A few weeks ago, advocates for a prisoner swap with Hamas seemed optimistic that abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit would be reunited with his family. As the weeks drag on and the media reports apparent Israeli government reluctance on the swap, the prospects of a prisoner exchange by the end of the year continues to […]
This week, one of the biggest stories in the international media about Brazil focused on the Goldman abduction case and the latest international repercussions of the case. Sean Goldman was abducted by his Brazilian mother, Bruna Bianchi, in June 2004 from New Jersey. She brought him to Rio de Janeiro under the pretext of a […]
December 18, 2009 Dear Chief Justice Ifitkhar Chaudhury It seems you are an activist chief justice, and are quite eager to take up Suo Motoactions supposedly to bring about justice and resolve outstanding issues that confront Pakistan. Here are some my suggestions to you; three issues that many Pakistanis feel deserve your immediate attention: 1. […]
Overview This past year was another interesting one for Venezuela, and it is a country where one never knows what will happen next. Overall, Chávez continued to advance his “Bolivarian revolution”. This effort included a number of laws passed by the National Assembly, a body that typically rubber stamps initiatives proposed by the Venezuelan president. […]
President Lula made his case for greenhouse gas emissions reductions at the UNFCCC fifteenth Conference of the Parties (COP15) at Copenhagen. In an open letter published in the Christian Science Monitor, Lula admonished, “It is beyond doubt that both the benefits of economic development as well as the costs of environmental degradation over the past […]
Overview: Kyrgyzstan played the US and Russia for a whole lot of money (Suez Crisis all over again?). There were scuffles between border guards over the Ferghana Valley borders. Nabucco is still on paper while a pipeline between China and Kazakhstan opened. Kazakhstan heads the OSCE while Kyrgyzstan kills or harasses those it considers enemies […]
Zainab Jeewanjee reviews Pakistani politics for 2009. While terrorism dominates the landscape and bilateral relations with the United states, there is hope for a better 2010 in a free, fair media that is rapidly expanding. Jeewanjee discusses an overview of this year, the person who had the most impact and the most unexpected event of 2009 in Pakistan.
Overview: The most notable news this year in the conflicted politics of Bangladesh was the renaissance of the Awami League as a party ready to govern in a way that might give it another run at executive office in the next election cycle. After securing an overwhelmingly popular public mandate for governing Bangladesh in the […]
Overview: The year started with a bang, or many bangs to be precise. The events of late December- mid January one year ago set the stage for relations between Israel and the rest of the world. Israel launched Operation Cast Lead on the Gaza Strip to attempt to end the incessant rocket fire into southern […]
Overview The 2008 Mumbai attacks dominated the news and cast a long shadow that affected India’s actions in 2009. The investigations, compilation of dossiers detailing Pakistan’s involvement and prosecution of the perpetrators of the attack were the highlights of the past year. Evidence of the terrorists’ direct links with Pakistan increased tensions. The composite dialogue […]
Overview: At the beginning of the year, the Arctic 5 were rolling out strategies to enhance their regional military power. Concerns over sovereignty weighed on the minds of policymakers, with Russia and Canada coming to diplomatic blows over the flights of Russian fighter jets a few hundred miles outside Canadian airspace. Yet aggression gave way […]
Do we really need to do a recap regarding Afghanistan for 2009? I mean, what really happened? The only story that I can recall is an American soldier wearing pink boxers. Overview: Welllllll, I guess there was more to 2009 in Afghanistan than that. Cue ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire‘: “Food scarcity, Drone attacks, marital […]
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