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Egypt: Anti-Mursi Demonstrators March to Tahrir Square

Sun, 19 May 2013 08:51:00 +0100

Demonstrators marched on Friday from Dawaran Shubra, Mostafa Mahmoud and Sayeda Zeinab to Cairo's Tahrir Square to protest against President Mohamed Mursi and the Muslim Brotherhood.

Activist Kamal Khalil urged around one thousand demonstrators on the march from Shubra to pass through Road al-Farag area in order to get more people to join the march.

Hundreds of marching demonstrators joined the rebellion movement "Tamarod" whose aim is to collect support for a no confidence vote against President...

South Africa: Circumcision Process Must Be Monitored

Sun, 19 May 2013 07:31:57 +0100

The IFP calls on the Department of Health to monitor the circumcision process in initiation schools, so as to avoid further deaths. IFP Spokesperson on Health, Mrs Hilda Msweli (MP) said, "Cooperation between the Department of Health and the Traditional leaders is needed, and it will decrease the high number of deaths. Doctors should be involved in the process, to make sure that any initiate who needs urgent medical assistance receives it quickly. Some initiates died from complications due to the...

Zambia: Arrest Protesting Students, Sata Orders Police

Sat, 18 May 2013 18:15:00 +0100

President Michael Sata has directed Lusaka province police commissioner Joyce Kasosa to arrest all students protesting against the lifting of the fuel and maize subsidies.

President Sata has also called for the expulsion of all students that protested this morning.

The head of state sounded the order shortly before he laid ground for the construction works for Palabana University in Chongwe district this morning as UNZA students stormed the streets draped in black to protest rising living standar...

Namibia: The Sky Is the Limit Even for Air Namibia

Sat, 18 May 2013 18:04:00 +0100

THE demand for air transport shows a steady increase over the past years, with passenger numbers and freight traffic growing by 45 percent and 80 percent respectively. Forward-looking predictions suggest that over the period 2010-2015, Africa will be the third fastest growing region in the world in terms of international traffic with an average growth rate of 6.1 percent compared to the global average of 5.8 percent.

Although the number of arrivals per capita in Namibia is still low, there is mas...

Somalia: Jubaland Leaders Host IGAD Committee in Kismayo Meeting

Sat, 18 May 2013 17:57:00 +0100

Kismayo — A delegation from the Inter Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) arrived Saturday in the Somali southern port city of Kismayo and was warmly received by Jubaland President Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed Islam (Madobe) in Kismayo, Garowe Online reports.

The delegation, led by IGAD General Secretary Mahboub Maalim, plans to hold meetings with Jubaland leaders and community elders in Kismayo.

In April 2013, IGAD issued a communiqué on Somalia and called for an IGAD-led "confidence-buildin...

Zambia: Govt Warns Sports Administrators

Sat, 18 May 2013 17:55:00 +0100

GOVERNMENT has warned sports administrators against squabbles and misappropriation of funds, saying it will no longer tolerate malpractices in the administration of sport.

Sports Permanent Secretary, Agnes Musunga was speaking when she officiated at the joint workshop conducted by the Sports Council of Zambia and the National Organisation for Women in Sport, Physical, Activity and Recreation (NOWSPAR) at Cresta Golf View in Lusaka yesterday.

She said good leadership that was positive and accounta...

Namibia: Pohamba to Declare Drought an Emergency

Sat, 18 May 2013 17:54:00 +0100

PRESIDENT Hifikepunye Pohamba is expected to officially declare a state of emergency soon in the face of the devastating drought that is ravaging the country.

This was said by Prime Minister Hage Geingob during a meeting with regional governors on the implementation of the Cabinet decision on the Comprehensive Drought Relief Programme for the 2013/14 financial year in Windhoek yesterday.

Geingob however did not say when the Head of State will declare the state of emergency nor did he disclose the...

Namibia: Pohamba to Declare Drought an Emergency

Sat, 18 May 2013 17:54:00 +0100

PRESIDENT Hifikepunye Pohamba is expected to officially declare a state of emergency soon in the face of the devastating drought that is ravaging the country.

Geingob however did not say when the Head of State will declare the state of emergency nor did he disclose the...

Africa: With a Booming Economy, Africa Looks to Re-Brand

Sat, 18 May 2013 16:47:21 +0100

The United Nations Economic Commission of Africa (UNECA) and African Union (AU) recently launched the "Economic Report on Africa 2013: Making the most of Africa's Commodities," written by Carlos Lopes, UN under-secretary-general and executive secretary of UNECA, and Nkosazana Clarice Dlamini-Zuma, Commission Chairperson of the AU.

One main component of the report is the move toward a new "branding," an Africa that is industrialized and developed, not plagued by poverty and flooded with conflict. ...

Africa: The Diaspora Can Help Fuel Rwanda's Technology and Digital Ambitions

Sat, 18 May 2013 14:19:03 +0100

As Rwanda day 2013 comes to London for the first time, let me take this opportunity to talk about the role that the Rwandan business community in the diaspora can playing by embracing the creation of Rwanda startup culture and make a difference in creating much needed jobs at the same time benefiting from the growth of the ICT sector.

Rwanda Day is a periodical event that is held in different countries around the world and brings together Rwandans and friends of Rwanda to reaffirm their core nati...

Nigeria: Rebels Could Face War Crimes Charges for 'Population Cleansing' - UN Rights Office

Sat, 18 May 2013 11:52:20 +0100

Members of Boko Haram and other extremist groups in Nigeria could face war crimes charges for deliberate acts leading to ethnic and religious cleansing, the top United Nations human rights official said today.

In a press briefing in Geneva, the spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Rupert Colville, reiterated calls on Boko Haram and other extremist groups in Nigeria to cease their "cowardly attacks" against civilians and politicians, members of Governme...

