Regions

Well, this one provides a cynicism test: Robert Mugabe has declared March 29, the country's election day, to be a public holiday. Now, ordinarily speaking, I believe that anything that makes voting easier and more accessible to the most people is a good thing. And yet Zimbabwe under Robert Mugabe is far from ordinary, and […]

In the final segment of Freedom in the World Rankings; Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan received the highest scores (which means they are the least free) of all the Central Asian states. Turkmenistan Political Rights , 7/7 Civil Rights , 7/7 Status , Not Free Freedom House's report mainly concentrates on former President Niyazov's "iron control' over […]

Two attacks in Yemen today, onenear the US Embassy in Sana’a and another in the southern province of Abyan.  As of right now, the Yemeni government doesn't see this as targeting the US Embassy, but rather as a “purely criminal incident”.    To be sure, the mortars in Sana’a hit a school, some 500 meters from […]

IRIN has two stories on the work of the United Nations’ World Food Program (WFP) in Africa. One involves providing emergency food aid for tens of thousands of people affected by cyclone Jokwe in the north of Mozambique. The other addresses the concerns about food scarcity in Sierra Leone (which the UN has judged to […]

This is from October, but it is still interesting.  Congressional testimony about Iran, from Karim Sadjapour (.pdf file).    The piece is nuanced and fair, with interesting reccomendations on how the US should deal with Iran, specifically how we can influence the people, rather than the government. 

I suppose there could be a first time for anything.   The European Union is joining the US in calling for pressure on Syria to be constructive in helping Lebanon get past its current, dangerous political crisis.    Hezbollah does not agree. What Solana said is far from being objective. It is an echo of the United States‘ […]

You know that Simba Makoni is no one's puppet. And I know that Simba Makoni is no one's puppet. It is absurd to posit, as Robert Mugabe and his supporters have tried to do in recent days, that Makoni is a tool of the west, of the British or the Americans. Which is why it […]

While some still look to cast blame in Kenya, is appears that the narrative in that country, which saw an explosion of unexpected violence after several years in which it appeared that the country would be a model for all of Africa, has turned to reconciliation. Of course to have true reconciliation, there will have […]

I do not even feign to be an economist, but many observers, including Finance Minister Trevor Manuel, worry that the country's current account deficit represents a “major chink in [South Africa's] armour.” The declining value of the rand and the tenuous state of global markets is also a concern, but as Manuel points out, probably […]

Continuing a 3-Part series on Freedom House's Freedom of the World ratings for all five Central Asian states; Today are Kazakhstan and Tajikistan Here is a link to how Freedom House scores each nation. Kazakhstan Political Rights , 6/7 Civil Rights , 5/7 Status , Not Free Freedom House's analysis of political and civil rights […]

British immigration authorities have decided to deny asylum to more than one thousand Zimbabweans living in the country and to expel them from the country. The Home Office has decided that the asylum seekers face no risk of danger if they return to Zimbabwe, which is prima facie absurd. Zimbabwe is a pariah state — […]

In an extensive interview with the Mail & Guardian ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe last week effectively told COSATU to back off, to stop trying to run the party's and the country's internal affairs, and effectively debunked the idea that Jacob Zuma might be more receptive to giving COSATU and the SACP greater power within […]