2015-09-25, FRANCE24 U.S. President Barack Obama announced on Friday that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping had reached a “common understanding” on steps to curb cyber spying and agreed that neither government would conduct economic espionage in cyberspace. The two leaders also unveiled a deal to build on a landmark emissions agreement struck last year, outlining new steps … [Read more...]
Archives for September 2015
The rise and fall of Burkina Faso’s coup: what you need to know
Rakotomalala and Nadia Karoui, Thursday 24 September 2015, The Guardian A seizure of power threatened to derail forthcoming elections, but a swift intervention from regional heads of state seems to have restored order – for now. Global Voices online reports A coup in Burkina Faso threatened to pull the country further into political crisis, with leading ministers detained, … [Read more...]
West African leaders to reinstate Burkina Faso’s Kafando
23 SEP 2015, Mail & Guardian Ecowas said it plans to reinstate and demonstrate solidarity with the interim president, Michel Kafando, who was kidnapped last Wednesday. West African leaders and their military chiefs are to travel to Burkina Faso to reinstate the country’s interim leadership amid a standoff in the capital between an elite presidential guard behind a coup … [Read more...]
Exclusive: As Air War Intensifies, Saudi Arabia Launches Charm Offensive Before U.N. Summit
COLUM LYNCH, 23 SEPTEMBER 2015, FOREIGN POLICY With Yemeni civilian deaths mounting, the Saudi government is pulling out all the stops to head off an independent human rights inquiry. Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies are carrying out a vigorous diplomatic campaign to prevent international scrutiny of its conduct during a six-month air war against Yemen’s Houthi rebels, … [Read more...]
Zimbabwe’s ‘Crocodile’ cements position as Mugabe heir
HARARE | BY MACDONALD DZIRUTWE, Thu 24 Sep 2015, REUTERS Zimbabwe Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa has cemented his status as heir apparent to 91-year-old Robert Mugabe after getting close allies appointed to important cabinet posts and securing the tasks of reforming the economy and legal system. A secretive confidante nicknamed 'Crocodile' in the Shona language, … [Read more...]
The Thucydides Trap: Are the U.S. and China Headed for War?
GRAHAM ALLISON, 24 SEPTEMBER, THE ATLANTIC In 12 of 16 past cases in which a rising power has confronted a ruling power, the result has been bloodshed. When Barack Obama meets this week with Xi Jinping during the Chinese president’s first state visit to America, one item probably won’t be on their agenda: the possibility that the United States and China could find themselves … [Read more...]
Stampede in Mecca kills more than 700 in one of the worst-ever hajj tragedies
Thursday 24 Sep 2015, Ahram Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef orders investigation in one of the deadliest Hajj disasters since 1990; Saudi officials say casualties toll might be revised up A huge stampede killed at least 717 people and injured hundreds more at the hajj in Saudi Arabia on Thursday, in one of the worst-ever tragedies at the annual Muslim pilgrimage. The … [Read more...]
How A Little Lab In West Virginia Caught Volkswagen’s Big Cheat
SONARI GLINTON, 24 SEPTEMBER 2015, NPR Volkswagen was recently brought to its knees when scientists discovered the company had installed a device in its diesel-powered cars to fool emissions tests. Its stock price tanked, its reputation has been damaged and its CEO resigned on Wednesday. So who made the discovery that sent the German car giant into a tailspin? A group of … [Read more...]
Congratulations to Americans on their farsighted foreign policy
BOOT'S BLOG \ ALEXANDER BOOT \ 09/21/2015 \ JERUSALEM POST Suppose for the sake of argument that back in 2003 the US powers-that-be, with their British counterparts in tow, did some soul-searching and set themselves ten long-term goals. Goal 1: Removing or at least destabilising every Middle Eastern government that has a sporting chance of keeping the region under … [Read more...]
One man, no vote
Sep 26th 2015 | NAIROBI |The Economist It is proving impossible to hold a fully democratic election HOW do you hold an election without registering voters? That is the question confronting Somali politicians—as well as hordes of diplomats, NGOs and other international hangers-on—trying to create a functional government in Somalia, a country that has been without a functioning … [Read more...]