Zimbabwe: Election Date Will Only Be Decided After Voter Registration

Sat, 18 May 2013 09:24:17 +0100

The date for an election will only be decided when the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission completes its voter registration and inspection exercise, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has said.

The MDC-T leader said when the new constitution comes into effect, ZEC will have to roll out a 30 day voter registration exercise followed by another month of voter inspection.

'Once these are done, there shall be consultations around the date for elections,' said Tsvangirai, adding that certain laws will have to ...

Africa: Study Finds Little Progress in Meeting Demand for Contraception

Fri, 17 May 2013 21:04:43 +0100

A new study by the Guttmacher Institute finds that within the developing world, the poorest countries are lagging far behind higher-income developing countries in meeting the demand for modern contraception. Between 2003 and 2012, the total number of women wanting to avoid pregnancy and in need of contraception increased from 716 million to 867 million, with growth concentrated among women in the 69 poorest countries where modern method use was already very low.

The study, "Trends in Contraceptiv...

Kenya: Ruto Denies ICC Shuttle Diplomacy

Fri, 17 May 2013 19:10:00 +0100

DEPUTY president William Ruto yesterday clarified that he is on "an official bilateral trip" to four African countries, as the Senate saw heated debate on the issue.

Ruto denied claims he is on a shuttle diplomacy to gain support against the International Criminal Court where he and President Uhuru Kenyatta, together with radio journalist Joshua arap Sang are standing trial for crimes against humanity.

In a press statement, Ruto said he will visit Congo, Gabon, Nigeria and Algeria.

The statement ...

Kenya: Uasin Gishu Reps Snub NCIC Peace Meeting

Fri, 17 May 2013 18:38:58 +0100

Uasin Gishu county assembly members yesterday boycotted a key meeting of the National Cohesion and Integration Commission which had been called to discuss peace, reconciliation and operations of counties.

NCIC commissioner Fatuma Muhammed said the boycott did not augur well for the planned peace activities in the region. "Even if they have complaints, it would have been better to attend the meeting," said Fatuma.

Uasin Gishu governor Jackson Mandago and deputy governor Daniel Chepno were also not...

Kenya: Uhuru in Closed-Door Meeting With Top Cops

Fri, 17 May 2013 18:10:00 +0100

Police chiefs have told President Uhuru Kenyatta that they are losing command of the police following overlaps and contradictions in two key police Acts -The National Police Service Act and the National Police Acts.

Provincial Police commanders, Provincial CID chiefs and Provincial AP commanders, who attended a meeting at State House Nairobi yesterday, told Uhuru they have problems deploying their officers because of contradicting mandates given to them by the two Acts.

They asked the President t...

Central African Republic: New Big Man, Old Politics - the Road Ahead for Djotodia

Fri, 17 May 2013 17:06:00 +0100

Since independence, the Central African Republic has experienced five coups. What chance does the country's latest strongman have of seeing out his term in office?

Following months of fighting in the Central African Republic (CAR), President François Bozizé was overthrown on 24 March by the Seleka Coalition, a collective of foreign and northern-based militias.

Soon after, the then-relatively unknown Michel Djotodia, one of Seleka's leaders, declared himself president before being formally elect...

Central African Republic: New Big Man, Old Politics - the Road Ahead for Djotodia

Fri, 17 May 2013 17:06:00 +0100

Since independence, the Central African Republic has experienced five coups. What chance does the country's latest strongman have of seeing out his term in office?

Soon after, the then-relatively unknown Michel Djotodia, one of Seleka's leaders, declared himself president before being formally elect...

Liberia: PYJ Undeterred About Resignation

Fri, 17 May 2013 17:03:00 +0100

Senator Prince Yormie Johnson of Nimba County says he cares less about what people say concerning his recent resignation as the flag-bearer of the National Union for Democratic Progress (NUDP).

"Whether they have accepted it (resignation) or not, I care less," the senator told reporters in a rather angry mood apparently referring to the feelings of NUDP party stalwarts over his resignation.

"I am the chief financier of the party; let them carry out the party's activities. I careless less," the se...

Ghana: Publicise Oil Mining Contracts, Now

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:13:55 +0100

Ghana is reportedly ranked 15th on the latest World Mining Index. The index is said to list 58 mining countries across the globe, and rates the level of transparency in each country's mining sector.

At 5th position, Ghana emerges as the best country in sub-Saharan Africa to have undertaken major reforms to enthrone transparency in the mining industry.

However, according to the African Centre for Energy Policy, Ghana was criticised for not publishing all mining and oil contracts.

The ACEP also urg...

Ghana: Publicise Oil Mining Contracts, Now

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:13:54 +0100

Ghana is reportedly ranked 15th on the latest World Mining Index. The index is said to list 58 mining countries across the globe, and rates the level of transparency in each country's mining sector.

At 5th position, Ghana emerges as the best country in sub-Saharan Africa to have undertaken major reforms to enthrone transparency in the mining industry.

However, according to the African Centre for Energy Policy, Ghana was criticised for not publishing all mining and oil contracts.

The ACEP also urg...

Liberia: Bad for Liberia - LEITI Endorses Moore Stephens Audit, Call for Implementation

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:48:47 +0100

The Multi-Stakeholders steering Group of the Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (LEITI) says it fully endorsed the fourth EITI Reconciliation findings for Liberia and the post Award process Audit Report.

LEITI explained that its decision to endorse the report was concluded by members of the board Thursday at an emergency MSG meeting held at the LEITI secretariat in Monrovia.

Said the secretariat head Sampson Tokpah: "The 4th EITI report, for Liberia, prepared by the Reconciler,...

UN asks Westerners: What's bugging you?

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:00:00 +0100

UN asks Westerners: What's bugging you?
By Heather Maher

WASHINGTON - To more than 2 billion people around the world, the soothing sound of crickets chirping might also signal the availability of a delicious snack. That's the number of people around the world, mainly in Asia and Africa, who eat insects as part of their regular diet, according to the United Nations.

