Weeks back we discussed the media rollback within the Central Asia states, emphasized in a report by Freedom House, and last week I quickly mentioned a World's Association of Newspapers report that also painted a bleak picture of media rights in CA. Today I have two stories that further showcase the region's not only lack […]
Mohammed Ali Jafari, commander of the Revolutionary Guards Corps said that Iran will block “oil shipments through the strategic Hormuz Straits if attacked and pledged that Hizbullah could also respond by rocketing Israel.” Hizballah fighting for Iran?! Didn't they claim they are a Lebanese Resistance movement? Oh well. I recommend you read Mehdi Khalaji article […]
Mysterious message spotted on their website. Will update with more information.
After countless negotiations a solution might appear to the deadlock. Sources say Hizballah may agree with Elias Murr taking the Defense Ministry. The catch is that Hizballah has to give the green light to the men that will take control of Lebanon's security services, army and intelligence. Most likely, Hizballah already assessed through its own […]
On June 18th, the Swiss government announced that it would hand over approximately $74 million dollars to the Mexican government. This is just part of the assets that the Swiss Government confiscated from Raul Salinas de Gortari, brother of Carlos Salinas de Gortari, former President of Mexico. The remaining part of the assets would be […]
Here are some short snipets with some reading material to get you through the weekend without fresh, red-hot Central Asian news! Continuing our discussion about CA's blood transfusion and HIV/AIDS problem on June 19, here is a more personal and touching story of the consequences of the region's poorly managed and constructed health care system. […]
Sawubona! I'm writing from the 7th Street Guesthouse in Joberg's Melville. The trip here was quite the trek, involving many layovers (Houston, Jackson, BWI, Dulles, Dakar) and more than one trip in an automobile, but I finally got into my B&B at about 8:30 South Africa time last night. Not wanting to go to sleep and […]
According to the Senlis Council's latest report on Iraq entitled, “Angry Hearts and Angry Minds“, the international community's mark on Iraq should move away from military means and towards more humanitarian and economic efforts. “Just as we have seen the use of a military surge in Iraq, we need also to see a job surge and […]
February, 2006: Shi’a Iraqis sift through the rubble of the al-Askariyya, or Golden Dome Mosque in Samarra, Iraq in order to find remnants of their religious texts. The city lies in rubble from the supposed al-Qaeda bombing (although no one actually claimed responsibility for the attack). One of the most internationally important Shi’a mosques is […]
World Bank President and former US diplomat Robert B. Zoellick met with President Nazarbayev and the Kazak government this week to discuss several joint World Bank/Kazak projects. The two sides announced plans to jointly finance a $2.5 billion road project to help upgrade the trade routes between Asia, especially China, Russia, and all the way […]
Edward Lucas, the Economist's Eastern Europe correspondent, raises a provocative point in his recent article for Standpoint Magazine. It is certainly true that the worst aspects of the Russian system are often a concentrated form of our own worst shortcomings. Indeed, the West has largely lost the moral authority that it enjoyed during the last […]
For the first time the incoming French EU Presidency has talked of unravelling the Lisbon Reform Treaty to accomodate Irish concerns. Speaking in Brussels, French Secretary of State for European Affairs Jean-Pierre Jouyet said that the outcome of his President's visit to Ireland in July would clarify whether “there is a need to reopen or not to reopen […]
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