A new study by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts that the so-called “Age of America” will end in 2016, stating, ‘we are witnessing the end of American economic hegemony in the World.’
A new study by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts that the so-called “Age of America” will end in 2016, stating, ‘we are witnessing the end of American economic hegemony in the World.’
Even before the onset of hostilities in Libya it was obvious to insiders on both sides of the Atlantic that NATO was increasingly dysfunctional. Libya has now shown the wider public that the emperor has no clothes. Cohesion used to be NATO’s trademark, but there is little of that left. And the reputation of the […]
There may seem like there’s a big debate about NATO’s policy in Libya, especially after last weekend’s State of the Union episode, in which Lindsey Graham advocated a “cut the head of the snake off” policy. John McCain and Joe Lieberman also appeared on the program to make similar statements. But if we actually look […]
Numbers misleading on Haitian displaced Some 800,000 of an estimated 1.5 million displaced Haitians have moved out of makeshift camps and tent cities since last year’s devastating earthquake, but most — up to 95% — of those who have left continue to live with relatives or in dilapidated, damaged or partially-collapsed housing. Most were forced […]
Penelope Chester wrote a post today that I highly recommend on the double standards increasingly demonstrated by European countries, especially France. One clear example is when it comes to issues of immigration. On the recent call by France and Italy to revise the Schengen Agreement that allows people to cross the borders of member states […]
China has made significant sacrifices in trying to help African countries lift themselves out of poverty, including the deaths of more than 700 Chinese workers in aid projects, Vice Commerce Minister Fu Ziying told reporters. He said accusations that Beijing’s foreign aid to Africa was targeted at securing resources were “nonsense.” Fu was briefing the press on a report on China’s foreign aid released last week by the State Council Information Office. The report, the first of its kind, said China’s budgeted foreign aid swelled nearly 30% a year since 2004 and totaled 256.2 billion Yuan ($39.2 Bn USD) from 1950 through 2009.
The United States is winning no popularity contests in Pakistan. Only 17 percent of Pakistanis view the U.S. in a favorable light. Obviously, the U.S. State Department has a long way to go on the public diplomacy front. One of the most promising ways State is trying to engage foreign publics with unfavorable perceptions of the U.S. is through citizen diplomacy.
Today some 25,000 marriages will take place, however these are not the weddings and unions that call for great celebration, but that of grave concern, for they are the marriages of mear girls. Everyday across the globe 25,000 girls are married according to World Vision’s report, Before She’s Ready; “..every day, an estimated 3,500 girls will marry before reaching […]
On Friday, Julia touched upon one of my favourite subjects: Community Health Workers. I am a strong advocate of her position for paying CHWs – and for reasons that ironically have to do with lowering costs. For the last couple weeks, I’ve been focusing on the financing of healthcare and advocating for new mechanisms to […]
It was 25 years ago today that the Number 4 reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power station in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic exploded. The first the world learned of it was the following day when radiation detectors in Sweden went berserk. The heroics of the “liquidators,” many of whom died from radiation sickness in […]
Approximately half of the world’s population is at risk from malaria, according to the World Health Organization, but the vast majority of malaria cases and malaria-related deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa. Among officially recorded cases from 2009, Uganda and Kenya had the highest numbers, but WHO estimates that more than 90% of the world’s malaria […]
Last month BBC New Magazine ran a curious story (here) about the US State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), calling it “a little-known scheme run by the US State Department [that] has demonstrated an uncanny capacity to pinpoint these leaders-in-waiting.” Despite the BBC’s assertion, the IVLP is quite well-known and highly regarded. The State […]
There is an important series well underway at the Vancouver Observer: “The Big Grab.” It’s about how the tar sands industry is forcing choices on Canadians that they would not otherwise have to make in the absence of all the activity in Alberta. What’s particularly important about this series, it seems to me, is that […]
Southeast Asia is a hub for human trafficking. Too often, young girls are lured by traffickers through promises of well paying jobs in the cities. If you have read Half the Sky, by Nicholas Kristof and his wife Sheryl Wudunn, you will already be aware of the horrors endured by women and girls caught in the web of modern […]
As Easter weekend arrives, the World Food Programme (WFP) reminded the public of the effect of hunger on children. Citing how 20 million children worldwide could be fed for two years by the $2.3 billion spent on the annual Easter candy sales in the U.S. and UK, WFP urged people to donate the amount of […]