Even as Kenya moves forward from the political violence that set the country alight at the beginning of the year after the fiercely contested netional elections, there are still hundreds of people who were displaced as a result of the violence living in camps around Nairobi. Chaos that takes just days or weeks to flare and abate […]
Tired of rising electricity and food prices, 25,000 members of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) marched on Eskom's Johannesburg offices today. The march sounds as if it was almost festive, with a holiday mood prevailing among the marchers. But beneath the surface there is real anger. I heard it when I spoke […]
Nigeria's Niger Delta is an inflamed troublespot that does not look to have any easy solutions. Rebel groups continually sabotage the oil industry there, sometimes attacking, kidnapping, and even killing people associated with the oil industry, locals and foreigners alike. Whatever their methods, the rebels’ grievances are real. Between corruption, inefficiency, misallocation of resources, and […]
Tropical storm Dolly was upgraded to a Level 2 hurricane only a few hours before it's due to hit the land border near Brownsville, Texas and Matamoros.
The policy statement of the new cabinet is still in the making. Three main issues that the nine men committee did not agree on yet: Hizballah's private army and use of weapons Relationship with Syria State's sovereignty over the [whole] territory The majority believes that the decision to go to war or peace "should be […]
Unfortunately before the Olympic Games could even begin in China, a terrorist event has occurred. Two bombs exploded on commuter buses in the city of Kunming, killing two and injuring several others. The Chinese police would not officially classify the attack as a terrorist incident, but that's what the evidence points too. The Chinese government's […]
Anyone who has spent any substantial time in Africa is familiar with the importance of the informal economy. In South Africa, for example, there are the parking guards and gardeners and maids and cooks and people willing to wash your car or clean your windows. And then there are the street peddlars, especially in towns […]
Last week Barack Obama and John McCain once again aimed to court the Latino vote in the United States by presenting their platforms at the annual gathering National Council of La Raza in San Diego. The text of their speeches is available here. John McCain talked about growing the economy through low taxes on minority-owned […]
“In America, there are many fewer good journalists than in Russia”, said Exile editor mark Ames before barely escaping with his life. So now that the Exile has relocated to Panama and gone global, who will fill its gaping ulcerous void? The FPA's Russia Blog is launching an ongoing project to expose promising new alt-journalist […]
I should be back to regular posting soon. My travels did not end with the return to the US, but I plan to be back at full posting volume in the next day or so. In the meantime, over at the FPA Africa Blog I have a long piece on the Zimbabwe crisis, the talks […]
Ok, I’m back in the US, settled in, and ready for regular posting again. When I was in South Africa I was able to see two very good friends who are Zimbabwean expats. One works in the business end of biotech and we were both graduate students together at Rhodes University back in 1997 (Oakdene […]
Kazakhstan has found itself in the news lately, firstly, to no one's surprise concerning energy resources, as the nation has begun building a natural gas pipeline connecting Central Asia to China and Gazprom's recent announcement that they expect to double the price they pay for Central Asian gas (bad news for their Euro customers as […]
Walid Muallem, the Syrian Foreign Minister is today in Beirut to officially invite President Michel Suleiman to Damascus. While in Paris, Michel Suleiman received an invitation from the Vatican as well, but he said that Syria has priority. No doubt. The issue now is, will Suleiman ask President Assad to solve the problem of the […]
In revving up for next week's planned WTO trade liberation talks (opening Monday in Geneva), US trade officials stated this past Thursday that China will critcally impact the direction and outcome of these talks, voicing concerns that China has a “particular obligation” to make concessions on matters of trade. One issue of particular importance is the benefit China […]
On July 18th, the Mexican Navy intercepted a mini submarine that was transporting more than 5 tons of cocaine. This is a significant operation that highlights the ability of Mexican armed forces to combat drug trafficking by air, land, and sea. Bilateral cooperation between the United States and Mexico contributed to the capture of the […]