On the one hand, the signs aren’t so good for the ex-oligarch. A new trial begun yesterday could see the former Yukos tycoon convicted for 15 additional years if found guilty of charges that are, according to his lawyer, Robert Amsterdam, “even more fraudulent than the first set.” So why did Medvedev allegedly fly the […]
Russia’s Gazprom has just signed an agreement with Spanish utility Gas Natural. As part of the arrangement, gas from Russia’s Shtokman Field will eventually be sold on the Spanish market as part of an effort to increase Gazprom’s presence in Europe. The Shtokman Field will come on line in 2014 and will deliver gas through […]
The Guardian newspaper has the best overview of US Special Representative Richard Holbrooke’s ‘listening tour’ of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Holbrooke spent most of his time in Pakistan and met with government leaders, military leaders, opposition members, and some elements of civil society. He visited Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, the insurgent targeted and vital transportation hub, Khyber […]
Additional stimulus expected in China Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is expected to announce additional economic stimulus measures at the opening session of the National People’s Congress on Thursday. The new stimulus would add to the 4 trillion Yuan ($585 billion) stimulus package announced in November last year. According to government insiders the new stimulus measures […]
Gaza reconstruction conference attendees heralded the need for opening border crossings and an end to any aggression on the Strip. Moreover, attendees called for immediate Palestinian reconcilliation between Fatah and Hamas, although the two groups did not reach any conlcusive agreements following a conference last week in Cairo attempting to bring them together. After leaving […]
In more good news about Tajikistan and Uzbekistan relations, 85% of their border has now been agreed upon by both sides. Only four points of contention remain, but this is still progress. I cannot guess why they decided to finally deal with this, but alls well that ends well. In other good news, electricity rationing […]
Mokhtar Ghambou, professor of English at Yale, expounds on the virtues of Sufism in fostering moderate and modern versions of Islam in Morocco.
Yesterday’s terrorist attacks do not mean that Pakistan is a failed state. But it has a failed President. Asif Zardari, a disastrous replacement for his assassinated wife, Benazir Bhutto, is compounding his country’s problems by his pursuit of personal survival at the expense of its Constitution, the rule of law and agreement between the main […]
The African National Congress (ANC) continues to suffer high-profile defections to the Congress of the People (COPE) in the run-up to April’s elections in South Africa. Former deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and prominent businessman, Robben Island veteran, and former parliamentarian Saki Macozoma have joined the Congress of the People. So too has the ANC’s Limpopo […]
Violent upheavals, including the assassination of the president of Guinea-Bissau, Joao Bernardo Vieira, has thrown the country into chaos. These events have led to an emergency meeting of West African leaders hoping to forestall further tumult.
Requests for disclosure of stimulus package Yan Yiming, a Shanghai based lawyer, filed a second request with the National Development and Reform Commission to disclose details of the governments 4 trillion Yuan ($585.5 billion) stimulus package. The request marks an unprecedented test of transparency for the Chinese government’s economic stimulus program. Details as to which […]
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