A new report from the UN's Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) says Western societies should get over their "disgust" at the idea...

UN asks Westerners: What's bugging you?

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:00:00 +0100

UN asks Westerners: What's bugging you?
By Heather Maher

A new report from the UN's Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) says Western societies should get over their "disgust" at the idea...

DYSFUNCTION TRILOGY : The phase that launched a thousand bubbles

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:00:00 +0100

DYSFUNCTION TRILOGY
The phase that launched a thousand bubbles
By Chan Akya

This concludes a three-part series.
Part 1: Keynes stole your ship
Part 2: Bernanke stole your pension

Bubbles last just as long as it takes for technical to become fundamentals.

Helen of Troy had the face that launched a thousand ships while Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke and his compatriots have presided since 2007 over the economic phase that launched a thousand bubbles.

In the previous two parts of this trilogy,...

Chinese opinion jars with policy on Korea

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:00:00 +0100

SPEAKING FREELY
Chinese opinion jars with policy on Korea
By Niklas Swanstrom and Kelly Chen

Speaking Freely is an Asia Times Online feature that allows guest writers to have their say. Please click here if you are interested in contributing.

North Korea's missile and nuclear tests and its defiant attitude in the face of international condemnation have had negative consequences both for North Korea itself and all involved actors, but arguably no country has been affected more than China.

US milit...

Fox leads US tiger into China's crosshairs

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:00:00 +0100

Fox leads tiger into China's crosshairs
By Peter Lee

There is a delicious flavor of Western bewilderment about the never-ending parade of Japanese nationalist shenanigans. The most recent entry was Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto's endorsement of the World War II Japanese military brothel system, aka "comfort women":

In the circumstances in which bullets are flying like rain and wind, the soldiers are running around at the risk of losing their lives. If you want them to have a rest ...

UN asks Westerners: What's bugging you?

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:00:00 +0100

UN asks Westerners: What's bugging you?
By Heather Maher

A new report from the UN's Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) says Western societies should get over their "disgust" at the idea...

THE ROVING EYE : Catfight - and it's US vs EU

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:00:00 +0100

THE ROVING EYE
Catfight - and it's US vs EU
By Pepe Escobar

PARIS - Lovers of turbo-neoliberalism, rejoice - and take your bottles of Moet to a prime ringside seat; there won't be a nastier catfight this summer than the opening rounds opposing two Western giants. Forget about the Pentagon "pivoting" to Asia without ever abandoning the Middle East; nothing compares with this voyage in the entrails of turbo-capitalism, worthy of a neo-Balzac.

We're talking about a new Holy Grail - a free-market ...

US-IRAN TIES: A SPORTING CHANCE : Wrestle - in a different way

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:00:00 +0100

Iran and US wrestle - in a different way
By Garrett Nada

Iran and the United States have at least one urgent interest in common: Their wrestling federations are teaming up to salvage wrestling for the 2020 Olympics after the Olympic Committee recommended dropping the sport in February 2013. The Iranian and American teams are holding friendly matches - the next in Los Angeles on May 19 - to raise the sport's profile before the committee makes a final decision in September.

Despite tensions between ...

DYSFUNCTION TRILOGY : The phase that launched a thousand bubbles

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:00:00 +0100

DYSFUNCTION TRILOGY
The phase that launched a thousand bubbles
By Chan Akya

This concludes a three-part series.
Part 1: Keynes stole your ship
Part 2: Bernanke stole your pension

Bubbles last just as long as it takes for technical to become fundamentals.

In the previous two parts of this trilogy,...

SPEAKING FREELY : Patience needed for Sharif's India goals

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:00:00 +0100

Patience needed for Sharif's India goals
By Ramesh Ramachandran

NEW DELHI - Manmohan Singh, already the third-longest serving prime minister in India's history, is hunting for a legacy ahead of the next elections scheduled in 2014. A new government has just been elected in Pakistan in what is the first transition from one civilian government to another in that country.

Prime Minister-elect Nawaz Sharif has identified rescuing the Pakistani economy as his number one priority. The Lion of Punjab, ...

Aquino secures second-wind mandate

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:00:00 +0100

Aquino secures second-wind mandate
By Richard Javad Heydarian

MANILA - Recently concluded by-elections in the Philippines were viewed before the vote as a de facto referendum on President Benigno Aquino's three-year-old reform agenda. If preliminary results of the May 13 polls are indicative of popular perceptions, his administration has received a ringing endorsement to stay its current course.

An estimated 70% of registered voters turned out for the election of about 18,000 officials, includi...

US-IRAN TIES: A SPORTING CHANCE : Wrestle - in a different way

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:00:00 +0100

Iran and US wrestle - in a different way
By Garrett Nada

Despite tensions between ...

Dark shadows in data haunt India's output

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:22:14 +0100

Dark shadows in data haunt India's output
By Kunal Kundu Kumar

NEW DELHI - The reversal of India's downward trend in industrial production (IP) in the three months to the end of March provided some sense of comfort for the government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, which has been beleaguered by several corruption cases and a parliamentary deadlock.

Industrial production grew 2.51% year-on-year (yoy) in the last quarter of the financial year, according to data released this week,

...

Glasnost by stealth in North Korea

Mon, 13 May 2013 13:00:00 +0100

Glasnost by stealth in North Korea
By Andrei Lankov

One question I frequently encounter when talking about North Korea is the question of the regime's stability. People wonder for how long the current North Korean regime is likely to continue. While risking accusation of a non-critical application of the Soviet experiences to North Korea, I still would like to speculate a little on this issue - using my own late Soviet background.

As somebody who has spent his childhood and youth in the former ...

