“Bailiffs and riot police had been ordered to evict scores of people and tear down their homes, all apparently unannounced”, reports Al Jazeera, describing a scene familiar to anyone who has followed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “The bulldozers continued their work,”, continues the BBC, “tearing through the walls and windows of homes, turning them into piles […]
As most of you know, on the eve of this year’s Africa Cup of Nations football tournament the team from Togo faced the unimaginable when their bus was shot at by rebels seeking independence for Cabinda. Naturally, after suffering death, injury, and considerable emotional trauma Togo chose to withdraw from the tournament. Well, the tone […]
Last week the Venezuelan government cut off six cable TV stations, citing a failure to comply with regulations. These stations included Radio Caracas Television (RCTV), a channel known for opposing the administration of Hugo Chávez. RCTV had already lost its ability to broadcast on a public channel in 2007, but remained available to cable subscribers […]
The Obama administration responded twice on the Middle East peace process, a day after the State of the Union that omitted any reference to Israel, the Palestinians or the peace negotiations, an issue the administration has spent considerable effort and time on over the last year. A state department spokesperson was asked about the omission […]
In the midst of the tragedy of the earthquake in Haiti, China has given the international community a glimpse of its humanitarian spirit. The Chinese government wasted no time in dispatching a team of 15 rescuers along with several millions of dollars in aid, and later sent 45 or so medical staff. At the same […]
“If Putin says he’s against ‘Ukrainianization,’ you can translate that as meaning he opposes media freedom and real elections,” says Boris Nemtsov, a liberal politician. He was reacting to Putin’s recent statement that ‘We must continuously think about improving our political system… but we must act with extreme caution [and] not allow our political culture […]
Henry Hoyle, the China Blogger here at FPA, has a great post up about a grand rapprochement between Japan and China in 2010. He is certainly not alone in wondering what might come of a more robust bilateral relationship. Speculation of a so-called “grand rapprochement” is pervasive, as many are eager determine how, and by […]
Here is a host of stories tied to African politics: Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf plans to run for a second term in 2011. Despite her country’s Truth and Reconciliation advising against such a decision based on her early (and apparently scant) support for Charles Taylor, Johnson Sirleaf will almost certainly win re-election and deservedly […]
Human Rights Watch has long criticized Israel for violations, including actions related to Operation Cast Lead and the imprisonment of certain Palestinians. And this criticism has led some to criticized the group for one-sidedness. However, the group just refuted an assertion from Hamas that the terror organization’s rocket targeted soldiers only and inadvertently struck civilians. […]
Today at the Arctic Frontiers conference in Tromsø, Norway, Greenpeace called for a “moratorium on all industrial activities in areas historically covered by sea ice” in the Arctic. The conference covers the topic of ensuring the “sustainability of Arctic communities in a changing environment,” so it serves as a natural forum for Greenpeace to announce […]
The sitting Awami League government has hanged the 5 individuals convicted of assassinating President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975. The executions came some 14 hours after the Appelate Division of the Supreme Court rejected a review of the Supreme Court verdict. Quite apart for the normatively retrograde administration of capital punishment in Bangladesh, The Daily […]
What was missing in President Barack Obama’s first State of the Union address? Any mention of Israel, the Palestinians or the peace process. Even though the administration expended significant energy and political capital on Middle East peace, the administration and Special Envoy George Mitchell have had minimal success. Shocked about the omission? Not entirely. but […]
Lula, o Filho do Brasil, the film by Fabio Barreto that was recently released in Brazil, has been controversial since its release. The biopic about President Lula da Silva has come under fire for various reasons, including the plot and the political message. While President Lula is a popular president with high approval ratings, the […]
As tensions between Hizballah and Israel continue to put Lebanon on edge, the rhetoric coming from Israel is decidedly mixed. Recently, a senior Israeli minister commented that another war with Hizballah is “inevitable” but that he didn’t know when it would happen. On the surface, this may sound unnecessarily inflammatory given the situation, but then […]
Perhaps there is no greater event in history that perpetuated -and some claim grant legitimacy to- the creation of the State of Israel than the Holocaust. While Jews began trickling back into the Holy Land a the end of the 19th century, the slaughter of Jews in Europe propelled thousands of more Jews into the […]