The always-controversial (but undeniably magnetic) head of the ANC Youth League (ANC-YL), Julius Malema, recently spoke at the launch of the ANC’s local government elections manifesto in North West Province. His argument was simple: If you don’t like some of the candidates running on the ANC ticket, vote for them anyway. “Even if you like […]
Amongst all the political upheaval in the Middle East and North Africa, with people rising against dictatorial regimes in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen and elsewhere, this week China embarked on its annual legislative session. The legislative session of the National People’s Congress, which officially enacts legislation, will rubber-stamp the government’s 12th Five-Year-Plan (2011-2015), which was […]
In a surprising move, which neither the government nor the international community saw coming; the province of Ibb staged a massive rally in its regional capital. Thousands upon thousands of pro-democracy protesters gathered in the town centre, voicing their anger. With growing unrest in the south of the country, armed clashes within the Oil […]
Image courtesy news.bbc.co.uk In light of this morning’s news of another flotilla of North African migrants approaching Lampedusa in Italy, wanted to quickly post a link (in French) to an excellent post on the generally-excellent BondyBlog, which covers issues related to inner-city France and Europe. It is a first-hand account of what leads one of […]
One of the top stories in Japan this week is the arrest of a 19-year-old boy who admitted to cheating on a college entrance exam. The Japanese media are focusing on how the boy was able to cheat in the first place, and calling for schools to update anticheating measures. However, I think it will […]
I don’t know what’s worse: that the New York Times printed a quote from an estimable and important Bangladeshi that was off the mark; or whether, it’s worse that the quote in question was offered by the chairman of Bangladesh Human Rights Commission. Let’s start with the former issue. The quote in question was delivered […]
While for many ordinary Zimbabweans getting Panadol (a pain relief medication), is a luxury they cannot afford, Robert Mugabe (Zimbabwe’s ruler for the past 30 years) just in one year managed to fly to Singapore four times for medical check ups. Mugabe’s fourth and recent visit was last Thursday, a visit Mr. Charamba, his spokesperson, […]
Former first lady and presidential candidate Mirlande Manigat has written several books over her professional career, including her 2002 publication, Etre Femme in Haiti Hier et Aujourdhui that explored the evolution of women in Haitian society throughout its history. Her counterpart, Michel Martelly, spent the latter half of his 49 years writing an interesting chapter of […]
President Hamid Karzai’ has rebuffed General Petraeus’ face to face personal apology for the misidentification of nine boys for wanted insurgents, and the subsequent slaughter that followed. President Karzai declared that “the people of Afghanistan are tired of these incidents and excuses, and condemnations cannot relieve their pain….I am asking you on behalf of the people […]
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s budget plan for the forthcoming fiscal year is more noteworthy for what it does not contain – realistic assumptions and a commitment to press ahead with critical items on the economic reform agenda.
Hamas is a terror organization that targets civilians via any available vehicle. Since seizing the Gaza Strip over five years ago, Hamas as launched thousands of rockets and mortar shells at Israeli civilians, not the military. Hamas and other Palestinian terror organizations have sent suicide bombers — including handicapped persons — to attack Israeli civilians […]
As waves of national protests continue to be staged in Yemen, the opposition is attempting to show a unified front. The different factions opposed to the President have realized that if Yemen is to survive this social and political crisis, a plan need to be put forward. Unlike Egypt and Tunisia, Yemen cannot count […]
Keio Electric Railway Co installed cameras on some of its trains in this past week in an attempt to curb groping. Train groping is a huge problem in Japan. In 2008, police handled 1600 groping incidents in Tokyo alone. And that number is a small fraction of actual groping incidents. According to a 2010 survey, […]
Over the past few weeks, we witnessed history in the making in North Africa and the Middle East. The people’s power spreading like a highly contagious flu, forcing out undemocratic regimes across North Africa and the Middle East. It is interesting to see that coordinated efforts were underway in so many nations to call out […]
Sony and Japanese pop group, Kishidan, apologized this week for the band wearing costumes resembling Nazi SS uniforms in a Feb. 23 interview. A statement issued Monday from the Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center called for an apology from MTV Japan for airing the interview. In the statement, Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the […]