SA, UK and the international politics of ‘aid’

Mon, 13 May 2013 08:41:03 +0100

On the 30th of April the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) noted the ‘unilateral announcement’ by the UK to end its Official Development Assistance (ODA), or ‘aid’, to South Africa by 2015. This amounts to some £19 million a year for South Africa, which plays a role in supporting government development initiatives as well as civil society groups in addressing the priorities of unemployment, inequality and poverty.

The reasons behind the decision, set out by t...

SA identified as a green tax trailblazer

Sun, 12 May 2013 21:44:44 +0100

SOUTH Africa been identified by audit, tax and advisory service firm KPMG International as a world leader in using tax as a tool to drive sustainable corporate behaviour and achieve green policy goals, in a report yesterday.

South Africa is poised to become the first African and second Brics country to introduce a direct carbon tax, but the Treasury’s plan to start direct carbon taxation on January 1 2015 has its detractors, who argue that South Africa’s economic situation is not yet robust ...

South Africa: Steele - 'South Africa Should Do More to Curb Carbon Emissions'

Sun, 12 May 2013 21:42:54 +0100

A conference on climate change is underway in Berlin to discuss the need to cut on carbon emissions by developed countries. Despite Africa contributing little carbon emissions, it has suffered the consequences.

Carbon emissions could rise to 58 gigatonnes by 2020 if no drastic action is taken without delay, the United Nations environmental agency (UNEP) said in its Emissions Gap Report 2012. This figure is far above the level scientists say and it is in line with keeping global temperature rise ...

East Africa: Make-Believe Environmental Standards

Sun, 12 May 2013 21:41:16 +0100

Tanzania and some East African countries have established environmental standards. It is a good step towards creating a health environment in the East African Region. But it is difficult to believe that Tanzania implements any of the standards.

For example, who monitors the Air Quality Standards for Tanzania in Arusha? In particular, who monitors the presence of the poisonous metal called Lead? Does anybody monitors the presence of harmful quantities of sulfur oxides, nitrogen dioxide, carbon mo...

3 Encouraging Signs of Progress from the Bonn Climate Talks

Sun, 12 May 2013 21:38:21 +0100

A slight breath of fresh air entered the UNFCCC climate negotiations this week in Bonn, Germany. Held in the old German parliament—which was designed to demonstrate transparency and light—the meeting took on a more open feel than the past several COPs and intersessionals.

Instead of arguing over the agenda, negotiators got down to work, discussing ways to ramp up countries’ emissions-reduction commitments now and move toward a 2015 international climate action agreement. Reaching these two...

Fear envelops Pakistan elections

Thu, 09 May 2013 13:00:00 +0100

Fear envelops Pakistan elections
By Syed Fazl-e-Haider

KARACHI - The Pakistani Taliban's terror campaign has created a climate of fear ahead of the May 11 general election. That is exactly what the militants wanted to induce, as the mounting death toll from terror attacks in the run up to the poll on Saturday makes people afraid to step out of their homes to cast their votes.

Consecutive attacks this week on campaign rallies held by Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam (JUI-F), a leading Islamist party led by ...

Kaesong closure tests Korea ties

Thu, 09 May 2013 13:00:00 +0100

Kaesong closure tests Korea ties
By Changsop Pyon

North Korea has shut indefinitely the Kaesong industrial park - the most visible symbol of cooperation between the two Koreas - and all North and South Korean workers have been withdrawn amid military tensions. South Korea has dismissed an "incomprehensible" list of North Korean demands for reviving the jointly run industrial park in North Korea. Changsop Pyon of RFA's Korean Service interviews Bradley Babson, a North Korea expert, about the impact...

Summary Report of the Lecture by the Reverend Jesse Jackson

Tue, 07 May 2013 22:02:23 +0100

On the 29th of April the Institute for Strategic and Political Affairs (ISPA), the Institute for Global Dialogue (IGD) and the Embassy of the United States of America (Pretoria) hosted the Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson for a public lecture on ‘Building an Inclusive Economy’. This was aimed at considering South Africa’s continued democratisation as the country...

Download report

...

Political gap narrows in Malaysia

Tue, 07 May 2013 13:00:00 +0100

Political gap narrows in Malaysia
By Anil Netto

PENANG - Malaysia's general elections returned the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition to power with a weak mandate and the potential for political instability in the weeks ahead. The opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition led by Anwar Ibrahim has questioned the integrity of Sunday's result and has refused to concede defeat until investigations are conducted into numerous reported irregularities.

On polling day, social media was abuzz with alerts,...

Mongolia puts veg on national menu

Tue, 07 May 2013 11:40:01 +0100

Mongolia puts veg on national menu
By Michelle Tolson

ULAANBAATAR - Genghis Khan knew about hard times. The founder of the Mongol Empire, which spanned most of Eurasia until roughly 1227, Genghis and his clan had to survive on their wits and natural surroundings, often resorting to meals of "green leafy things" when food was scarce.

Today that history seems to have been lost, with most Mongolians dismissing fruits, vegetables and cultivation as "unmanly", according to Marissa Markowitz, a food sec...

Mongolia puts veg on national menu

Tue, 07 May 2013 11:40:00 +0100

Mongolia puts veg on national menu
By Michelle Tolson

Today that history seems to have been lost, with most Mongolians dismissing fruits, vegetables and cultivation as "unmanly", according to Marissa Markowitz, a food sec...

The Durban BRICS Summit: Partnership for Development and Integration

Thu, 02 May 2013 07:58:49 +0100

The media hype and international attention that centered on Durban during the 5th BRICS summit (26-27 March) has faded. As the dust settles a number of lingering questions remain around the role of south-south cooperation and the establishment of a BRICS development bank, as well as the implications of the eThekwini Declaration...

Read More...

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Whither SA and Central African Republic?

