[Robert Mugabe and Nelson Mandela]
Nelson Mandela has been hospitalized for more than a week and South Africans are on edge.
Robert Mugabe has controversially announced a quick July 31 date for elections in Zimbabwe and Zimbabweans are on edge.
Of course South Africans are on edge …

More than two years after the beginning of the Syrian rebellion, the Obama administration reported on Thursday, June 13, that it would begin supplying small arms and ammunition to rebels fighting the Syrian government. Proposals for more direct intervention, such as the establishment …

On the heels of the opening of the Arctic Council’s Permanent Secretariat in Tromsø, Norway, two new Arctic research centers in China and Russia have been announced while one in Canada has made progress towards becoming reality.
China-Nordic Arctic Research Institute
First, Chinese and Nordic representatives announced plans to establish the China-Nordic Arctic …

Economic doldrums mean that India is not much of a destination for global investors nowadays and the flight of foreign capital is depressing the rupee’s value to record lows vis-à-vis the U.S. dollar.  Even domestic investorsprefer to put their money elsewhere.  The country was the toast of the …

The Secretary General’s latest quarterly report on the Africa Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) makes for grim reading. Citing frequent military clashes between the Sudanese government and armed rebel forces, the report states that increased violence in the region has displaced more than 300,000 people since …

China’s manned space program scored a major advance this week as they launched three astronauts to an orbiting space lab for a brief stay in orbit. It may surprise …

Hassan Rohani, the 65-year-old Western educated cleric and a former chief nuclear negotiator, is the seventh President of the Islamic Republic of Iran since 1979. Iran’s state-run television reported that Mr. Rohani won over 50 percent of the electoral vote. Mr. Rohani ran on a platform of moderation, mending ties with the …

While Julian Assange is the person with the rock star persona, Bradley Manning is the true center of this documentary.
It was Manning who leaked information to WikiLeaks and who now faces trial for doing so.
Army Pfc. Manning is portrayed in the film as a confused and somewhat naïve …

The South Pacific: a region of inviting sandy beaches, turquoise waters – and unacceptable levels of violence against women. Life is especially difficult in Papua New Guinea, where an estimated 70% of women will be raped or physically assaulted in their lifetime. If this isn’t …

Two years on nearly 93,000 people are dead in Syria, victims of the civil war there, victims of the Assad regime’s devastating military action against the Syrian rebels.  65oo …

Silent War
By Michael Joseph Gross
Vanity Fair
Did the U.S. bid to stop nuclear proliferation unleash an even great threat? The cyberwar between Iran and the U.S. may not involve shooting, but it’s taken a number of casualties in the business community with it, whether they are banks or huge …

 
The summer of 1988 has a special significance in Iran’s tortured history under the Islamic Republic. It marked the height of Iran’s weakened military status in the waning days of its war with Iraq. Iran was also weakened financially, having its coffers dried up as a result of a war …

 
Blogger’s Note: 
The following is a co-authorship piece by Soushiant Zangenehpour and Alireza Ahmadian.
The 2009 (S)election Shock: What Happened?
Nearly four years ago today, the world witnessed an orchestrated mass deception called “election” unfold over the course of a few hours in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Some of us in Vancouver, …

 
The violent, mismanaged and tyrannical rule of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe must end. As the opposition parties in the country unite to dig their heels in bracing to defend against another example of the blatant and rampant corruption that has engulfed Mugabe’s reign, which has lasted more …