Eight of the judges sacked last November by former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf have been reinstated. They took their oaths at the governor's house in Karachi. Reports say seven or eight more may be sworn in next week. Mr Musharraf sacked some 60 judges, including Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, but some were restored later. Former […]
PESHAWAR – Peshawar-based United States Consul General Lynne M Tracy survived an attempt on life here on Tuesday morning. "Two persons boarding Land Cruiser opened fire on the bullet-proof vehicle of the top American diplomat at Rehman Baba Road, University Town, Peshawar," remarked SHO Arshad Khan. He added that the US Consul General was accompanied […]
Russia's recognition of Ossetia and Abkhazia baffled me. On this blog, I have frequently tried to show alternative, Russian perspectives on matters that seem otherwise to be common sense, above debate, to Western audiences. But I just cannot see any benefits this move will bring. On the contrary, by uniting the traditionally friendly OSCE, pragmatic […]
The head of Georgia's Parliament, David Barakidze, says his country is being targeted for “regime change — by economic means,” and is appealing to the United States and other countries for major economic assistance. In an interview from Denver, where he is lobbying leading delegates to the Democratic National Convention, Barakidze said Russian forces had […]
When I read that Robert Mugabe had begun to appoint provincial governors and other political appointees I chalked it up as business as usual for Mugabe. With negotiations still ongoing, and at something of an impasse, he simply decided to establish facts on the ground and thus to act as if those facts reflect ongoing […]
Asif Ali Zardari, the leading contender for the presidency of nuclear-armed Pakistan, was suffering from severe psychiatric problems as recently as last year, according to court documents filed by his doctors. The widower of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto was diagnosed with a range of serious illnesses including dementia, major depressive disorder and post-traumatic stress […]
Not a day goes by without something happening in Lebanon. It is more of X said that, Y said the other, Z cursed all. I believe that for the next few months this will be the status quo. Hizballah arrested people in dahyeh. Again. Remind me not to carry a camera in dahyeh. Prince Talal […]
The rather tepid performances of South Africa's Olympians appears to have sent the country's sporting fandom and chattering classes into another of its periodic crises of confidence (with finger pointing!). South Africa's fans and media are the stage parents of the sporting world. They build excessively high expectations for their teams, and then they […]
Amos Wako, Kenya's Attorney-General, has told the country's Commission of Inquiry into Post-Election Violence that politicians who fomented violence should not be let off the hook. He believes that politicians who encouraged violence should not be allowed to serve in office, nor should they be granted amnesty for their deeds. Wako's words are encouraging inasmuch […]
The world is getting better, in some ways slowly, in other ways fast. What I mean by ‘better’ is a more safe and prosperous life for the average world citizen. But the world is also a very challenging place, and ripe with conflict, even in our ‘postmodern’ liberal-democracy-led 21st century. Two cases stemming from Afghanistan, […]
South African History Online has a feature on the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the United Democratic Front (UDF). With the African National Congress, Pan-Africanist Congress, and other organizations banned the UDF filled an essential void and fueled the anti-Apartheid opposition in the tumultuous 1980s. Largely locally focused, the UDF confronted apartheid as much […]
The latest edition of Private Eye, the finest satirical/investigative journal in the English language, is all about Russia & Georgia, with an Olympic flavour: Let's have a look, shall we? And the party-political angle:
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