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 22:13:51 +0100

Over the week-end the Prime Minister of Central African Republic, Nicolas Tiangaye, who was actually the premier for several months in the deposed government of Francois Bozize, visited President Zuma in Pretoria to affirm that relations between the two governments have normalized. Zuma indicated in the press briefing thereafter that his country's foreign policy towards CAR had not changed, suggesting that it is the rebel government that had changed tack. This article explores this and the rest o...

Envoy urged to press Uyghur rights

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0100

Envoy urged to press Uyghur rights
By Radio Free Asia

An exiled rights group has called on the US envoy to China to raise human rights violations against the mostly Muslim Uyghur minority with the government in Beijing, two days after 21 people were killed in the worst episode of violence in the restive Xinjiang region in nearly four years.

US Ambassador Gary Locke was visiting Xinjiang with a trade delegation when the clashes took place Tuesday in Maralbeshi (in Chinese, Bachu) county in Kashgar...

SPENGLER : Turkey's ticking debt time-bomb

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 10:01:02 +0100

SPENGLER
Turkey's ticking debt time-bomb
by Spengler

Turkey's economy came to a dead stop during the first quarter, but the country's credit bubble continues to grow.

Under the headline "Ankara's Economic Miracle Collapses'', I argued a year ago in the Middle East Quarterly that Turkey's economic prowess had more hype than substance. The government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had financed a consumer bubble with a huge trade deficit financed by short-term interbank loans. The consumer bo...

US goes through Middle East motions

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0100

US goes through Middle East motions
By Mitchell Plitnick

WASHINGTON - Despite repeated pledges of his determination and enthusiasm for resolving the long-stalled Israeli-Palestinian impasse, US Secretary of State John Kerry's recent trip to the region has provoked more skepticism than hope among observers in Washington.

Speaking in Tel Aviv on April 9, Kerry called his talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President

Mahmou...

US goes through Middle East motions

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0100

US goes through Middle East motions
By Mitchell Plitnick

Speaking in Tel Aviv on April 9, Kerry called his talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President

Mahmou...

Boston blasts won't revive US-Russia reset

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0100

Boston blasts won't revive US-Russia reset
By M K Bhadrakumar

Any event that impacts on the United States' "homeland security" would have worldwide repercussions. The repercussions of the Boston Marathon bombings are most expected on the United States' ties with Russia.

President Barack Obama on Friday expressed satisfaction that the manhunt for the suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing has ended with the arrest of 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who is of Chechen extraction. But he added, "Obv...

Boston blasts won't revive US-Russia reset

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0100

Boston blasts won't revive US-Russia reset
By M K Bhadrakumar

Conflicted peace prize for Thein Sein

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0100

Conflicted peace prize for Thein Sein
By William Corliss

On Monday night, the International Crisis Group (ICG), a self-described independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization committed to preventing and resolving deadly conflict, is scheduled to host a black tie optional, gala dinner at the Pierre Hotel in New York City to present its annual "In Pursuit of Peace Award".

This year's recipients are Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the former President of Brazil, and Thein Sein, the current Presid...

INTERVIEW : Chen urges the people to drive reforms

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0100

INTERVIEW
Chen: The people must drive reforms
By Courtney Brooks

Blind civil-rights activist Chen Guangcheng, who gained international recognition for taking on China's one-child policy and other causes, set off a diplomatic firestorm last year when he escaped house arrest in China and fled to the US Embassy in Beijing.

Following diplomatic intervention by Washington, he was allowed to travel to the United States to study law in New York, where he currently lives with his family.

RFE/RL correspond...

THE ROVING EYE : The FBI Chechnya charade

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 12:00:48 +0100

THE ROVING EYE
The FBI Boston-Chechnya charade
By Pepe Escobar

LONDON - The Boston bombing was major blowback. That much is certain. The question is, what level of blowback?

It could have been a covert op gone real bad. It could have been blowback from former ''freedom fighters'' - in this case ethnic Chechens - reconverted into terra-rists. It could have been straight blowback for United States foreign policy targeting Muslims, whether dispatching them to Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib or Bagram...

India's inflation dip rouses false hopes

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 09:32:49 +0100

India's inflation dip rouses false hopes
By Kunal Kumar Kundu

NEW DELHI - India's latest inflation figures, released last week, show the first sub-6% rise in the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) since November 2009. This was achieved mainly due to relatively low food inflation and retracing of global commodity prices.

The preliminary estimate for the WPI for March came in at 5.96%, down from 6.84% in February 2013. With core inflation (headline inflation stripped off the volatile food and e...

Feedback from the Cape Town Book Launch of the South African Foreign Policy Review: Volume One

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 16:57:22 +0100

15 February 2013 - Cape Town Lodge, Cape Town

On the 15 of February 2013 the Institute for Global Dialogue (IGD), in partnership with the Open Society Foundation South Africa (OSF-SA) and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), hosted the launch of the South African Foreign Policy Review: Volume 1 in Cape Town. Attended by representatives from academia, civil society, government, parliament and the diplomatic corps, the book launch took place against the background of the opening of par...

Obama edges to realpolitik on Koreas

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0100

Court puts Musharraf under house arrest
By Syed Fazl-e-Haider

KARACHI - Former Pakistan president and military ruler Pervez Musharraf has been put under house arrest for two days following his surrender to an Islamabad court.

Pakistani television broadcasts on Friday showed Musharraf being escorted by uniformed police officers to an Islamabad court, before returning once again to his home on the outskirts of the city. Judicial Magistrate Muhammad Abbas Shah declared the residence of Musharraf at ...

IMF, World Bank spineless with Gulf's dictators

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0100

IMF, World Bank spineless with Gulf's dictators
By Hossein Askari

It is difficult to understand how the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank can continue to give their run-of-the-mill economic and financial assessments to Persian Gulf oil dictatorships with a straight face.

