In so many ways this event mirrored bilateral relations today, cordial, but increasingly thorny as an accumulating list of important issues, from immigration to international trade and non-proliferation, lead more and more Brazilians to the conclusion that the United States is part of the problem, not the solution.
Iraqis voted in the parliamentary elections despite violence by terrorist forces. Even though the people have spoken the results of the elections are still undetermined. Two coalitions are now fighting for control of the Iraqi Parliament, the coalition of Al-Maliki and the coalition of Ayad Alawi. Violence during the elections included mortar shells, rockets and […]
Who celebrates International Women’s Day anymore? 100 years since its inception, the venerable event could use a lift. While it remains an official national holiday in Russia, time and government cooptation have dulled its radical roots as it transformed into an apolitical celebration of femininity and spring time – a sort of Eastern European Mother’s […]
China can be less “hurried” on the Iran nuclear question, a scholar with a key PRC think tank wrote last week. Writing in an op-ed for the Party mouthpiece Global Times, Gao Zugui argued for calm in the face of Western pressure over Iranian sanctions and to “be less rushed, more independent, less tied-up.” This […]
If you know your internet memes, you’ve probably already met Eduard Hill, the ‘Soviet Rick Astley’ whose somewhat sinister lip-synched song is being sent by scores of bemused American hipsters to their unwitting friends. Meanwhile, their counterparts in the Russian blogosphere are getting fired up by a much more literal car crash; in which a […]
While both the European Union and the United States are extending targeted sanctions on Zimbabwe, South African President Jacob Zuma believes that a change is in order: “Our view is that the unity government should be supported so that it can get out of the difficulties that face Zimbabwe … We plead with the countries […]
Capping a long list of U.S. dignitaries travelling to Israel and the Palestinian territories, Vice President Joe Biden is currently en route to the region for meetings with various officials. Biden’s visit follows a trip made last year by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and repeated efforts by Special Envoy George Mitchell to get Israeli […]
Nigeria is set for what may well be one of the most momentous years in its history. Even as Acting President Goodluck Jonathan promises that the country’s 2011 elections will be free and fair his own status continues to be riddled with question marks. The reality is that it seems clear that President Umaru Yar’Adua’s […]
The parliamentary elections in Iraq are taking place today — another major step for the Iraqi people and their government. But there have been roadblocks. Reports of violence relating to the elections have been scattered throughout media outlets this week and last. But Iraqis have ventured out, deciding that boycotting the elections only serves to […]
In a report published and reported on the first state TV station of Saudi Arabia, 250 children die each month as a result of falling into sewage-ways in the streets of the capital, Riyadh. The covers to sewage-ways are reported to be dysfunctional.The engineer responsible for the sewage system at the Ministry of water and […]
Is South Africa’s African National Congress in for an (another?) epochal political upheaval? Those observers who look at South Africa and only see a country with one-party political dominance miss the fact that within the ANC there is a vibrant, no-holds-barred, rough-and-tumble political culture in which disagreement appears to be the default setting. The South […]
The clock continues to tick down toward the opening game of the World Cup, which will pit hosts Bafana Bafana against a Mexican team that has to wonder about its bad luck in drawing the hosts for what will be an emotion-laden first game. There are fewer than a hundred days remaining before the world […]
SIPRI, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, has just issued a report by Linda Jakobson arguing that China will seek to gain more of a role in the Arctic in the coming years, both politically and economically. The press release and the report, entitled “China and the High North prepare for an ice-free Arctic,” are […]
The Guardian published an op-ed by Simon Chestertman and Kishore Mahbubani today. Though a run-down of the pragmatic way countries in Asia have dealt with global challenges, the article features Brac and Grameen Bank prominently. “Asia has emerged as a leader in social entrepreneurship. The successes of social businesses such as Grameen Bank and Brac in Bangladesh have contributed […]
When it comes to prognosticating, the most dangerous game political scientists play (game theory can be quite scary though), about Afghanistan’s future, you could do a lot worse than Central Asian analysts Joshua Foust and Ahmed Rashid. In two recent pieces, Foust in the New York Times and Rashid in a lecture in Philadelphia, each […]