Regions

South Africa’s almost universally respected Finance Minister Trevor Manuel has continued to argue that his country is not in the grips of a recession. This is obviously good news, though for those who work or rely on those industries, such as manufacturing, that have seen contraction, will find the news to be of small semantic […]

Depending on what source one chooses to believe, the judges on the International Criminal Court (ICC) either have or have not issued an arrest warrant for Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir. Whatever the reality of the situation, two things appear clear: 1) Whether the warrant has been issued or not, the noose is circling around al-Bashir, […]

Wen and Putin on the phone China’s Premier Wen Jiabao held an in-depth phone conversation with Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on bilateral trade and other issues of common concern. They both emphasized each other’s significance as strategic partner and the importance of continuing cooperation. The phone conversation was held on the same day that […]

Morgan Tsvangirai has taken office in Zimbabwe. (You can read his inauguration address here.) His calls to restore the rule of law and to revive the country’s devastated economy coupled with the belief among masses in Zimbabwe that he is the country’s rightful leader have resulted in Tsvangirai’s receiving a hero’s welcome. Naturally optimists want […]

I’m immensely proud to announce that the Latin American Studies Department at Georgetown University has launched a new web site. “The Center for Latin American Studies was one of the first of its kind in the United States. Its core faculty bring together diverse scholarly interests with a focus on Latin America, and adjunct faculty […]

It is amazing how much the US media is now concentrating on the war in Afghanistan as the war in Iraq is dropping further and further onto the back pages. This also appears to be true in looking at US government entities as Afghan envoy Richard Holbrooke is seemingly everywhere and we do not even […]

While Israel asserts a victory in Operation Cast Lead, the state lost a number of intelligence agents in the conflict. Due to the use of intelligence to focus attacks and prevent civilian casualties, the loss of these individuals could result in increased death tolls in the event of another strike. Meanwhile, even though Israel failed […]

Coalition building continues with Likud Chairman Binyamin Netanyahu offering Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who received a plurality of votes, significant cabinet positions such as defense alongside the foreign ministry. However, Livni still intends to attempt to form a coalition after receiving support from left-wing voters intent on preventing a Netanyahu victory. Meanwhile, Yisrael Beitenu chief […]

Authorities in Gabon have arrested two journalists, one French, the other Swiss, for posing as tourists. According to an official the two men were trying “to dig up a story on French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner,” who went before France’s parliament last week “to reject accusations made in a new book of having unethical ties […]

There have been some new pharmaceutical developments that seem to hold out promise in combating HIV/AIDS. According to The Washington Post: Two experiments in monkeys showed that antiretroviral (ARV) drugs, given by mouth or by vaginal gel, were highly effective in blocking infection by the virus that causes AIDS. A third study, in 3,100 women […]

In an interview with SABC on Sunday South African President Kgalema Motlanthe suggested that perhaps Zimbabwe could adopt the rand as its currency. What he surely means (or what I hope he means, if this gains traction, anyway) was that at some point down the road, under the right conditions, Zimbabwe could tie the Zimbabwean dollar to […]

There have been some interconnected developments on the Sudan/Darfur front that bear watching. First, the Sudanese government is set to sit down with the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebels in Qatar in order to try to kickstart peace talks. It is frankly difficult to muster up a whole lot of optimism that these talks […]