Obama’s speech did not receive much attention in the Turkish press. Most newspapers mentioned it in a tiny box on their front pages with a little more mention in their foreign affairs sections. Newspapers Akşam, Güneş, Sabah, Yeni Şafak highlighted the part of Obama’s speech concerning Syria, interpreting it as a ‘clear ultimatum’ to Assad. […]
He might have had no problems embracing iPad and Twitter, but the tech-savvy Medvedev seems to be a late adopter when it comes to good old fashioned press freedom. A Russian journalist who claims to have been barred from covering his recent news conference is suing the presidential press service and protection unit, reports Radio […]
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and South Korean President Lee Myung Bak are meeting in Japan with Prime Minister Naoto Kan for a two-day summit. Kan’s goal in the summit is to persuade China and South Korea to lift import restrictions on Japanese food products, which have been in effect since the ongoing crisis at the […]
As the world bears witness to the litany of dictators and autocratic governments toppling or trying desperately to avoid doing so during the first half of 2011, the hot topic on the minds of students, scholars, and policymakers has often been which regime will be the next to go? After Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and […]
There was a huge outcry over President Obama’s comments that future negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians should be based on the 1967 lines. While his comments were inappropriate and ill-timed, what he said was in no way an ultimatum or even definitive for that matter. Quite the opposite, he merely stated that the ’67 […]
The unprecedented set of circumstances that marked the end of ex-President Rene Preval’s reign left Haitian constitutional scholars spitting fire, talking about high treason and recommending disciplinary actions against current legislators. Many even argued that Preval left the country without a Constitution since some of the amendments voted by the National Assembly on May 9, […]
The unprecedented set of circumstances that marked the end of ex-President Rene Preval’s reign left Haitian constitutional scholars spitting fire, talking about high treason and recommending disciplinary actions against current legislators. Many even argued that Preval left the country without a Constitution since some of the amendments voted by the National Assembly on May 9, […]
Just-concluded elections in five Indian states offer mixed news for embattled Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Congress Party.
It was all but certain that Dominique Strauss-Kahn planned to step down from the IMF this summer to declare his candidacy for president in next spring’s elections. It was also all but certain he would emerge as the Socialist frontrunner against incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy. Now that these assumptions have been mooted, the Socialist party has […]
Economy heads back to high growth http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=186434 New regulatory framework at the Securities and Exchange Commission http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=186523 Stocks continue to decline http://www.theindependentbd.com/business/stockmarket/50811-stocks-continue-to-decline.html Bangladesh fund floats http://www.independent-bangladesh.com/2011050512260/business/bangladesh-fund-floats.html Apparel export to US rises fast http://biz.bdnews24.com/details.php?id=196274&cid=4 Innovative business ideas and inclusive marketing will cut poverty faster http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/more.php?news_id=136297&date=2011-05-20
Europe is trying to maintain its international rank and power not because of its latest successes, but because of tradition. Here is the idea emerging with the recent arrest of IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Khan (also called DSK) concerning the appointment of a new IMF chief. The theme of this blog is not to discuss […]
The bulk of headlines this morning on President Barack Obama’s speech on the Middle East yesterday emphasized that the Israelis, Palestinians, Hamas, or the Arab world are incensed by some policy outlined yesterday. These complaints are only about spinning the speech for future negotiations and not based in reality, with Obama using the opportunity to […]
Chapter 1: Delayed Account of a Reluctant Outrage _______________________________________________________________ A 3-member Panel of Experts was appointed by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to advise him about human rights violations during the last phase of the civil war in Sri Lanka. The UN released the report of the panel on April 26, 2011 in […]
“President Assad now has a choice: He can lead that transition, or get out of the way.” This is the key phrase of President Barack Obama’s speech regarding Syria. Yawn. I can’t say it came as a big surprise, but this speech was largely a waste of time, and a missed opportunity, especially when looked at […]
Not one single word in Obama’s Middle East speech included or even made a remote reference to Turkey. This, from Turkey’s perspective, was the most important part of yesterday’s policy position statement. In traditional Turkish collective memory, Middle East has been a realm of ‘problem’, which Turkey had to stay away from; some of those […]