Serbian media reports that the Serbian government is investigating accusations by former ICTY Chief Prosecutor Carla del Ponte that Serbian Kosovars were kidnapped and murdered and had their organs harvested by Kosovar Albanian paramilitaries during the 1998-99 war. The tribunal itself has refused to reinvestigate the allegations, averring that a 2004 investigation had not turned […]
An agreement in Doha, Qatar has been signed among Lebanon's political leaders. UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon has welcomed the agreement and hopes it will be the start of "a lasting period of national reconciliation." The Security Council also supports the agreement and the "decision to continue the national dialogue on ways to reinforce the authority of […]
British Foreign Secretary David Milliband spoke at the Center for Strategic and International Studies yesterday. He is quite an exceptional foreign leader: he is 41 years old and has been in politics for only 10 years, and at very high levels at that. CSIS invited Milliband as part of their “Smart Power” program, which studies new public […]
I wrote about Energy Efficiency for Fun and Profit back in February. Energy efficiency is where you get the most bang for the buck in reducing GHG. In fact, you save money with efficiency. Dow Chemical, for instance, reduced its energy intensity by 38 per cent between 1990 to 2005. They spent $1 billion and […]
A dilapidated concrete house in Tel Aviv is the current homestead of 340 African refugees. Most have come from the war-torn regions of Darfur. Others from Eritrea, Ethiopia and the Ivory Coast, crowding the poorly ventilated corridors and rooms. Some paid smugglers to get them first through Egypt and then into Israel, a country that […]
Ok, this is a human rights blog and not a political blog BUT I could not avoid commenting on this statement by Senator Clinton re: the Florida Democratic primary. As noted by Fernando Suarez (CBS news) Hillary Clinton compared the plight of Zimbabweans in their recent fraudulent election to the uncounted votes of Michigan and […]
Turkey: Turkish-German Professionals: Young, Qualified and Unwanted Highly qualified professionals of Turkish descent are leaving Germany because they feel denied opportunities there. In contrast other countries, particularly Turkey, are vying for their talents. Experts warn of the disastrous consequences of this “fatal” brain drain( Spiegel). Myanmar: Relief workers who are still prohibited from entering Myanmar […]
The Simon Wiesenthal Center has located an alleged war criminal from World War 2, in Australia. 87-year-old Karoly Zentai is accused of murdering a Jewish teenager in Budapest during the Holocaust while he served in the pro-Nazi Hungarian army. Hungary has been seeking his extradition since 2005, and Zentai has avoided extradition before. Now, the […]
The pro-opposition Lebanese daily As-Safir featured an article yesterday illustrating how Hezbollah is dealing with the political fallout of its recent “small war” against the country's ruling majority. Despite the potential political risks involved with this move, the author states that the group apparently saw its actions as worth taking in order to safeguard its […]
On May 8, the EU Observer published an article about EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson's (UK) remarks during a BBC interview describing the ‘protectionist’ trade policies of U.S. Democratic Presidential candidates as ‘mirages.’ His exact quote ‘It is irresponsible to be pretending to people you can erect new protection, new tariff barriers around your economy […]
Europeans are watching the U.S. presidential campaign more closely than ever before, and Obama is stealing the spotlight. The New York Times details ‘Obama Fever’ in Europe. ‘Obama Fever in Europe’ New York Times, March 21, 2008
Methods of covering presidential elections have changed dramatically in recent years, and many believe that the 2008 campaign is the first in which the ‘new media’ have come fully into their own. The Transatlantic Media Network and the George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs hosted a discussion on 'the Challenge of Covering […]
On May 11, the British Sunday newspaper, the Observer, published this hopeful article by Will Hutton about European perceptions of the United States. The view of America in the European media is often more critical and more negative. ‘Forget the Naysayers: American Remains an Inspiration to Us All’ May 11, 2008, The Guardian
While most American reporting on economic downturns focuses on American domestic issues or world business reports, this New York Times article takes a look at the way stagnant wages are hurting the European middle classes. Interesting to note the ‘luxuries’ which many Europeans are being forced to abandon. ‘For Europe's Middle Classes Stagnant Wages Stunt […]
The BBC reports of a worrying escalation overnight as the violence spreads to Durban: “Police say a group armed with stones and bottles had threatened Nigerians and damaged their property overnight. It prompted about 700 African migrants to seek refuge in a nearby church while in Cape Town a safety forum has been set up […]