Clashes in Tripoli
June 23, 2008 2 min. read

Lebanese troops on Monday moved into north Lebanon where two days of fierce sectarian battles killed are said to have killed 10 people, threatening to derail an accord to end the country's political crisis. The army threatened to use force to end the fighting that erupted on Sunday in the densely populated Bab al-Tebbaneh and […]

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Politics, Justice, Loyalty
June 23, 2008 1 min. read

Crises tend to escalate quickly in South Africa. Just weeks ago there were precious few South Africans who could have identified John Hlophe, the Cape Judge President. Now he is at the center of a row over his alleged involvement in the ongoing arms scandal that some are calling “the greatest showdown in South Africa's […]

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Zim Tops CFR's Agenda
June 23, 2008 1 min. read

In its Daily News Brief today the Council on Foreign Relations has placed the Zimbabwe crisis at the “Top of the Agenda.” CFR provides lots of links about the ongoing crisis.   UPDATE: Andrew Sullivan also posts about Zim today, with a handful of links, including to some powerful pictures.  

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"Taking stock" in Brussels
June 23, 2008 5 min. read

Only a week after the resounding Irish ‘No’, EU leaders faced the difficult task of formulating a response at a weekend summit that was slated to address the rather mundane issues of governing an almost unwieldy Union of 27. Instead, EU heads of state and government faced yet another “crisis,” likened by some to the […]

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EU gets tough on Iran
June 23, 2008 1 min. read

When US President George W. Bush made what will likely be his last visit to Europe for the EU-US Summit two weeks ago, Iran was one of the only points both sides could still sink their teeth into. While Europe and the US have had diametrically opposed methods of dealing with the country, with the […]

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"Going to the Chapel and I'm Gonna Get Married to Three Kazak Women"
June 23, 2008 3 min. read

How bout some early Monday morning polygamy talk? Radio Free Europe reports that the Kazak parliament has been debating a new draft law that would allow any man who is able to meet his second and third wife's financial needs and obtain their consent can have multiple marriages. The parliament has debated this issue before […]

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Responses to the Zimbabwe Crisis
June 23, 2008 1 min. read

Responses to the escalating crisis in Zimbabwe have accelerated, especially after Morgan Tsvangirai's withdrawal from the campaign today. Here is a roundup: Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos has sent a message to Mugabe asking him to make sure the election is free and fair and to eliminate the violence besieging his country. Zim's independent […]

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Mexico City's International Airport and the War on Drugs
June 23, 2008 2 min. read

Mexico City's International Airport is a good representative of the current trends in the fight against drugs in Mexico. Indeed, the airport is a window to the escalating conflict that involves the federal government and its allies‚ including the US government‚ as well as drug trafficking organizations that dare to smuggle thousands of cocaine doses […]

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Putin's Football Philosophy: Peter the Great, or Perestroika?
June 22, 2008 4 min. read

I'm not the nationalistic sort. I count in my head in English, I think Ukrainians are alright, at heart. Even the Georgians, when they behave. I quietly enjoy the good news from back home and decry the bad, with the equal dose of ironic detachment and self-referential mockery demanded of my generation. Yet I'd just […]

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Tsvangirai Out
June 22, 2008 2 min. read

Morgan Tsvangirai, the Movement for Democratic Change leader who has challenged Robert Mugabe has withdrawn from the runoff election. Tsvangirai, who is widely believed to have won the 29 March elections, and who would likely have won in the 27 June runoff were they free and fair, has cited the widespread violence aimed at MDC supporters […]

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WaPo on De Waal
June 22, 2008 1 min. read

This week The Washington Post “Book World” profiles Africanist Alex de Waal, who contributes a piece in Book World's “The Writing Life” feature. De Waal is best known for his work on the Sudan and the Darfur crisis. I met de Waal at this year's Sudan Studies Association meeting. He has a fierce intellect and an […]

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Carrots, Sticks, and the Youth League
June 21, 2008 1 min. read

Talk about taking with one hand and giving with the other! Even as the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) seeks a way to have corruption charges against Jacob Zuma disappear and go over the top in their willingness to support him, the organization's leaders have also made clear that if Zuma disappoints, the ANCYL will have […]

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