospect of a fair and free elections in Sudan just evaporated after the candidates of the opposition parties pulled out of the presidential race. This is not surprising. Citing lack of a strong foundation to conduct a successful poll throughout the nation, the opposition suggested postponing the elections until all necessary […]

Bamyan province is one of the largest in the Hazarajat region of Afghanistan. It is located in the centre of the country and the majority of the people are Hazaras. According to government officials, throughout the country, twenty million people are living under the poverty line, from which 40% make a home in Bamyan. Poverty […]

Although paranoia still reigns in some circles, Interpol, the South African National Defence Forces,  and FIFA President Sepp Blatter all have announced that World Cup security preparations meet and exceed all expectations. This is good news, and for those who have been paying attention, not unexpected.

Thanks to Congressman Hank Johnson (D – Georgia), the debate surrounding the relocation of American troops to Guam just got messier. One might say its reached a tipping point…. It makes you wonder why the Hatoyama administration hasn’t raised the same concern for their tiny island.

An epic drought is ravaging the Mekong River basin, destroying crops and endangering livelihoods.  From the the river’s origins in western China, where it is known as the Lancang, and along its winding route through the countries of the southeast Asian peninsula, record high temperatures and low precipitation have brought the Mekong so low as […]