They have been saying the same things - deregulate markets, cut red tape, reduce corruption, reduce the size of the public sector, cut subsidies, encourage the private sector, adopt rational policies, and so on - and...

Medieval Afghan fort under threat

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0100

Medieval Afghan fort under threat
By Sahil Mangal

Hundreds of Afghans gathered at the Bala Hissar fortress near the southern town of Gardez last month to mark Nowruz, the start of the traditional new year. Families celebrated as young men performed the traditional attan dance to the sound of drums. But as in previous years, they were annoyed to find that they were prevented from entering the castle.

Nine hundred years after it was built, the ancient fort, whose name means ''high castle'', is still...

Nearly shell-shocked by a few weeks in Iraq

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0100

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DISPATCHES FROM AMERICA
Nearly shell-shocked in Iraq
By Jeremiah Goulka

I was one nightmare short of PTSD.

It didn't take much, that's what surprised me. No battles. No dead bodies. I spent just three and a half weeks as a contractor in Iraq, when the war there was at its height, rarely leaving the security of American military bases.

For several years now, Americans have become increasingly aware that a large number of veterans have gotten post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Ira...

Social media lures Iran's Supreme Leader

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0100

Social media lures Iran's Supreme Leader
By Helia Ighani

Iran's Supreme Leader is big into social media. Over the past year, Ayatollah Ali Khomeini has launched a Facebook page as well as Instagram, Google Plus and YouTube accounts - despite government bans on Facebook and YouTube. He has been on Twitter since 2009.

The Supreme Leader's social media appears aimed primarily at a regional and international audience. Most of his posts are in English, with some in Arabic or Spanish.

On each site, Kham...

Rakhine project stirs anger

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0100

Rakhine project stirs anger
By Min Thein Aung and Zin Mar Win

Hundreds of residents protested on Thursday against a China-backed petroleum pipeline project in western Myanmar's Rakhine State over inadequate compensation and demands that the project developer provide better transportation infrastructure and higher salaries for local workers.

Around 400 people gathered to protest the Shwe Gas Project in Maday Island off the coast of Kyaukpyu town in the Bay of Bengal, also complaining that the pro...

Court puts Musharraf under house arrest

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0100

Nowhere to hide for Myanmar's Muslims
By Himaya Quasem

PHUKET - In a narrow, damp alley at the heart of this bustling tourist hotspot sits a row of tin-roofed shacks. Hidden from view, they house Rohingya Muslims who have fled sectarian bloodshed in neighboring Myanmar.

Described by the United Nations as one of the most persecuted minorities in the world, the Rohingya - including women and children - have been fleeing the country by boat in growing numbers to escape communal rioting, which has ki...

SPEAKING FREELY : Fleeing the peace in Vietnam

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0100

SPEAKING FREELY
Fleeing the peace in Vietnam
By Hoi Trinh

Speaking Freely is an Asia Times Online feature that allows guest writers to have their say. Please click here if you are interested in contributing.

April 30, 2013 will mark the 38th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, the annihilation of South Vietnam by communist forces in the North, or otherwise popularly known as the end of the Vietnam War. Without this day, there wouldn't be as many Vietnamese restaurants in your 'hood. And without thi...

Social media lures Iran's Supreme Leader

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0100

Social media lures Iran's Supreme Leader
By Helia Ighani

The Supreme Leader's social media appears aimed primarily at a regional and international audience. Most of his posts are in English, with some in Arabic or Spanish.

On each site, Kham...

North Korea and the real danger in a nuclear war

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 11:33:13 +0100

North Korea’s recent threats to attack Guam, a United States territory in the Western Pacific Ocean, using nuclear weapons can be regarded as a bluff; however, it should be considered with some concern. Pyongyang’s outburst comes after the recent sanctions imposed by the United Nations following its third nuclear weapon test on 12 February 2013.

For a number of years since the end of the Cold War, Pyongyang’s nuclear programme became a major bone of contention in international affairs and ...

India’s perspective on South-South development cooperation

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 11:28:05 +0100

Keynote address by Foreign Secretary at Conference of Southern Providers- South-South Cooperation: Issues and Emerging Challenges, 15 April 2013

It is a pleasure to be here with you at this important conference on development cooperation. There has been an intensive dialogue in recent years, involving governments, NGOs and academia of both developed and developing countries, on the conceptualization, delivery mechanisms and evaluation of various forms of development assistance. Much of this di...

BOOK REVIEW : Living (and dying) in the shadows

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 10:39:32 +0100

BOOK REVIEW
Living (and dying) in the shadows
Hong Kong Noir by Feng Chi-shun

Reviewed by Kent Ewing

HONG KONG - To casual observers, this city is a fast-paced and efficient center for shopping and international finance with a world-beating skyline and harbor magnificently illuminated every night for their visual pleasure.

In addition, despite its cheek-by-jowl congestion, Hong Kong is known as one of the safest cities on the planet, but some gruesome events transpire in its shadows, where the g...

PAKISTAN'S ELECTION WARS : Meeting terror with defiance

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0100

Meeting terror with defiance
By Ashfaq Yusufzai

PESHAWAR - Bacha Khan Markaz, a two-story building in the northern Pakistani city of Peshawar, is abuzz with activity. Located deep in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, whose northwestern tip borders Afghanistan, the building serves as the headquarters for the Awami National Party (ANP), which is gearing up for general elections on May 11.

Contesting major polls in a Taliban stronghold is no easy task. Tucked in between the flurry of press conferences a...

Najib rebrands for Malaysia's polls

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0100

Najib rebrands for Malaysia's polls
By Anil Netto

PENANG - Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Razak is bidding to overhaul his administration's public image just weeks ahead of a general election in Malaysia. The polls, scheduled for May 5, are expected to be the most tightly contested in the country's post-colonial history.

