Walid Jumblatt Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt appears to be repositioning his Druze bloc in the face of changing national and regional political realities. In the past few weeks, Jumblatt expressed his support for financing of the Hariri Tribunal, was seen at recent March 14 social gatherings, questioned the value of Hizballah’s arsenal to […]
Overcrowded, unhealthy, unmanaged and inhumane: that is how Amnesty International has characterized Liberia’s prison system in a damning report issued last week entitled “Good Intentions are Not Enough.” The report documents situations in several government run facilities where there is no sanitation, prisoners are forced to sleep in shifts and where psychological counseling or legal […]
Speaking of modern challenges, during a Congressional hearing, Adm. Mike Mullen made some damning accusations of the Pakistani government’s role, particularly the ISI, in some serious attacks on American targets: The remarks by Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff, represented the strongest U.S. criticism to date of the long-suspected ties between […]
In a report highlighting political and economic prospects of a new, post-Qadhafi Libya, the Economist Intelligence Unit, the in-house research unit of the Economist magazine, explains what world and business leaders should expect over the next twenty months in this oil-rich north African country. The report, entitled Libya’s Year Zero, offers a number of scenarios […]
It is interesting to see how international institutions define development as a promotion of specific economic development model. Well developed development practice requires a certain level of state intervention to protect private property and enforce laws that respond to social changes. I have no doubt that such institutions contributed in promoting and facilitating development practices […]
Amnesty International Calls on Authorities to Stop Attacks on Peaceful Protesters, as Security Forces Kill Dozens (Amnesty International–New York): Yemeni authorities must immediately stop the killing of peaceful protesters by security forces, Amnesty International said today, after dozens of people were shot dead in the capital, Sana’a, since Sunday. The organization called for an independent, […]
The spirit of the EU 2020 energy strategy seems to be well underway. The EU is planning to streamline the practice of deal making in the energy sector between EU members and outside parties and fortify the voice of Brussels. This sounds difficult, as the EU is home to half a billion consumers and about […]
Been off the blogosphere for the last couple of weeks. My back went out and the only comfortable position I could find was lying down. Guess I went at the bike riding thing too heavily this summer! I’m of the mind that there is a seed of good in every adversity. In this case it […]
Emerging economies are often described as being in the process of increased urbanisation. In industrialised countries the process of growth in manufacturing is often met with an influx of population from rural areas into the centres of production within metropolitan areas. This process which took place in the late 19th century in Europe and North […]
One of the many indignities that African countries suffer is that their circumstances are often debated in the absence of voices from the continent. Part of the problem is lack of networks between African universities and policy institutions with partners in the North and also an absence of websites and journals that give the African […]
A lot of really strange analysis has been coming out on the subject of Obama Administration foreign policy following the apparant toppling of the Ghaddafi regime in Libya. Broadly criticized by opinion leaders of the left and right on his Libya policy until recently, it seems that many decided this past week that the policy […]
As if fueled by some cosmic irony to enhance sales of Dick Cheney’s In My Time, we have welcome news from the Near East! For the first time since the former Veep’s “Coalition of the Willing” sand-plowed Saddam’s twisted regime in 2003, an entire month has passed without a single United States service member dying. […]
An Ethiopian by the name of Mehari Gebre. But no matter, young Liberian Lucy Massaquoi,16, took the gold in the women’s event and a fun time was had by all. The event, which was held on August 28th, was the brain-child of BHP Billiton, the Australian mining and energy giant who has recently taken a […]
About three weeks ago, President Saleh delivered a televised speech to the nation, in which he reassured his followers that he would indeed be coming back, his convalescence coming to a close. His rather lengthy address put to rest rumors that the Saudis and the Americans had managed to exert enough political pressure on the […]
In my inaugural post for the FPA blog I would like discuss recent events in the country where I have most recently been: Liberia. On Tuesday the 23rd Liberians went to the polls for a referendum vote on three issues. One of them was whether Supreme Court justices should retire at age 70 as is […]