Fire at Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC): A fire broke out in a laboratory at India’s premier nuclear research facility yesterday. Though no danger of radiation due to the accident was reported, two research students were killed in the fire. The cause of the fire is unknown. Earlier this month three people were arrested for […]
The Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa (ASMEA) has published its latest newsletter. I present it to you here (pdf).
Zainab Jeewanjee shares her experience in Pakistan and a couple BBC pieces documenting the horror of terrorist attacks carried out in Karachi Pakistan, in December 2009.
Hi. My name is Derek Catsam. I am the Senior Blogger for the Foreign Policy Association’s Africa Blog. We are undergoing immense growth and transition at the FPA Blogs. One of these is to consolidate our many fine blogs (which make up the largest network of foreign affairs blogs anywhere) into coherent, managable categories. This blog will be combined […]
We are in the midst of a whole host of changes at the FPA’s blogging network. Much of our work will involve consolidating our many wonderful blogs into various categories. The Africa Blog will be part of a network of blogs in the “Africa and the Middle East” category, for which I will serve as […]
One year ago, to the day, the Awami League swept back into power with an overwhelming majority of votes and corresponding seats in Parliament. Promising change and prosperity in Bangladesh, Awami League leader and former Prime Minister Begum Sheikh Hasina Wajed trounced her opposition, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led by Begum Khaleda Zia, the […]
Tis the season for giving….and contributing to victory in Afghanistan?! Thanks to groups like Spirit of America we all have the opportunity to do both. Jim Hake, Spirit of America’s founder, implores all ‘ordinary’ citizens to help our soldiers in Afghanistan by helping the Afghan people. His group and many others have donated tons of […]
Lebanon has undergone some significant changes in the past six months. The pro-Western March 14 coalition narrowly triumphed in the surprisingly peaceful June parliamentary elections; after some intense political wrangling, a cabinet was formed that was acceptable to most; and recently Lebanon’s Prime Minister has been on the move garnering support for his country and […]
My FPA Blogging colleague Sean Patrick Murphy has featured the South African-set sci-fi movie District 9 at the Global Film Review blog. [I am working on a lengthy essay on the movie, which I will link once it is published.]
Rafael Caldera, the last Venezuelan president to serve in office prior to the administration of Hugo Chávez, passed away on Thursday. Interestingly, Caldera’s terms seem to have book-ended the more democratic period of the country’s history. In 1946 Caldera founded COPEI, a Social-Christian political party. In 1958 he played an instrumental role in the Punto […]
Zainab Jeewanjee comments on a DAWN article that talks about foreign “meddling” in Pakistani affairs. She discusses how foreign dealings in Pakistan could be a result of history wherein political infrastructure was never put in place, inevitably making Pakistan reliant on foreign assistance for development.
As Brazil’s economy has taken off, international companies have jumped at the opportunity to provide the Brazilian market with in-demand products and services. Some of the most successful areas include automobiles, home appliances (i.e. washing machines, TVs, etc), banking, and telecommunications. But according to a new study by IMS Health, the next big market in […]
Vietnam: The Asia Times has a fairly detailed article on Vietnam’s transportation bottleneck. Specifically, it takes a look at Vietnam’s port capacity as compared to its neighbors in the region, and how it’s current infrastructure needs to improve if Vietnam wishes to continue to see economic growth. To remedy the issue, the Vietnamese government is […]
There are times when I am tempted to accept Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) as a genuine political party. However, thankfully, I come to my senses as soon as MQM attempts one of those fascist maneuvers that have become synonymous with MQM. If anyone pays close attention, it is not difficult to see a pattern with […]
The Israeli government, settlers, the IDF, Palestinians, the Palestinians Authority, and terrorists all have diferent narratives and motivations on the events of the past few days that left one Israeli killed and six Palestinians dead. This situation brings to light some challenges and problems with the status quo of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Fact: An Israeli […]