The cliff diving Mecca of Acapulco has come to symbolize Mexico’s ailing economy. The sheer cliffs of La Quebrada are famous for the professional divers who hurl themselves over the 140-plus foot cliffs. If they time the waves wrong, they can go splat. Tourists can watch the spectacle from a nearby restaurant carved into the […]
Seventy years ago today, the Foreign Minsters of Russia and Germany singed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact which neutralised Russia at the start of World War II. According to Radio Free Europe the pact “gave Germany a free hand to attack Western Europe without having to fear a war on two fronts. In return, its secret protocol […]
Since the election of both President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, the debate on the downfall of the Israel-U.S. alliance re received significant media attention. Particularly following the U.S. Administration’s insistence of an Israeli freeze on settlements, pundits heightened concerns that the strategic alliance between the two countries was reaching its end. […]
Iranian former President Ali Akbar Rafsanjani is best remembered for his Friday prayer sermon on July 17th 2009, which gave the reform movement a “powerful boost”. In his sermon, he criticized the government for losing the trust of many Iranians, and called for the release of the protesters arrested since the election. As the highest-ranking […]
On August 20, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke approved a plan to close 200,000 square miles of the waters off the north coast of Alaska to commercial fishing. The plan, which was recommended by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council in February, entails a ban on commercial fishing in the American sections of the […]
Tomorrow marks the beginning of the Islamic holy month Ramadan when Muslims around the globe fast from dawn until dusk. In an effort to show respect for religious Muslims, IDF chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi and Defense Minister Ehud Barak ordered soldiers to follow etiquette and refrain from eating, drinking, and smoking around Palestinians during […]
In an editorial within today’s Washington Post, Edward Schumacher-Matos presents a nice summary of what might be considered a waning in the power of Venezuelan President, Hugo Chávez. As Schumacher-Matos describes, on a number of fronts other South American nations have been acting counter to Chávez’s wishes. Ecuador, though considered an ally, has reached out […]
– The New York Times has a great article on the post-Aquino Philippines, which discusses the disillusionment many Filipinos feel with the state of their society. The conclusion is that although the political structure of the nation changed the underlying political culture did not, which resulted in the lackluster political and economic performance that has […]
Texas in Africa and G. Zachary Pastal of Africa Works have a go at this Thomas Friedman column from last Sunday that I could only be bothered to call “particularly incoherent.” I did argue earlier in the week that Frieman’s larger point might be fine — that more and better cell phone and internet access would […]
As the month of Ramadan starts, here is President Obama’s message to Muslims all around the world: [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/1R4KfYuDrvU” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]
Iran allowed inspectors from the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to inspect the nuclear reactor at Arak for the first time in a year and has also granted them greater monitoring of uranium-enrichment facility at Natanz. The accord breaks a months long impasse between Iran and the IAEA. As reported in the Wall Street […]
Pakistan has a deep interest in seeing stable, peaceful democratic processes in Afghan elections this week. Islamabad’s insistence on allocating resources to uprooting domestic factions and maintaing troops along the Indian border rather than focusing directly on fighting terror in Afghanistan do not mean they are uncommitted to stability in Afghanistan. Rather, Pakistan is better equipped and rightfully focused on fighting domestic turmoil and given current Indo-Pak relations, must keep forces on the Indian border. Also, Pakistan has a profound interest in seeing their large refugee population repatriate to Afghanistan, which can only happen if elections are successful and lead to a more stable, democratic Afghanistan.
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