That question, asked at Russia’s opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta back in 2006, after the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, was answered on Wednesday with the slaying of human rights activist Natalya Estemirova. “Who is to blame for Natalya’s murder?”, asks Oleg Orlov, head of Moscow-based Memorial. “His name is Ramzan Kadyrov.” Indeed, writes the Christian Science […]
In this Sunday’s New York Times Book Review journalist Joshua Hammer gives a positive review to Michela Wrong’s latest book, It’s Our Turn to Eat: The Story of a Kenyan Whistle-Blower. Here is the lead paragraph: Michela Wrong has built a distinguished literary career telling stories of African corruption and Western complicity. A former Africa […]
President Nursultan Nazarbaev recently signed a new law placing blogs, social media networks, and chatrooms under the rubric of “mass media”, effectively creating criminal liability for users of these internet communication platforms and permitting the government to shut down and censor websites as it sees fit. The government denies this law as being any kind […]
Although I entirely disagree with the African Union’s decision not to fall in line behind the International Criminal Court’s indictment of Sudan’s President Omas al-Bashir, I understand the driving sentiment. As a general rule African nation states are wary of being dictated to from the West, and they tend to circle the laager, to appropriate a […]
Nelson Mandela turns 91 this weekend. To commemorate Madiba’s birthday the Mail & Guardian has put together special features on Mandela-related posters during the struggle years, A collection of Zapiro’s M&G Mandela depictions, and Mandela in his own words.
At approximately 8AM in Kuningan, Jakarta, simultaneous bombs detonated at the Marriott and Ritz-Carlton Hotels. At least 8 people have been killed in the blasts and over 100 wounded. At least a dozen foreigners were injured, including citizens of Australia, Norway, South Korea, and India. During a press conference, recently re-elected Indonesian President Susilo Bambang […]
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert declares the overall political peace process as the main point of contention between Israeli and Palestinian officials while dismissing settlements as relevant, he wrote in an op-ed in today’s Washington Post. Instead of focusing on the settlements, Olmert suggests focusing on institution building, such as establishing a vibrant Palestinian […]
What’s the deadliest place in Sudan? … … The odds are that your answer was immediate, and admit it, quite confident. But the correct answer is not what you think. The deadliest place in Sudan is Jonglei State in South Sudan where more than 1,000 were killed in political violence in March and April […]
Earlier this week, there was a large explosion in southern Lebanon about 10 km from the Israeli border. UNIFIL officials said that the blast was likely from a Hizballah weapons deposit and could constitute a breach of UNSC resolution 1701 which ended the 2006 War between Hizballah and Israel. This week marks the three year […]
One of the fears of the International Criminal Court’s indictment of Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir surely was the effect it might have not only within Sudan, but also in the region, where perhaps the indictment would draw sympathy, particularly from citizens of Arab states or from countries with sizable Muslim populations. A recent poll offers […]
The latest chapter in Mexico’s struggle with drug gangs is shocking in scale. The arrest of Arnoldo Rueda Medina, a co-leader of La Familia, sent the drug syndicate on a rampage against the state in Michoacán. Monday morning 12 bodies were found and quickly identified as federal police officers. The 11 men and one woman were off […]
Israel’s recent navy mobilization through the Suez Canal represents a major initiative to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, according to officials first report in the Times of London. Any Israeli strike on Iran would require war ships to pass through the Suez and also include fly-overs of either Iraq or Saudi Arabia. While the U.S. government would likely […]
It becomes tougher and tougher to read my Afghanistan related news feeds as it is becoming filled with reports of NATO and American casualties: Britain, which lost 8 of its soldiers in just a few days, has been doing some of the toughest fighting trying to capture Taliban-controlled districts in Helmand Province. Though there has […]
Here is a roundup of stories garnering attention across Africa: Charles Taylor unsurprisingly calls the accusations against him that have found him in the dock at the special war crimes trial at the Hague lies and misinformation. Naturally we need to let the process play out. And legal standards of proof are particular. But there […]