“If the political and security situation is stable then we expect a real growth of 4 percent and 4 percent inflation. We also expect to have surpluses in the balance of payments,” said Riad Salameh, the Lebanese Central Bank Governor. Salameh did a great job not dragging Lebanon into the global crisis downs. Lebanon was […]
A new Carnegie report describes the need for U.S. leadership in an Israel-Syrian peace. Incentives for Syria include the return of the Golan Heights and an end to political isolation. The U.S. would benefit by involving itself in the process due to demands it can make on Syria to distance itself from Iran and refrain […]
President Obama’s first budget proposal reveals the possibility for increased non-military involvement in the Middle East and potential for additional aid to the Palestinian territories, with the State Department and other international programs receiving $51.7 billion, $4.5 billion more than 2009 estimates and nearly $10 billion more than 2008. The 142-page document briefly mentions the […]
ISLAMABAD: The chief of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will visit Pakistan next week to discuss the probe into last year’s Mumbai terrorist attacks, the Foreign Office (FO) said on Thursday. “We understand that they have helped India in their ongoing investigations and we hope they will assist us by way of providing […]
The PMLN’s policy of not recognising the “PCO Supreme Court” anticipated its decision to reject the verdict the Supreme Court reached Wednesday to disqualify the Sharif brothers. The deposed chief justice, Mr Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, was able to say in Dera Ghazi Khan that “the Court forfeits its legitimacy by issuing verdicts that are against […]
The depth and breadth of Operation Xcellerator suggests that Mexican drug cartels present a clear and present danger to the American population and its institutions. Operation Xcellerator is an extensive investigation that resulted in the arrest of 775 criminals and the seizure of almost $60 million dollars and 23 tons of drugs, among other assets. […]
European Commissioner Charlie McCreevy, has delivered a stinging criticism of the financial regulation system (over which the Commission, incidentally has significant oversight power). He accused them of having tolerated relaxed lending practices and the accumulation of unsustainable debt by households, individuals and companies. Mr. McCreevy said there would soon be Commission action regarding the regulation […]
After Russia forced Kyrgyzstan’s hand in closing Manas Airbase, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), formed in 2002, has increased its role by creating a Rapid Reaction Force. The CSTO includes the four central asian states except for Turkmenistan (which is officially neutral), Russia, Belarus and Armenia. Its stated purpose is preserving its member states […]
A few items… 1. Eurasianet and the FPA’s Global Food Crisis blog have once again highlighted the plight of hunger in the Afghan state. The Eurasianet report states that around 40,000 Afghan citizens die every year because of hunger, way overshadowing those that are killed by violent conflict, though the two are connected in many […]
Two separate scientific surveys of climate change at the North and South Poles have just revealed new evidence that the poles are warming faster than expected. The International Polar Year 2007-2008 endorsed the work of over 160 different scientific projects to carry out a wide variety of research. Together, the scientists’ work illustrates the dramatic […]
New call for U.S.-China climate change summit Kenneth Lieberthal, a former National Security Council officer on Asia in the Clinton administration urged the leaders in the U.S. and China to focus their cooperation on fighting climate change. Mr. Lieberthal pressed the issue in Beijing at the release of his study on climate change in cooperation […]
Wedad Lootah, an Emirati social worker, has published a book about sex, marriage and Islam that is now for sale in the UAE. The title is “Secrets of Sexual Congress Between Married Couples”. She paid for the publication out of her own pocket, and had the mufti of Dubai review her manuscript beforehand.
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