Well before 9/11 the terrorist bombings in Niarobi and Dar es Salaam gave indications as to the severity of the threat that the then obscure organization al Qaeda posed to the west and its allies. One of the masterminds behind those attacks, Fazul Abdullah, has proven elusive. But Kenyan authorities have arrested members of a […]
With the Taliban showcasing great ‘tenacity‘ and ability to recruit new members from around the region to replace those lost, one must conclude that the Afghan government and its International supporters are in a fight for their lives. Hard decisions will have to made for them to win, including the eradication of the nation's poppy […]
Premier Fouad Saniora's cabinet on Monday adopted its policy statement despite reservations voiced by four ministers on a clause related to the resistance. Information Minister Tareq Mitri said the statement was adopted unanimously to safeguard “ministerial solidarity.” [Naharnet] The four ministers that had reservations were Nassib Lahoud, Tony Karam, Ibrahim Najjar and Elie Marouni. Phalange […]
I took a stroll today in downtown Beirut. The tents were dismantled, summer season is on and the place looks wonderful. The shops, restaurants and cafes that were once deserted are now back in business. The political tension won't go away anytime soon. However, Lebanese people have an interesting way of dealing with trouble. They […]
Gulnoza Saidazimova of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty about a month ago catalogued the child labor situation in Central Asia. Unfortunately child labor is abused in all most all Central Asian states, but in different ways and to different degrees. Saidazimova first discusses Tajikistan's use of child labor as a ‘lifeline for their families’ who are […]
Don't believe the gushing obituaries. Like Orwell and Sakharov before him, Alexander Solzhenitsyn had outlived his usefulness. Long since his art was sacrificed on the West's ideological altar, the courageous anti-Soviet dissident had become an embarassment; a Putin-friendly, anti-Semitic pan-Slavist with a Tolstoy complex. As a philistine, I’ve only ever read One Day in the […]
This Sunday Mexican President Felipe Calderon will host the 17th annual International AIDS conference in Mexico City. As part of this, I wanted to highlight an article in yesterday's Washington post. While the United States government does not support providing free needles to intravenous drug users, Mexico launched a program to provide clean needles to […]
Those who have met Samir Geagea talk of a clever strategist, that has a vision not only for the Christian community, but for the country as a whole. Geagea and Aoun are rivals within the Christian community, and as such, Geagea will continue to attack the unholy alliance between Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement and Hizballah. […]
In the last couple of days, several sources have confirmed that a number of high-ranking officials at the Attorney General's Office will resign to their positions. The Deputy Attorney General in charge of Special Investigations on Organized Crime (SIEDO) is among the officers who will be leaving office. It is possible that other deputies in […]
Yesterday, all Bush's problems seemed so far away. But now it looks as China's authoritarian government is here to stay. The Chinese are shall we say displeased about the US House of Representatives resolution requesting China to honor their IOC commitments in regard to human rights, internet blocking, and treatment of its Tibetan and Uighur […]
The international tribunal that will try the suspected assassins of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri is set to begin its work by the beginning of next year, a source at the U.N. told As-Safir on Thursday. The source, who is close to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, said the U.N. chief “has pledged clearly that progress will […]
Hizballah has a new department for Arab relations run by Sheikh Hassan Ezzedin. In an interview with al Rai al Aam [Kuwait] he explained why the need for this department and what's the objective. …Q: Hezbollah introduced changes to its organizational structure and created an Arab relations position. Does this have anything to do with […]
Today I stumbled upon a fascinating BBC World News that shows another aspect of this fascinating and diverse country: a photo article on Mexico's female “luchadores”. Check it out here.
Jacob Zuma desperately wants to avoid the corruption charges that he faces. The talk when I was in South Africa was that the charges would be thrown out, less on the merits than out of a sense of expediency. At the same time, Zuma needs the charges either to go away or to be weakened to […]
Morgan Tsvangirai is walking a delicate balance for very high stakes in Zimbabwe. While trying, ultimately, to unseat President Robert Mugabe (and let there be no mistake that this has been his goal all along, with the negotiations for power sharing merely a stopping point and not an acceptable final resolution) he also has to […]