Violent upheavals, including the assassination of the president of Guinea-Bissau, Joao Bernardo Vieira, has thrown the country into chaos. These events have led to an emergency meeting of West African leaders hoping to forestall further tumult.
Violent upheavals, including the assassination of the president of Guinea-Bissau, Joao Bernardo Vieira, has thrown the country into chaos. These events have led to an emergency meeting of West African leaders hoping to forestall further tumult.
Requests for disclosure of stimulus package Yan Yiming, a Shanghai based lawyer, filed a second request with the National Development and Reform Commission to disclose details of the governments 4 trillion Yuan ($585.5 billion) stimulus package. The request marks an unprecedented test of transparency for the Chinese government’s economic stimulus program. Details as to which […]
The Gaza reconstruction conference held in Cairo raised far more funds than anticipated, totalling $4.4 billion, according to Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abdul Gheit. The total could even reach $5.2 billion if previous promised funding actualizes. Initially, the Palestinian Authority requested approximately $2.7 billion, with about half towards Gaza and the remainder for PA programs, […]
In any good horror movie, the psychopathic killer is decidedly ordinary, even a little boring. Entering a sleepy hamlet quietly, he slaughters his unsuspecting victims without fanfare, and is unmasked all too late. Similarly, the recent appointment of an obscure Stanford academic to Obama’s foreign policy team garnered only a few lines in a handful […]
Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg will make an official visit to Moscow in May, and Arctic issues will likely sit high on the agenda. At a ceremony for officially receiving new ambassadors to Russia, whose members include new Norwegian Ambassador Knut Hauge, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced: We seek to strengthen our multifaceted ties with […]
Those interested to follow and /or contact the Tribunal can do so here. SOLIDA has a blog that will keep an eye on the Tribunal. The Daily Star editorial ‘ With all eyes on Syria as Tribunal begins, Damascus would do well to act with care’ “Although indictments have not yet been issued in the […]
Asia’s concerns about the drop in Chinese imports Asian economies are suffering under a sharp drop in Chinese imports as a result of the economic slowdown. Taiwanese and South Korean exports to China fell 50 and 33 percent year-on-year respectively. Most Asian countries became heavily dependent on Chinese imports for their economic growth and a […]
Pakistan’s Swat valley is quiet once again. Often compared to Switzerland for its stunning landscape of mountains and meadows, Swat became a war zone over the past two years as Taliban fighters waged fierce battles against Army troops. No longer, but only because the Pakistani government has agreed to some of the militants’ key demands, […]
WASHINGTON: US drone attacks continue to inflame Pakistani animosity against the United States and undermine both the government and the Pakistani military, says a recent report by a major US think-tank, the Atlantic Council. While reviewing the current political and economic problems confronting Pakistan, the council warns: ‘It is our estimate that the Pakistan […]
NEW YORK: ‘Between the threats from extremists, an unraveling economy, battling civilian leaders and tensions with its nuclear rival India, Pakistan is edging ever closer to the abyss,’ the New York Times said Saturday. In a lead editorial the newspaper asks President Asif Ali Zardari and the leader of Pakistan Muslim League (N) Nawaz Sharif […]
The Gaza Strip rehabilitation conference begins today in Cairo, with the Palestinian Authority requesting $2.7 billion in donations, $1.326 billion to assist Gaza recovery and $1.415 billion for the PA. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the U.S. intention of supporting Palestinian with $900 million in aid, $300 towards humanitarian assistance to Gaza and $600 […]
Just weeks after the Afghan Election Commission, United Nations, and the US government stated that they believe it best to delay the presidential elections until August, President Karzai issued a decree on Saturday ordering that all elections be held in accordance with the Constitution, that is, this April or May. The main reasons given the […]
INAYAT KILLAY: Troops guarded the remnants of a war zone as a military convoy crunched past shops blown to pieces and an electricity pylon collapsed on rubble near the Afghan border. “Any human being who sees this destruction will cry. There was bombing, there was shelling, we have never seen such fighting,” Haroon Ahmed told […]
Modern feminists, take note. A woman can achieve anything in Russia, but it helps to be standing next to a big man. That at least seems to be the lesson from two recent rankings of the country’s leading ladies. Topping the list at the influential business mag ‘Finans’ is Elena Baturina, owner of the Inteko conglomerate […]
I invite you to read at Blacksmiths of Lebanon two recent posts that caught my attention. Election Anxiety – Part I Liars at Least Election Anxiety – Part II Perceiving Defeat And while you’re at it, don’t forget Jeha’s Lost in Translation.