It remains possible to disagree with the Venezuelan government over its policies. It appears more difficult to do so within the country. Yesterday one more opposition leader sought asylum from what he considers oppression from the Chávez administration. Oscar Pérez, who is part of the Alianza Bravo Pueblo (ABP) party, is now charged by the […]
After briefly stepping down last week, Saad Hariri has been reassigned the task of forming a new cabinet. Hariri had been trying since he was appointed prime minister back in June to come up with a cabinet line-up that would suit the very fickle political tastes of Lebanon. Hariri submitted a list to the president […]
A few months ago India seemed to have scored over China when it secured a $2.6 billion loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). China had aggressively objected to the loan because a significant part ($60 million) was allotted for watershed management projects in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, a “disputed territory” according to […]
The ANC’s week of recriminations and bad news continues. The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) has lashed out at both President Zuma and National Planning Commission (NPC) head and Minister of the President Trevor Manuel for alleged transgressions against the union movement, which is angry at not having the power it expected to […]
The movie version of JM Coetzee’s Booker Prize winning novel Disgrace is now out in limited release in the United States. It is hard to imagine that this grim reflection of contemporary South Africa will gain much traction with the masses, but if the review in The New York Times is any indication, readers of […]
No one in the last decade has gotten rich betting that stability would come to Somalia or that all the fractured country needs is the right leader to emerge. So I’d be cautious in the message I draw from Jeffrey Gettleman’s New York Times profile of President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed. Sheik Sharif might warrant […]
Happy new year and hopes for a great holiday to everyone. Hopefully, this year will focus on peace and reconciliation, with prosperity and hope flourishing in both Palestinian and Israeli societies. Be-ezrat Hashem and Inshah Allah. Shanah tova and Ramadan kareem. Image taken from here.
Young Israelis often perform a mass exodus from the country upon completing compulsory military service in their early twenties. The Israel Defense Forces provide departing soldiers with a small stipend to supplement the meager pay they received while serving. Instead of saving the cash, many Israelis take a trip to South America, Thailand, or India […]
The election of Barack Obama captured the imagination of many around the world, nowhere more than in Africa. And now many across the continent, and especially in Kenya, hope that Obama’s Presidency will result in concrete economic benefits. But expectations are outpacing reality and probably will for some time, if not for the duration of […]
Chester Crocker, who was Ronald Reagan’s Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, has an op-ed piece advising President Obama on the idea of “engagement” with Iran and, presumably, others. Crocker’s article itself is not bad (nor is it earth-shatteringly good) but perhaps we should consider the source. Crocker is an incredibly smart and talented […]
I have noticed strange things in Pakistan during my recent stay there, but two things stand out for me. One, it is the unbelievably weird ability of Pakistanis to connect every bad thing to American and how America with Israel and India is relentlessly trying to destroy Pakistan, but Pakistan is surviving against all odds. […]
–UPDATE (9-20-2009) – DNA test results confirm Top’s death. Indonesian authorities have officially declared Noordin Muhammed Top, suspected terror mastermind of the July Jakarta Hotel Bombings, dead. He was killed in last month’s Indonesian police raid of a house in the central Java town of Solo. The identification was based on fingerprints stored on the […]
We’ve heard mainly groans from Israeli politicians on the recently released Goldstone report on alleged Israeli human rights violations in the Gaza Strip. However, U.S. officials began chiming in with criticisms of the document. Notably, U.S. State Department Assistant Secretary P.J. Crowley attempted to deflect discussion of the report at today’s press conference onto the […]
In an inspired move hailed as “arguably the most concrete shift in foreign policy from that of the Bush administration, Obama might have just about made up for his disastrous appointment of Michael McFaul as his Russia advisor by scrapping plans for a European missile shield. Even the Daily Telegraph, while deriding the US President […]
The Indian Military has increased its presence along the Line of Actual Control with China. According to media reports 50 percent of the troops along the border have been moved to forward posts as part of ‘Operation Alert.’ The Indian military has downplayed the deployment of troops and claims that it is part of an […]