The Japanese government is considering raising the consumption tax from 5 percent to 8 percent to pay for reconstruction from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. The government estimated the damage caused by the disaster could amount to 25 trillion yen (more than $300 billion). The Democratic Party of Japan is in favor of raising […]
As expected, interim President Goodluck Jonathan of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has won the presidency in his own right in Nigeria’s elections. The results were not especially close, certainly not enough to cast the results in serious doubt and despite the inevitable claims of vote rigging, corruption, and general malfeasance by the opposition, […]
Young women beside a fountain in a park, Tajikistan, July 2009. © Amnesty International I am a huge fan of the BBC World Service and have been following their Extreme World series of programs – a collection of TV, radio and online coverage that examines the extremes of our planet from education and corruption to attitudes […]
I urge all our Afghanistan readers to check out Sean Patrick Murphy’s review of the film ‘Talibanistan’ over at his FPA Global Film Review blog. I have not seen the film, but from Murphy’s description it sounds worthwhile. Here is his intro: Hearts and minds. That’s what narrator Peter Coyote says coalition forces in Afghanistan […]
At The New Republic Eve Fairbanks has the bizarre story of a mutual admiration society that has formed between Afrikaner farmers and Muammar Gaddafi.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan mentioned Monday a need to freeze construction of new nuclear power plants in the wake of the crisis at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. Even as Kan was being heckled by lawmakers from the opposition Liberal Democratic Party (which is a bit of a misnomer, being neither liberal nor democratic), […]
The Following piece is written by a Yemeni-based journalist who writes for Foreign Policy Association (FPA) and, due to serious security concerns, remains anonymous. In another interesting twist, the JMP (Joint Meeting Party) has declared on Saturday that it would send a delegation of its representative to Riyadh in order to discuss Saleh resignation. After […]
The Following piece is written by a Yemeni-based journalist who writes for Foreign Policy Association (FPA) and, due to serious security concerns, remains anonymous. As unrest spreads in the Arabian Peninsula nation of Yemen, tribal Sheikhs have decided to take matters in their own hands and fight the threat posed by Al Qaeda. Indeed, now that […]
China has over 400 million internet users, more than any other nation. This exponentially increasing population of Chinese netizens entering the global internet community has not come without serious negative externality. Over the past decade, there has been a marked increase in cyber-espionage and hacking coming from Mainland China. Espionage is not new, even between […]
Once again, inflation increased in China last month by more than economists expected, as rising commodity costs and inflows of capital threaten to overheat economies across Asia. China’s consumer prices rose 5.4% from a year earlier, the fastest pace since 2008, according to statistical reports coming out of China. Four interest-rate increases in China since […]
Chaos appears to be descending over the landlocked West African country Burkina Faso. Apparently fed up with paltry housing allowances and other shortfalls, the military started an uprising in the capital city of Ougadougou that has spread to other cities. Police have joined in with the military in directly challenging President Blaise Compaore, who rose […]
What would happen if Moses, the Pharaoh, God and all had Facebook, Twitter, Skype and all these other new social media tools out there? Well, the folks at Aish put this clip together to answer just that.
Police in Uganda cracked down on protesters in the capital city of Kampala over the weekend. At least one was killed, many injured, and untold numbers were arrested when police, at the behest of President Yoweri Museveni, crushed increasingly vehement protests over rising food and petrol prices. More problematically, the police actions smack of political […]
Tokyo Electric Power Co. released a blueprint Monday for ending the crisis at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. TEPCO will first focus on cooling the reactors and spent fuel pools, reducing radiation leaks and decontaminating water that has become radioactive. The first step is estimated to take three months. The second step is to […]
The patriotic displays this weekend in Havana (military marching through the streets, fighter jets flying over, Cubans participating in parades and celebrations) marked the 50th anniversary of the Cuban victory at the Bay of Pigs—or as Cubans call it, Playa Girón—in 1961. The Bay of Pigs invasion is, of course, the infamous failed attempt by […]