Early signs indicate Najib's campaign will emphasize his government's national unity by promoting a "1Malaysia" logo and policies while playing down association with his multi...

Musharraf's triumphant return goes awry

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0100

PAKISTAN'S ELECTION WARS
Musharraf's triumphant return goes awry
By Abubakar Siddique

Former military ruler General Pervez Musharraf was officially taken out of the running for the country's upcoming general elections on April 16, when an appeals court rejected his candidacy in a remote northwest district.

Musharraf returned to Pakistan last month from self-imposed exile abroad with hopes of saving Pakistan from economic and political ruin. The former president's strategy involved entering his name...

Skis replace bullets in Iraqi Kurdistan

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0100

Skis replace bullets in Iraqi Kurdistan
By Karlos Zurutuza

PENJWIN, Iraqi Kurdistan - When 37-year-old Igor Urizar first happened upon the isolated mountain village of Penjwin, 300 kilometers northeast of Baghdad, he had a vision of this border-town - nestled in the pristine, snow-capped mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan - transformed into a haven for skiers.

Today, after four years of hard work, Urizar is the proud founder of the first ever ski school in Iraq, and can hardly contain his satisfacti...

COMMENT : Obama-Park summit a critical opportunity

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0100

COMMENT
Obama-Park summit a critical opportunity
By Scott W Harold

Hard on the heels of a pair of annual joint military exercises and the signing of a new defense cooperation agreement designed to ensure seamless allied coordination and credible deterrence toward North Korea, President Barack Obama will welcome newly elected President Park Geun-hye of South Korea to Washington on May 6-8.

Against a backdrop of escalating threats from North Korea to attack the United States, South Korea, and Japan w...

Pacific region faces seabed mining challenge

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0100

Pacific region faces seabed mining challenge
By Cristelle Maurin

Minerals, such as rare earth metals, are increasingly becoming an important commodity in a resource-constrained world economy. As a result new frontiers both onshore and offshore, to the depths of the ocean, are emerging around the world.

The Pacific region stands at the forefront of this pioneering venture. Yet concerns abound about the environmental impacts of future offshore mining projects on deep sea ecosystems. With limited ex...

US legacy of rogues in Afghanistan

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 12:41:12 +0100

US legacy of rogues in Afghanistan
By Jennifer Norris

Americans who left the movie Zero Dark Thirty thinking that the dark stain of torture is behind us should be cautioned by the US exit strategy in Afghanistan.

As the 2014 deadline for ending the US combat mission in Afghanistan approaches, US forces have been working with the Afghan National Army (ANA) and the Afghan National Police (ANP) to build their capacity to fight the Taliban and other insurgent elements on their own. Yet even as the AN...

Russia, Tajikistan in lopsided alliance

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 10:16:42 +0100

Russia, Tajikistan in lopsided alliance
By Shavkat Kasymov

Despite the optimism with which Tajik government officials hailed their country's accession to the World Trade Organization in January, there is a need for a more realistic assessment of the potential economic prospects in regards to membership of the world trading community.

Tajikistan is a remittance-dependent country with strong political affinity to Russia, whose own route to accession to the World Trade Organization last year was of...

Beit Daras and a buried history of massacres

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0100

Beit Daras and a buried history of massacres
By Ramzy Baroud

Few with any sense of intellectual or historical integrity would still question the bloody massacre that took place in the village of Deir Yassin 65 years ago, which claimed the lives of over 100 innocent Palestinians. Attempts at covering up the massacre have been dwarfed by grim details revealed by well-respected historians, including some of Israel's own.

Even narratives offered by historians such as Benny Morris - an hone...

US feeds the fear machine

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0100

DISPATCHES FROM AMERICA
US creates enemy-industrial complex
By Tom Engelhardt

The communist enemy, with the "world's fourth largest military", has been trundling missiles around and threatening the United States with nuclear obliteration. Guam, Hawaii, Washington: all, it claims, are targetable. The coverage in the media has been hair-raising. The US is rushing an untested missile defense system to Guam, deploying missile-i...

China's choppers fly under the radar

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0100

China's choppers fly under the radar
By Peter Wood and Cristina Garafola

While much attention has been given to Chinese development of fixed-wing aircraft like the J-20 and J-31, relatively little has been devoted to China's helicopter development. On March 16, 2013, a CCTV television news segment featured a squadron of Z-10 helicopters in Jinan Military Region (MR), marking the fifth squadron of China's primary attack helicopter observed in public and the fourth squadron to appear since...

China's choppers fly under the radar

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0100

China's choppers fly under the radar
By Peter Wood and Cristina Garafola

Pakistan poll campaign advances by degrees

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0100

Pakistan poll campaign advances by degrees
By Zofeen Ebrahim

KARACHI - Former parliamentarian Jamshed Dasti, known in his hometown of Muzaffargarh as Rescue 1122, Pakistan's equivalent of an emergency number, is now a dubious hero. On April 4, a district court served him a three-year prison sentence and a fine of 5,000 rupees (US$50) for presenting a fake degree to become eligible for a seat in parliament. He filed an appeal in the Lahore High Court, which has overturned his conviction...

Arms spending rises in developing world

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0100

Arms spending rises in developing world
By Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS - The spreading economic crisis is taking a bite out of Western military spending - even as the world's developing nations, along with Russia and China, boosted their arms expenditures last year. In a study released on Monday, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) reported a decline in military spending last year in the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan and Western and Central Europe.

The...

THE BEAR'S LAIR: Silicon Valley needs math

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0100

Silicon Valley needs math
By Martin Hutchinson

A modest proposal: an immigration system for the United States greatly superior to any currently proposed or likely to pass the US Congress.

Silicon Valley billionaires and near-billionaires are attempting to influence public opinion on the immigration issue, with a US$50 million Political Action Committee. Their employees should consider whether their interests would be served by organizing in a truly aggressive isolationist union, like t...

