President Calderon has named new ambassadors to Venezuela and Cuba, in an effort to improve diplomatic relations with the two socialist regimes. Mexico's current ambassador to Colombia, Jesus Mario Chacon Carrillo, will head to Venezuela, filling a two-year vacancy in the top diplomatic post there. Calderon has also asked Congress to send Gabriel Jimenez to Cuba, […]
Lots and lots of news: I recommend you start here, with Mr. Robichaud's interview about security, hostages, and other aspects of Afghanistan. U.S. Wind and Fury: –This week I talked about loose lips in the U.S. presidential race that can, well, sink ships of state. My collegue James Nadel at the FPA Elections 2008 blog also covered this, […]
Afrifocus has again turned its attention to China's role in Africa. Worth checking out are a Gareth Evans and Donald Steinberg article arguing that China's mindset toward Darfur has changed to the point that “instead of being part of the problem, it could play a significant role in the solution.” If Evans and Steinberg are […]
It's Friday: must be time for the CAB. And what a week: there's no keeping up with this hot zone of geopolitical interest . . . although some states have more news than others. Central Asia General: –All SCO this week, every day. First, the beginning of a Collective Security Timeline, on a separate page […]
Well, to finish out a week of SCO backgrounders, I just want to include an uh, informative video of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. It seems that this video shows citizens of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea that President Kim Jong Il is also a participant in Shanghai Cooperation Organization events and meetings. You will notice that the DPRK […]
So what do I wake up to this morning, just a few hours after yesterday's cynical post about Zimbabwe? A report in the Mail & Guardian that Robert Mugabe is nearing a deal that will “end a political crisis in his country.”Naturally, if an agreement, which will largely involve the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and […]
New developments: First of all, in a nice Americanizing of the names of other states’ scandals, there was what was once labelled “Kazakhgate“, which had to do with corruption, independent oil companies, and post-Soviet political economy; now we have “Rakhat-gate”, which is what this post is all about. This is an update on the deposed: fall of Rakhat Aliev (also […]
The Sound and the Gear: this short piece dates from around March 23rd of this year, and is featured courtesy of CCTV and YouTube. Note how the cornerstone of SCO policy continues to be cooperation against “Terrorism, Separatism, and Extremism.” The action clips look pretty heavy-duty, don't they? [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/0Iaan_5zt5w” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization begins its military exercises today, August 9, in the Xinjiang region. “Peace Mission 2007” (love the name) will end in Chelyabinsk, Russia on August 17th. Over 6500 military personnel will participate; according to Mr. Pannier over at RFE/RL, the bulk of the troops will be from China or Russia. Uzbekistan is sending […]
It's tough not to be cynical about Zimbabwe these days. Robert Mugabe's megalomaniacal tyranny has fueled political chaos and violence, the economy is in shambles and looks primed to get worse, people are going hungry in the cities and in the country, and the prospects for improvement would seem to be scant. And yet according […]
The Council on Foreign Relations hosted a discussion titled “Biofuels in the Americas” featuring David J. Rothkopf and C. Ford Runje. Participants discussed the drawbacks of corn-based ethanol as well as the opportunity that Latin American countries have to diversify their economies via the energy sector by developing biofuel industries. Listen to an audio podcast […]
Last week, I noted the arrest of Mr. Rejepov, former head of one of Turkmenistan's security apparati. This week, a former confidante of Turkmenbashi and former Agricultural minister Meredov has been arrested. Ferghana.ru translates reports from Vremya Novostei: Paizygeldy Meredov was arrested for corruption and financial fraud in the cotton industry. His son, Batyr Meredov, […]
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