Turkey’s dream of becoming the energy hub of the region, benefiting from all the pipelines either up and running or on paper, in Eurasia, is one step closer to reality. Oil companies from Italy, Russia and Turkey have signed an agreement to move ahead with the South Stream gas pipeline on the seabed of the […]
Cambodia – In a never ending quest to irritate his larger neighbor, Thailand, Cambodia’s Prime Minister, Hun Sen, is considering allowing former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to move there. Despite the fact he is wanted on criminal charges in Thailand, ranging from tax evasion to treason. Thaksin was deposed in a bloodless 2006 coup […]
My heart sank when I read “ISLAMABAD: A wave of suicide bombings, coordinated grenade, bomb and gun assaults, and drive-by shootings blamed on militants has left more than 190 people dead in Pakistan so far this month.“ on Dawn. Is this the same Pakistan that some Western countries accuse of ‘not doing enough’ in the fight […]
The Washington Post published two somewhat informative interviews today, one with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and the other with Palestinian Prime Minister Salaam Fayyad. The significantly more interesting interview with Fayyad largely deals with his role and his vision for the establishment of institutions for a future Palestinian state. He stresses that Israel had […]
Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman will testify next week before a House subcommittee on the region. Whatever he on Israel and the Palestinians may not make headlines, but watching the webcast may prove insightful to the administration’s views. However, testimony from the White House, which has taken the lead on Israel-Palestine talks, […]
Baseball is a national obsession in Venezuela, drawing as much or even more attention than the country’s beauty industry. The season began a little over a week ago. Whereas other South American countries focus on “fútbol” (a.k.a. soccer), Venezuelans are diehard baseball fans. What is the atmosphere in the stadiums? Just imagine the most raucous […]
Lebanon has been without a working government since its June parliamentary elections, but now with all the major external hurdles cleared Lebanon looks to within to form its cabinet. Syria and Saudia Arabia hold tremendous influence in Lebanon, and the frosty relations between them were seen as a one of the largest obstacles to Lebanon […]
My friend Mark, who has a PhD in history and an emphasis on water issues, and whose name I am not going to release for what I hope are obvious reasons, has this report on the cholera situation there: Although cholera which ravaged Zimbabwe in 2008/9 has been brought under control especially after the intervention […]
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas officially called for Parliamentary and presidential elections to be held January 24 of next year, a move rebukes Egyptian efforts to reconcile Palestinian factions. Abbas said: “The Palestinian people in Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are called to take part in the general presidential and parliamentary election on Sunday, […]
Reliant upon consumption in the US, Mexico’s economy has suffered mightily this year. The pillars of state revenue—oil, remittances, and tourism—have been shellacked, thanks not only to recession in the US but the outbreak of H1N1. First quarter projections had the Mexican economy on track to contract by 20%! More recent forecasts expect GDP to […]
An interesting (fake?) discussion took place between top oligarch Boris Deripaska and Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday. According to veteran rogue journalist John Helmer, the exchange went as follows: Deripaska told Medvedev that it is impossible to get a fair ruling from the law courts without paying bribes. “The courts have become overgrown with the institutution […]
During the Iranian presidential elections, Mehdi Karroubi was the long-shot candidate. He was not as well known as his opponents, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Mir-Hossein Mousavi. His reformist credentials were strong, but with Mousavi in the race, reformists already had a leader. His speeches about stronger women’s rights and more individual liberty resonated with many Iranians, […]
On Wednesday, President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela urged his countrymen (and women) to make efforts to conserve water and electricity. The most likely reason that citizens will not use these resources, however, is not due to patriotism, goodwill or a penchant for conservation, but because they have no choice – there have been ongoing water […]
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice lauded Israeli President Shimon Peres at a speech today in Jerusalem. Some of the notable comments include: “Meir Dizengoff, the founder of Tel Aviv, was once asked how does one become the Mayor of a city in Israel. He replied, “First, you build the city.” Well, the […]