At the Council on Foreign Relations Bronwyn Bruton, a CFR International Affairs Fellow in residence, argues that the United States needs to ensure stability in Ethiopia as part of its strategy for dealing with the crisis in Somalia, where rebels just rejected a plea for peace during Ramadan. The interconnectedness of regional politics in Africa […]
The good news: Nigerian rebel leaders from the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) followed through on their agreement to hand over weapons this weekend in exchange for an amnesty from the government. The bad news: Not all of the rebels agreed, and at least one faction of MEND not only rejected […]
On August 16th a staff person from the Colombian Consulate and between 20 and 30 Colombian migrants were detained by the police in Caracas. Despite diplomatic immunities, consular documents and a computer were also confiscated. The Consulate was carrying out a documentation exercise for residents of the barrio Catía. Although accused of not receiving authorization […]
Today, the head of the Indonesian police, Chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri, stated that there was no assassination plot against Obama, contradicting August 20th statements by Indonesian Center for Intelligence and National Security analyst Dynno Chressbon. Other analyst have been critical of Chressbon’s contention that Jihadis had planned to assassinate Obama at the National Airport, because […]
Quoting from a 2005 World Bank study, the Center for Research & Security Studies has identified the coming crisis of water in Pakistan. This report, which is titled Pakistan Will Cry for Water, describes how Pakistan is changing from ‘water scarce’ country to ‘waster stressed’ country. The report goes on to describe that lack of […]
The cliff diving Mecca of Acapulco has come to symbolize Mexico’s ailing economy. The sheer cliffs of La Quebrada are famous for the professional divers who hurl themselves over the 140-plus foot cliffs. If they time the waves wrong, they can go splat. Tourists can watch the spectacle from a nearby restaurant carved into the […]
Seventy years ago today, the Foreign Minsters of Russia and Germany singed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact which neutralised Russia at the start of World War II. According to Radio Free Europe the pact “gave Germany a free hand to attack Western Europe without having to fear a war on two fronts. In return, its secret protocol […]
Since the election of both President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, the debate on the downfall of the Israel-U.S. alliance re received significant media attention. Particularly following the U.S. Administration’s insistence of an Israeli freeze on settlements, pundits heightened concerns that the strategic alliance between the two countries was reaching its end. […]
Iranian former President Ali Akbar Rafsanjani is best remembered for his Friday prayer sermon on July 17th 2009, which gave the reform movement a “powerful boost”. In his sermon, he criticized the government for losing the trust of many Iranians, and called for the release of the protesters arrested since the election. As the highest-ranking […]
On August 20, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke approved a plan to close 200,000 square miles of the waters off the north coast of Alaska to commercial fishing. The plan, which was recommended by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council in February, entails a ban on commercial fishing in the American sections of the […]
Tomorrow marks the beginning of the Islamic holy month Ramadan when Muslims around the globe fast from dawn until dusk. In an effort to show respect for religious Muslims, IDF chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi and Defense Minister Ehud Barak ordered soldiers to follow etiquette and refrain from eating, drinking, and smoking around Palestinians during […]
In an editorial within today’s Washington Post, Edward Schumacher-Matos presents a nice summary of what might be considered a waning in the power of Venezuelan President, Hugo Chávez. As Schumacher-Matos describes, on a number of fronts other South American nations have been acting counter to Chávez’s wishes. Ecuador, though considered an ally, has reached out […]
– The New York Times has a great article on the post-Aquino Philippines, which discusses the disillusionment many Filipinos feel with the state of their society. The conclusion is that although the political structure of the nation changed the underlying political culture did not, which resulted in the lackluster political and economic performance that has […]
As the month of Ramadan starts, here is President Obama’s message to Muslims all around the world: [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/1R4KfYuDrvU” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]
Iran allowed inspectors from the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to inspect the nuclear reactor at Arak for the first time in a year and has also granted them greater monitoring of uranium-enrichment facility at Natanz. The accord breaks a months long impasse between Iran and the IAEA. As reported in the Wall Street […]