On April 20 there will be a global effort to make the world aware of Joseph Kony. Kony is the leader of a central African rebel group known as the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). For more than 20 years his group has abducted children to fight on his behalf, made sexual slaves of others, and […]
On Monday, a deputy Chinese foreign minister, Song Tao, announced that Sweden, the current chair of the Arctic Council, supported his country’s bid for permanent observer status in the multilateral organization. He stated, “China applauds Swedish support for China to be an observer to the Arctic Council.” Tao was speaking at a briefing on Premier […]
The United States should launch a Marshall Plan-like initiative to reinforce economic cooperation between India and Pakistan Previous posts (here and here) have highlighted how growing economic engagement is now the driver of the peace dialogue India and Pakistan launched a year ago. The guiding principle is the so-called “Chinese model” – that is, the two […]
What a pity that the people of Zimbabwe and the world made hoopla about your recent trip to Singapore, which turned out to be an ordinary trip for you to attend to your daughter’s post graduate studies in Hong Kong. But can you blame them for believing that your trip was nothing but that of […]
“We must improve our cooperation with Haiti,” pleaded Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos to his 32 American homologous partners attending the Sixth Summit of the Americas the weekend of April 14-15. Intervening on behalf of the earthquake stricken nation, Santos said rather than helping individually, countries should collaborate to maximize their impact on Haiti’s recovery. Haiti’s […]
Some days, as ordinary as they may seem, become revolutionary in our personal and professional life. June 20, 2009 was such a day for me; and perhaps for many other Iranians. It was the day that a girl was shot to death in the streets of Tehran allegedly by forces of the […]
[Reuters/Philimon Bulawayo] Last week there was a mini Twittersplosion. Rumors began to fly that Robert Mugabe, who had recently traveled to Singapore, was gravely ill. Some asserted that he was on the verge of death. Te response was not exactly joy — most African observers are much like I am, they would like Mugabe to […]
Suspicions surrounding Martelly’s nationality snowballed the national press for months, as he taunted senators and even dared them to dislodge his passports from his pockets. “The president’s passport will remain in the president’s pockets,” joked Martelly to journalists. “You have no legal authority to investigate my nationality,” he later sniped at persisting senators. However, when […]
The following was taken from Jspace.com. The article was written by Jspace Foreign Affairs Correspondent, Rob Lattin, who also blogs about Israeli and Middle Eastern foreign policy for Foreign Policy Blogs. Israel’s political system is notorious for its recycling of politicians. However, a new force is emerging, Yair Lapid, the former head anchor of Israeli television station […]
Creating awareness for and showing solidarity with those who have and continue to be persecuted and permanently silenced by the Iranian Government, the Mad Graffiti Campaign for Human Rights in Iran was a seven-day international event aimed at raising awareness about social injustice in the Islamic Republic. Part of the United For Iran Campaign, which […]
On Thursday and Friday, the chiefs of defense from all eight Arctic states met at a Canadian military base in Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador to discuss forging closer ties up north. This was the first time that generals from Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the U.S. convened. The meeting will now […]
This weekend’s Summit of the Americas may not include representation from Cuba, but Cuba is by no means absent from the Summit. In fact, general policy toward the island appeared to be the most significant issue dividing the Hemisphere in advance of this weekend’s meetings: Latin American nations saw Cuba’s continued exclusion from the Summit as […]
When I first met Georgi Vanyan back in 2009, I couldn’t hide my excitement. For me that middle-aged man who smoked one cigarette after another and had sadness in his eyes, even when he smiled, was equal to a rockstar. I couldn’t believe I was talking to the person who organized Days of Azerbaijan as […]
The Singh-Zardari luncheon was more productive than many expected. But the bonhomie will eventually run into stark political realities. Although the timing was coincidental and neither man professes the Christian faith, it was appropriately symbolic that Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari broke bread in New Delhi on Easter Sunday. […]
The Donkeys’ Party of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region unveiled an aptly wrought statue of its four-legged namesake today. Cast in bronze by famed Kurdish sculptor Zerak Mire, the officious fellow is buttoned up in a suit, collared shirt and tie. The political m’ass’cot stands five feet tall (I believe that’s ‘15 hands’ in ‘Equinese’), and […]