The Chinese government is considering imposing a pro rata carbon tax on coal and fossil fuels such as gasoline, jet fuel, and natural gas, Finance Ministry official Su Ming has told the country’s state-run media. For the past year, 20 experts from seven different government agencies have been investigating the development and implementation of a […]
What Morgan Tsvangirai probably really means when he says that Robert Mugabe is “part of the solution” to Zimbabwe’s problems: Robert Mugabe is part of the solution inasmuch as his very presence represents the very real possibility that he could at any point decide to destabilize the country by calling on the so-called “war veterans” […]
On Wednesday, The European Commission will unveil the amount it will fine the computer chip maker Intel, for what the Commission believes, are serious breaches of antitrust law. It paid computer-manufacturers not to install it the chips of its rival, AMD. There is speculation that an eye-watering sum will be levied on Intel, according to Bloomberg, […]
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak today, reaffirming that Israel will seek a peace process with the Palestinians. Netanyahu stated that the renew of the peace process could occur as early as the coming weeks. The two leaders also discussed reconstruction efforts in Gaza and the partnership to reduce terrorism emanating […]
Jacob Zuma has named his new cabinet, giving some insight into what sort of President Zuma might make, which comes as a welcome diversion from the cult of personality aspects that tend to predominate South African politics. Naturally, finger pointing seems to rule the day. Critics are wary of Zuma’s “New Blood” cabinet, which includes […]
Chinese growth increasingly driven by domestic factors The conventional view of China as an export-dependent, outbound-oriented economy needs to be adapted to a changing reality. Economic growth is increasingly coming from within, making China into an increasingly self-propelling economic player. There’s a number of indicators supporting this change of economic pattern. While the traditional markets […]
Zimbabwe has received two recent votes of tentative coinfidence in recent days. One comes from Morgan Tsvangirai, who continues to insist that the country’s unity government is on the right path. Tsvangirai has continued to be a booster for the new dispensation and clearly recognizes that however uncomfortable and imperfect the alliance between himself and […]
One of the major buzzwords in South Africa in the post-Apartheid era is “transformation,” which refers to the massive adjustment required to move into a truly democratic world and to throw off not only the shackles of official apartheid, but also, and more vexingly, its legacy and deeply ingrained manifestations. Transformation from apartheid recognizes that […]
A new report indicates that Israel intends to develop infrastructure -such as parks and highways- to surround Jerusalem in order to solidify the country’s grip on the city. Many proponents of a two-state solution state the need for a divided Jerusalem as the capital city of both Israel and a future Palestinian state. Many right […]
For those of you with wanderlust, this Sunday’s New York Times travel section has a feature on Malawi, which it calls “an Africa in microcosm,” a concept I reject inasmuch as it essentializes and thus reduces Africa, as if it is possible to cull Africa down to one tourist-friendly microcosm. There is already too much […]
Jacob Zuma is now President of South Africa. For all of the gnashing of teeth in recent months, for all of the resentments, petty and substantial, Zuma has ascended to the country’s highest office. And if his inaugural address provides any indication, he is aware of the responsibilities before him. Or at least he is […]
Tristan McConnell has an article at Global Post showing the ongoing adjustment of a survivor from Rwanda’s 1994 genocide. Julienne Uwimana’s is a story about survival and overcoming the most unimaginable tragedies but also about how the overcoming is a lifelong process. She has devoted herself to helping others, especially to orphans, who have helped […]
The global economic meltdown is creating what an IRIN Report is calling “crisis upon crisis” whereby countries already dealing with difficult situations are having those situations multiplied. It should come as no surprise that the most vulnerable states might suffer the most during a worldwide downturn.
Two Arctic species – the two which happen to be the cutest and cuddliest, the poster children for Arctic wildlife conservation movements – have been in the news lately: polar bears and seals. I’ll cover the seal issue in my next post. Polar Bears To the disappointment of environmentalists, the Department of the Interior will uphold […]
If you want a pretty good example of the resource curse at work, let this one roll around in your brain for a minute: Nigeria is suffering a potentially crippling fuel scarcity. That’s right: oil rich Nigeria, which has Africa’s largest population and theoretically (and so far just about only only theoretically) ought to be […]