US misreads Sino-Russian affair

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 11:57:50 +0100

US misreads Sino-Russian affair
By Jinghao Zhou

Since the Cold War, the United States has been always concerned about the possibility of an alliance between Russia and China. Recently, Xi Jinping's first trip to Russia as the president of China has once again raised American concerns about the implications of Beijing-Moscow relations.

American media more or less implies that China's motive of deepening its relations with Russia is anti-American. It is too simplistic to rush into any ha...

US misreads Sino-Russian affair

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 11:57:50 +0100

US misreads Sino-Russian affair
By Jinghao Zhou

American media more or less implies that China's motive of deepening its relations with Russia is anti-American. It is too simplistic to rush into any ha...

Indian factory output maintains weakness

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 09:28:28 +0100

Indian factory output maintains weakness
By Kunal Kumar Kundu

NEW DELHI - India's latest official industrial production (IP) data, released last week for February 2013, showed, as anticipated, the 2.36% growth rate in industrial production recorded in January 2013 was an aberration.

Yet, the umpteenth time, officials jumped at some isolated bit of good news to herald that a ''change is round the corner''.

India's IP barely inched up in February, growing at 0.57% annualized rate as agai...

'Chemical warfare' plunges Syria to new lows

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0100

'Chemical warfare' plunges Syria to new lows
By Victor Kotsev

Recent reports of limited chemical warfare in Syria come amid a new government offensive against the rebels. The fog of war, which has thickened in the last weeks, makes it difficult to say who is winning, and a large-scale international intervention still appears distant, meaning that the violence that has claimed more than 70,000 lives in just over two years (a recent average of 150-200 a day) is only set to plunge to furt...

When hunger came to Egypt

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0100

SPENGLER
When hunger came to Egypt
By Spengler

Egyptians are getting hungry. The fall of the Egyptian pound to just 60% of its 2012 exchange rate against the dollar has priced everything but bread out of the reach of the poorer half of the population, and the bread supply is now at risk.

The news late last week that Libya and Qatar may lend US$5 billion to Egypt was overshadowed by reports that Cairo owes $5 billion to the oil companies that produce oil and gas on its territory. Half ...

Kyrgyz officials take cultural wrong turn

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0100

Kyrgyz officials take cultural wrong turn
By David Trilling

BISHKEK - Authorities at Kyrgyzstan's Ministry of Culture want to ban a play that discusses domestic abuse and sexual violence because it "promotes scenes that destroy moral and ethical standards and national traditions of the peoples of Kyrgyzstan". The effort points to creeping conservatism in the thinking of Kyrgyzstan's leaders.

The Vagina Monologues is an episodic play where woman address how they relate to their bodies, ...

The paradoxes of the Pacific pivot

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0100

DISPATCHES FROM AMERICA
The paradoxes of the Pacific pivot
By John Feffer

The "Pacific pivot" of the United States is nothing new. At the same time, it doesn't really exist. And yet, even though it doesn't exist, this pivot is partly responsible for the escalation of tensions in and around the Korean peninsula. How can all three of these statements be simultaneously true? Such are the paradoxes of the US shift in attention toward the Pacific Rim.

The Barack Obama administration made a b...

Japan agrees to rice deal with Myanmar

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0100

Japan agrees to rice deal with Myanmar
By Win Naing

Japan is helping Myanmar (also known as Burma) to regain its status as a top rice exporter by making its first purchase of the grain from the Southeast Asian country in more than four decades and investing in rice processing plants there.

Myanmar has already ramped up rice exports to record levels after two years of reforms following the end of military rule and Japan's moves could further boost production, local industry officials sa...

Fiscal risks to Malaysia's polls

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0100

Fiscal risks to Malaysia's polls
By Liam Hanlon

Malaysia's 13th general election, scheduled for May 5, is shaping up to be the tightest race in the country's near 60-year history. Behind the divisive rhetoric between the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition and opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR), neither camp has formulated a viable, long-term solution to one of the country's most deep-seated problems: fiscal imprudence.

Malaysia's struggle with public finance management is nothing new. ...

CREDIT BUBBLE BULLETIN: Things have gone too far

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0100

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CREDIT BUBBLE BULLETIN
Things have gone too far
Commentary and weekly watch by Doug Noland

It seems a case of too much liquidity for too long having chased a limited amount of global risk assets. Instability.

''The Fed has been talking about asset bubbles since the 'irrational exuberance' speech which was 1996. So it's nothing new. We had a big bubble in the '90s. A big bubble in the 2000s. Those two bubbles ended very differently. The Fed's been talking, talking, talking about th...

CREDIT BUBBLE BULLETIN: Things have gone too far

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0100

Page 1 of 3
CREDIT BUBBLE BULLETIN
Things have gone too far
Commentary and weekly watch by Doug Noland

It seems a case of too much liquidity for too long having chased a limited amount of global risk assets. Instability.

Commodities trade haven faces protests

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0100

Commodities trade haven faces protests
By Ray Smith

ZUG - The powerful Swiss commodity sector is under fire in this Swiss town, as citizens fed up with government inaction on charges of corporate corruption, tax evasion and lack of transparency gear up for major protests.

Switzerland is anything but a country rich in raw materials but it is, nevertheless, a major hub for international commodity trade, hosting some of the world's biggest commodities companies such as Glencore (which spe...

China sees red over Taiwan-Japan pact

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 11:25:33 +0100

China sees red over Taiwan-Japan pact
By Jens Kastner

TAIPEI - When mainland Chinese government officials or state media proclaim that this and that ''hurts the feeling of the Chinese people'' they mean that the motherland has been seriously wronged. Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou has never stood among those accused of trampling on China's sensitivities, but this changed on April 10.

He stabbed Beijing in the back by signing a fishery agreement with Taiwan's former colonial master an...