Members of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have broken their silence on Zimbabwe. Regional cooperation all along has presented the greatest hope for promoting change by taking the responsibility away from individual leaders such as Thabo Mbeki. Traditionally regional leaders, with memories of colonialism on the ground and the manifestations of apartheid and similar policies […]
Kazakhstan's medical services have been under fire recently for the deplorable medically-assisted spread of HIV virus among 96 schoolchildren via transfusions. Eight schoolchildren in the region of Shymkent have already died. Kazakhstan's Health Minister, Yerbolat Dosaev, and the Southern Kazakhstan governor Bolat Jylkyshiev, were dismissed. Twenty-one doctors and medical officials are on trial, and other medical staff […]
Mexico's Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) has proposed a bill in the national Senate to legalize abortion within the first three months of pregnancy. Currently, Mexican law only allows for abortion in cases of rape or when the mother's life is in danger. The PRD has also proposed legalizing abortion in Mexico City, which is a […]
The Boston Globe has a powerful story about a soccer field in Rwanda. Here are the first two paragraphs, but read the whole thing: In Kingston on Boston's South Shore, the Jonathan Rizzo Soccer Field with its bright lights and bleachers is a fitting memorial to the young man who loved the game and played […]
I was looking for a Central Asian game that didn't have to do with the “Great Game” in Central Asia. Instead of one, I found many–or really, Amira did. Her blog, The Golden Road to Samarqand (now added to Blogroll at right), has a series on Central Asian bone games. Since her account is part intercultural journey and part — the Hoyle's of […]
A new law took effect in Mexico City on March 16th allowing same-sex couples to unite in civil unions, giving them many of the social benefits such as property, pension and inheritance rights that are enjoyed by heterosexual married couples. The civil union law does not, however, allow the couples to adopt children. The Catholic […]
Bruce Pannier writes about current tensions over Manas Air Force Base near Bishkek for RFE/RL. With the Kharsi-Khanabad AFB closed in Uzbekistan, Manas is more important than before. One thing I did not realize right away: the USAF shares this airport with Kyrgyzstan's private use, which has to add to the tension there. In September 2006, […]
The reason for warmer ties between Pakistan and Uzbekistan were noted by Sanobar Shermatova at Ferghana.ru: Where Tashkent is concerned, the Afghani civil strife and relations with Pakistan are inseparable from the problem of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. Advancement of relations with these two countries made for a weakening of Islamic gunmen. Tashkent and Islamabad […]
The situation in Zimbabwe continues to deteriorate. Another opposition leader has told of her travails and worries for her health if she is not allowed to leave the country and the governor of the country's central bank has announced a crackdown on illegal fuel dealers in hopes of stemming one source of the country's rampant inflation. […]
Mongolia's strong relationship with Japan received a new boost this month when Japan announced a new USD 1.5 million project to aid urban migrants in Bayanhogar, Choyr, and Erdenat. Mongolia's population has been urbanizing rapidly. Many of these new urbanites live in temporary settlements and need employment and business opportunities. Japan's new grant provides funds, technical support and guidance […]
Robert Mugabe threatens to expel diplomats who, in his estimation provide “support” for the opposition. Sean McCormick, a spokesman for the State Department, declares that the United States holds Mugabe “personally responsible” for attacks on opposition leaders. Mugabe increasingly relies on “hit squads” to carry out his dirty work. Zimbabwe's judiciary still hints at independence […]
Several development banks have recently come to Tajikistan, planning to invest in Tajikstan's energy security‚ which Tajikistan really needs. Last year, energy distribution problems precipitated a closure of Dushanbe's bakeries; the resulting bread riot (really a woman's sit-down demonstration) underscored the past-due need for energy infrastructure investment in Tajikistan. At neweurasia.net, Gulru has written this winter has been […]
This past Sunday's New York Times travel section featured Africa. It includes pieces on West Africa, featuring Senegal, night-time in South Africa's Mountain Zebra National Park, and following the path of David Livingstone's quest for what would come to be known as Victoria Falls as well as much more.
See this map of bird migration patterns, courtesy of BBC: then imagine that these lines are kind of blurred, because birds, after all, do not read maps and do not march in single file. Instead, these lines demarcate a range of individual flights that are a little more widespread. Then consider that birds bypass whole […]
Thabo Mbeki recently wrote in ANC Today about the links between the role that crime plays in the country's psyche and the still percolating racism that simmers beneath the surface of the ociety. The country's whites too often ignore the connection. Money excerpt: “For this section of our population every reported incident of crime communicates the frightening and expected […]