It is well-known that the Central Asian region is surrounded by Great and Medium Powers who desire influence in the area. Turkey may not be the largest, richest, or closest power to the region, but its historical and ethnic connections to CA and its people loom large. The Journal of Turkish Weekly has written an […]
The news coming from Lebanon are anything but good. Suspicion, lack of trust and narrow agendas prevent progress on the ground. At the meeting, President Suleiman had with the spiritual leaders, he warned that “differences have reached the level of committing suicide.” Former Premier, Omar Karami talks of a temporary truce "because historical grudges still […]
At 4:00 am tomorrow (or five hours from now) I'll get up and begin a winding journey that will land me in South Africa Thursday afternoon. I'll be there for three weeks, will be traveling extensively for two conferences, some research, travel and holiday, and reportage. I may be out of touch for a bit, […]
With just over two days to go before the runoff little is certain except for the certainty that Robert Mugabe's calculated tyranny has turned Zimbabwe into a chaotic state in which the anarchy he has very much fomented serves Mugabe's needs. Zimbabwe is ostensibly a one-party state. In reality, right now it is a one-man state. The […]
The dueling headlines tell of the tricky course South Africa has chosen for itself with regard to the situation in Zimbabwe. It is widely recognized that South Africa has the potential to be the biggest external power broker, whether through sticks or carrots, words or deeds. And so far, it is no secret, South Africa […]
When: June 17 and 18 Where: US Naval Academy – Annapolis, MD Who: Co-Chairs US Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr. and Vice Premier Wang Qishan Why: To strengthen and deepen the bilateral economic relationship through actions to: raise questions seek consensus implement results prevent trade protectionism and conservatism from hampering the trade cooperation […]
The Financial Times is reporting that progress toward regularized EU-Russian collaboration will be negatively impacted by the lack of progress on the Lisbon Treaty ratification. Russian officials want to see the ratification process move ahead, in part for the clarity it would bring with respect to foreign affairs: “"With the Lisbon treaty in force and a […]
Things are grim in Zimbabwe. But that does not mean that we cannot find room for laughter. The blogger Copyranter, who has been an advertising copywriter in New York for sixteen years, dissects various ads and other forms of propoganda. Yesterday Copyranter tackled a Robert Mugabe campaign poster. An excerpt: Since present conditions in Zimbabwe […]
Tajikistan, already one of the world's poorest nations, has suffered much this year with a harsh winter, continuing health concerns, and with rising food prices. But the worse could be yet to come as its President Rahmon's rule appears to be showing some cracks and news reports about the country have titles such as ‘Who's […]
UNRWA estimated the costs to rebuild Nahr el Bared, and 15 villages around it, at 445 million US dollars. Almost half of this amount will be put forward by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. The rest will be covered by Western and European countries. The Palestinians need a place to stay, […]
Whether he intended such a result or not, is it possible that Morgan Tsvangirai's withdrawal from the runoff election in Zimbabwe has finally forced the outside world to contemplate real action against Robert Mugabe and his regime? And could that action include the use of force? There are rumblings from Britain that military action could […]
Despite the fact that South African farmers produced high yielding maize crops this year, a confluence of global factors means that this staple food for millions of South Africans may be unavailable or prohibitively expensive for the foreseeable future. The poor, of course, will be the hardest hit: They rely the most on the crop and are […]
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