Four months after its acceptance as an observer to the Arctic Council, South Korea is fulfilling expectations surrounding its new role by leading a research survey into the Beaufort Sea to look for subsea permafrost and methane hydrates. The East Asian country’s self-constructed icebreaker, the Araon, left Barrow, Alaska on September 8 bound for Canadian waters. The Araon will spend […]
Last year I blogged about some phenomenal young people from the African continent doing extraordinary things. This years search was somewhat different. Young People in International Affairs (YPIA) based in South Africa put out a worldwide call for nominations earlier in 2013 to find the top 35 foreigners under 35-years-old making an impact on […]
After a two-week marathon, wherein the world was expecting military strikes against Syria in order to punish the Assad regime, the situation is finally settling down. Two reasons behind this abrupt shift from missiles to diplomacy: Russia and western public opinions. First, Russia, a close Syrian ally, has been trying to avoid any sort […]
Ayham Kamel is a Senior Middle East Analyst with the geopolitical risk consulting firm Eurasia Group. Mr. Kamel’s work is focused on Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and the Levant region (Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon). His sectoral expertise includes the financial industry, banking, hospitality, infrastructure, and oil and gas. He is also involved in integrating […]
[Jalopnik/Gawker] So this is kind of cool. Apparently Formula One legend James Hunt, who is the central character in the new Ron Howard movie Rush, was also an ardent and vocal opponent of the Apartheid regime. Of course this seems to go unmentioned in the movie (Yes, I know — expecting substantial political subtext in […]
Today’s evidence that people are the absolute worst: Poachers in Zimbabwe have killed more than eighty elephants by putting cyanide in one of their watering holes. UPDATED: Authorities have caught and convicted the perpetrators, who have received fifteen-year prison sentences.
For those who follow developments along the geographic periphery of the European Union, this was a good weekend to be in Croatia, the EU’s 28th — and newest — member. The weather along the Adriatic coast is still summer-like, and many of the region’s media movers and shakers gathered at the seaside town of Rovinj […]
For nearly four months now Bulgaria’s major cities have witnessed the country’s largest protests in over 16 years. Calling for greater transparency, less corruption, a robust campaign against organized crime, and the resignation of the entire government, protestors have gathered by the thousands, taking to the streets daily to voice their outrage with a dysfunctional […]
Editor’s Note: The following interview with Gary Sick and John Mearsheimer was conducted by Arash Azizi. Mr. Azizi is an Iranian-born journalist based in London, U.K. His work has appeared in many publications in Canada and Iran, including the Toronto Star, Macleans, Dominion, Shahrvand, Sharq, Aseman, Merhname and Kargozaran. Mr. Azizi was International Editor for […]
Editor’s Note: Gissou Nia is Executive Director of the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center. Prior to her tenure at the Center, Ms. Nia worked on war crimes and crimes against humanity trials at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, the Netherlands. She is […]
Brazil’s economy has slowed over the last year, but Brazil is still one of the strongest BRICS nations and is still considered in a virtual boom phase by many investors, even if the numbers do not accord with the zeal many have for a growing Brazil. One of the main goals of many BRICS nations […]
I have a commentary piece in today’s San Jose Mercury News that argues: Much of the focus since Nina Davuluri’s crowning as this year’s Miss America has been on the racist attacks on social media directed at this impressive woman who is the pageant’s first winner of Indian heritage. But the real story here is […]
A 60-year-old Maori woman was denied entrance to a public bath house in northern Japan because of her traditional tā moko facial tattoo. Japanese bath houses, known as onsen, typically bar anyone with tattoos to keep away yakuza gangsters, many of whom sport full-body tats. Erana Ta Haeata Brewerton had been attending an academic meeting […]
In my previous post, I noted how there isn’t likely to be a dramatic shift in Norway’s Arctic policy even though the Conservatives will now be at the helm of government. Regardless of whether Labour or the Conservatives dominate, oil will still be one of Norway’s top priorities in the Arctic. But questions remain as […]
One person was killed and several others were injured after a day of protests in Cambodia turned deadly Sunday night. Mao Chan, 29, was shot in the head and pronounced dead at the scene of Monivong Bridge when a faction of demonstrators confronted military police who had spent most of the day shooting smoke grenades […]