A few days ago we discussed newly minted Russian President, Dmitri Medvedev's first foreign visit to Kazakhstan, but equally if not more important to the CA region and the world at large is where he went next, China. He met with Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao in a visit that was both […]
EU MP's prepared a memorandum urging the European Union to declare Hizballah a “terrorist organization.” European deputies representing parliamentary blocs across the political spectrum have begun to collect signatures on a petition calling for the addition of Hezbollah to the terrorism list as it "constituted a direct terrorist threat to the security of the European […]
John McCain's Interview on NBC's The Today Show (YouTube excerpt) If you’ve had any contact with the media this week, I’m sure you haven't been able to escape comments made about John McCain's interview on NBC's The Today Show. As I’m sure you all can tell by now, I have no plan on voting republican in the next […]
Not to be outdone by yesterday's tennis ‘interviews’ in the Daily Telegraph, this Sunday's New York Times front page photo made sure no-one skipped straight to the magazine section: “Free and Flush, Russians Eager to Roam Abroad”, the headline beamed, in case anyone might also be interested in reading the accompanying article, which happened to […]
“They very rarely looked like endangering the Russian goal, Greece. There's no doubt the better team won today, Russia showed good pace and got forward well and they are a young, quick team who are only going to get better and better.” BBC Radio 5 Live pundit Pat Nevin
The English may accuse Russia of bad sportsmanship in the boardroom, but they certainly wouldn't mind taking a bit of a corporate raiding from the new crop of Soviet bloc sportswomen. A series of ‘interviews’ to “assess the changes on court” was The Daily Telegraph's highly plausible excuse to “meet eight rising stars from the […]
With corn prices rising due in part to global climate changes, flooding, and droughts, the question arises: should Mexico use genetically modified seeds to improve crop yields, particularly corn? If a seed species were available that was drought and pest resistant, should it be used? The fact of the matter is that such a miracle […]
The runoff election approaches in Zimbabwe and three trends are beginning to emerge: Robert Mugabe and his supporters are continuing to dig in their heels. The outside world is increasingly vocal about concerns but still short on tangible action. And the runoff appears set to go on as long as the Movement for Democratic Change […]
At a time of tremendous sensitivity where many of its activities are receiving global attention, China's investment actions are no exception. The China Investment Corporation (CIC) is China's firm, which manages its foreign exchange reserves. A sovereign wealth fund, the CIC was established in 2007 in response to enormous state losses, resulting from the rising Yuan and the plummeting […]
Sorry for the silence! Been away celebrating Russia's Independence Day…from itself. (It is true: 12 June marked the secession of the Russian republic from the USSR. Not only is the occasion modishly Freudian, but it's also simply a matter of justice: the US has an independence day, and so is Russia to be left without […]
Here in the United States, the world's largest and in many ways most dynamic economy, everyday we open the morning papers lately just to see one more sign that our economy is in trouble; credit crisis, stimulus packages, unemployment, gas/oil prices, food prices, a movie in New York City costs $12.00! America is not alone […]
Though not all votes are counted and official results are not expected until later this afternoon, Ireland's Europe Minister is already conceding defeat in his country's referendum on the EU Reform Treaty. Though the margin is narrow, it seems that the ‘No’ victory (at 52% vs. a predicted 48% ‘Yes’ vote) is clear. It is […]
President Sarkozy rewards President Assad for… I’d like to say decent behavior towards Lebanon, but that can't be it. Assad did everything in his power to create havoc in the country, directly and through his allies, yet he receives praises. France invited President Bashar al-Assad to attend its national holiday celebrations next month after a […]
The biggest news story at the beginning of the week involving Iraq is that of Iraqi-Iranian talks over the weekend. BBC reported that Nuri al-Maliki (Iraqi PM) discussed security issues with Iranian President, Ahmadinejad. This included Iraqi desire to stop Iranian backing for Iraqi Shi’a groups and Iran's concern over Iraq's constant chaos. Also on […]
Prime Minister Olmert suggested holding peace talks with Lebanon, now that the negotiations with Damascus are out in the open. The Lebanese government immediately released a statement rejecting the call. There are pending bilateral issues between Lebanon and Israel which are governed by international resolutions which Israel must respect… and which cannot be the object […]