Here in America, a lot of us are aware of what Memorial Day stands for – it formally commemorates the men and women who fought and died while in military service. However, too often, it’s simply summer’s annual kick-off, and the official start to vacation season. Once upon a time, Memorial Day marked a moment […]
I have always had a somewhat ambivalent relationship with the travel writings of Paul Theroux. On the one hand he is (usually) a graceful writer and an intrepid traveler. The best travel writing transports the reader to a place he or she has never been and may never be, or provides new insights to a […]
The world has become less peaceful in 2011, according to the latest Global Peace Index (GPI). This is the third consecutive year that the GPI, produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), has shown a decline in the levels of world peace. The 2011 Index dramatically reflects the impact on national rankings of […]
The Following piece is written by a Yemeni-based journalist who writes for the Foreign Policy Blogs network and, due to serious security concerns, remains anonymous. In a Friday speech, just ahead of Yemen National Day, President Ali Abdullah Saleh announced that he was in support of early Presidential elections. He also denounced foreign meddling, stating […]
This piece was written by Lisa Daftari. Lisa Daftari is a California-based journalist and commentator and a regular Fox News contributor, specializing in counter-terrorism and Iranian affairs. She can be reached via http://www.lisadaftari.com/ A week after President Obama’s Middle East speech, it has become increasingly evident that although there was much talk, little will result. President Obama’s […]
Syrian dictator Bashar al Assad might soon face a firing squad of U.S. missiles, fighter jets and aircraft carriers in the wake of hundreds, if not thousands, of murders on the streets of Damascus and throughout the country. While Assad’s actions might lead to sanctions or another non-military response, the situation could escalate — like […]
This week the second ever Africa-India Summit took place, with New Delhi signaling that it was committed to doing business with the continent and supporting both national and regional development. Trade between India and Africa amounted to roughly $46 billion in 2010, but the partners aim to increase that number to $70 billion by 2015. […]
In a recent piece which appeared on this website, fellow Southeast Asian blogger Rohan Poojara remarked on the potential which microloans could have on the economy of Indonesia, a country suffering from staggering levels of unemployment amongst its youth and which typically has difficulty in obtaining the necessary capital in order to build and expand […]
Reports out of Tbilisi indicate that at least two people were killed early today (26 May) during a police crackdown on demonstrators outside the Parliament building on Rustavelli Avenue. Police moved in shortly after the midnight, when the permit for the opposition rally expired, intent on clearing the area for today’s Independence Day parade, which […]
Answer: $1.2 billion per year. That is how much Serbia’s failure to capture the man who is accused of orchestrating the massacre at Srebrenica has cost the country in lost investment, according to government estimates. As many have noted, his arrest should now pave the way for Serbian admission to the EU (though this process […]
Azeri journalist Eynullah Fatullayev, who has been serving a variety of prison sentences since April of 2007, was given his freedom today in one of President Aliyev’s amnesties. As readers of this blog are aware, the charges against Fatullayev had ranged from libel to inciting terror to tax evasion – and more recently, to drug […]
Telecom company Softbank Corp.’s president Masayoshi Son will shoulder most of the 80 billion yen ($975 million) cost of building 10 large-scale solar power plants. The governors of 19 of Japan’s 47 prefectures have signed on to take part in the project. Shizuoka governor Heita Kawakatsu said: “The (recently shut down) Hamaoka nuclear power plant […]
So, you know that referendum that allowed South Sudan to go its own way? And you know how Khartoum said that it would not intervene to prevent the separation? Well, Omar al-Bashir’s government might have meant it, but they sure were not going to yield the contested terrain of oil-rich Abyei. And so earlier this […]
The Following piece is written by a Yemeni-based journalist who writes for the Foreign Policy Blogs network and, due to serious security concerns, remains anonymous. Embattled President Saleh announced on Wednesday morning in an interview with Reuters that Yemen would not become another failed state like Somalia; and that he will not allow the country […]