Confusion persists as to the extent of the damage to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant following Friday’s 9.0-magnitude earthquake, which left 10,000 dead or missing, and sped up the earth’s rotation, shortening the day by 1.8 microseconds. Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) is currently pumping seawater into the reactor in an attempt to keep the […]
Fifteen (15) – in years, the prison sentence handed down to American citizen Alan Gross on Saturday by a Cuban court. Prosecutors swayed the court with an argument that in distributing satellite phones in Havana, Gross was plotting to destroy the revolution, working on a “subversive” program paid for by the United States that aimed […]
Newsy has put together a multi-source video (and a transcript) on the Cote d’Ivoire conflict. Suffice it to say that things continue to not look good.
President Obama has chosen former Alaska Lieutenant Governor Frances Ulmer to chair the Arctic Research Commission for the next four years. Currently, she is chancellor of the University of Alaska Anchorage. She also served as one of the seven members on the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Ulmer studied political science […]
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told Israeli radio that the attack on Israeli settlers leaving five dead is “inhuman” and “immoral.” That condemnation is not nearly strong enough, as Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu criticized Abbas for not making his position clear. For example, Abbas could have spoken directly to the Palestinians through their media […]
The latest estimates of the death toll from Friday’s 9.0-magnitude quake is now 10,000. More than 180,000 people have fled from Koriyama, Fukushima, amid fears of a nuclear meltdown, and up to 160 people may have already been exposed to radiation. Power shortages have caused some train lines in Tokyo to suspend services. As financial […]
On the heels of the Egyptian Revolution, Yemen’s uprising is gaining momentum with every passing day. And as the World Medias are turning their attention to this forgotten country of the Arabic Peninsula; one cannot escape the fact that the face of this pro-democracy movement is that of a woman. Given that Yemen is […]
On March 10, the National Academy of Sciences released a report requested by the U.S. Navy detailing the challenges climate change poses to its forces, along with recommendations for how it should respond. While the report states that climate change could cause areas like Russia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands, and China to become […]
I am currently on the road in North Carolina where I am spending ten days or so on a travel grant from the John Hope Franklin Research Center at Duke University (though I am spending the weekend at my old stomping grounds in Charlotte.) Thus posting may be light for a while. However, you may […]
The death toll in Friday’s earthquake, now estimated to have measured 9.0 on the Richter scale, has now reached 687. Fuji TV is reporting that the number of dead and missing is 2800. There are now conflicting reports of a meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi (No. 1) nuclear power plant. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano […]
I’d like to start with an addendum to the story alleging that the Azerbaijani government has ordered the closure of the local NDI (National Democratic Institute) office. As reported on this site yesterday, NDI had issued a denial that they had been told to cease operations. I didn’t weigh in on the matter, and will […]
Israel has viewed Turkey as an ally since before it declared statehood. Turkey, along with Ethiopia and Iran (the latter of course being a much different story) made up Ben-Gurion’s Periphery Doctrine. Recognizing that in the short-term, Israel would not be able to work with its Arab neighbors, he looked to reach out to Israel’s […]
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake On Thursday, March 10, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert O. Blake Jr. testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on Europe and Eurasia, on U.S. policy and engagement in Central Asia. The hearing was chaired by […]
The White House issued a stern call for the Palestinian Authority to condemn yesterday’s terrorist attack that left left five Israeli settlers dead, including two children and a baby. However, hours beforehand PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad expressed his outrage against the attack, although those words still leave a lot to be desired. The White […]
The death toll has reached 202 people, and more than 1000 people are still missing, after an 8.8-magnitude earthquake hit Japan Friday, the largest earthquake in Japanese history, and triggered a 13-foot tsunami. (American media are reporting an 8.9-magnitude earthquake, while Japanese media are reporting M8.8.) Four trains wiped out in the tsunami in Miyaki […]