The corruption charges against Jacob Zuma either have legal merit or they do not. If the charges are baseless, they should be dropped. If there is a legal foundation to move forward, the process should play out. This seeming truism comes to mind in light of the Friday protests by eThekwini ANC members who marched on […]
Springbok fans can step off the ledge. At least for today. The Tri Nations has been undoubtedly disappointing this year, especially given the promise going in and the win at the House of Pain in July. But today the green and gold crushed the Wallabies 53-8 at Coca Cola Park in Johannesburg. Jongi Nokwe scored […]
Finally, Lebanon's army has a Commander in the person of Brigadier General Jean Kahwaji. The position has been vacant since General Suleiman was elected as a consensus President in May. NOW Lebanon reports: Shortly before the session convened, Defense Minister Elias al-Murr said General Kahwaji, who was commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces' 12th brigade, […]
Yesterday, the UAE's Islamic Affairs Authority opened its official fatwa center, which provides religious rulings in English, Urdu and Arabic. UAE residents can obtain fatwas over the toll-free phone line or via SMS (text message). The center is the first of its kind; it is now the only place in the UAE authorized to issue […]
The army is under attack from more than one side. A Lebanese officer was killed on Thursday when a military helicopter came under fire in southern Lebanon. First Lieutenant Samer Hanna was killed when gunmen opened fire on the helicopter, which was flying over the village of Tilal Soujoud in southern Lebanon. The Lebanese army […]
The New York Times reported that General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, chief of staff of the Pakistan Army met Mike Mullen, David Petraeus, David McKiernan and other top U.S. officials aboard Abraham Lincoln to discuss how best to beat the Taliban in tribal areas. Well, good, finally these guys are waking up!!! For years, thoughtful and […]
Continuing yesterday's discussion of the SCO's joint declaration being very neutral when it came to defending Russia's future and past actions in Georgia; What does this mean for Russia? What does this say about China? And What does it show about the four Central Asian states in the group and their position in the world? […]
Khalil al Anani, visiting scholar at Brookings’ Saban Center, published this op-ed in al Ahram Weekly last week. The piece asserts that it's educational to look at the internal dynamics of Islamist parties when assessing the degree to which they have internalized democratic ideals. Some Islamist parties, like the Justice and Development party in Morocco […]
Today Mexico's Supreme court upheld an April 2008 Mexico City decision to decriminalize abortion, thus permitting women to have an abortion in Mexico City during the first twelve weeks of pregnancy without the penalty of jail time. The court ruling is highly controversial, and saw 8 justices in favor and 3 against. Until very recently, […]
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights has been cleared to release its report, "On the Brink of the Precipice: A Human Rights Account of Kenya's Post-2007 Election." In this account a number of members of government and other public officials, including cabinet ministers, are fingered for their role in fomenting violence. Given that there […]
Faisal Yafai has a piece up at commentisfree advocating that Islamic feminists return to secular arguments, as the religious rhetoric they have adopted in the recent past is not serving them well. It is an interesting piece, but he fails to make the case that it's better to have only one kind of feminism among […]
Robert Mugabe does indeed intend to move forward with the formation of a new government over the protests of the Movement for Democratic Change, which wants to see the stalled negotiations resume. Junior information minister Bright Matonga announced “Nothing is going to stop us from forming a new government.” The MDC believes Mugabe is acting […]
Joe Biden (D-DE), presidential runningmate for Dem nominee and well-favored Obama, and his stance on China: 2000. Voted for the US-China Trade Relations Act, to normalize trade relations with China. 2001. Speech to the Asia Pacific Council of the American Chambers of Commerce: "Our top priority should remain integrating China into the community of nations, articulating […]
Lahore, July 28: When Pakistan's Prime Minister, Yusuf Raza Gillani, visits Washington this week, he will face tough questions about securing Pakistan 's federally administered tribal areas (FATA) along its border with Afghanistan . So will his hosts in Congress. For a key question on Islamabad 's mind is the fate of stalled legislation creating […]
So the 8th annual Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit has begun. The meeting started this morning in Dushanbe, Tajikistan (though China and Tajikistan started bilateral talks days before) and features the head of states of all six members (I wonder if President Hu Jintao will be wearing all of China's 51 gold medals?), top officials from […]