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Archives for January 2016

America’s Foreign Policy Test: Managing Our Allies

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Justin Constantine |  01/15/2016 | THE HUFFINGTON POST When it comes to foreign policy, politicians love to talk about our enemies. It makes sense. People are concerned about what groups like the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) are planning, and everyone agrees that we should do something about them. But the real test for America on the world stage is not our … [Read more...] about America’s Foreign Policy Test: Managing Our Allies

Egypt’s Roadmap to Nowhere

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Jahd Khalil | 7 January 2016 | FOREIGN POLICY The new parliament in Cairo is just a fig leaf for President Sisi's authoritarian rule. This Sunday, Egypt’s new parliament will finally gather “under the dome,” as Egyptians call their country’s parliament building — but it doesn’t look like there will be much debating. In its first session, the new legislators are … [Read more...] about Egypt’s Roadmap to Nowhere

Saudi Arabia and Iran’s Forever Fight

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Aaron David Miller and Jason Brodsky | 13 January 2016 | FOREIGN AFFAIRS  Four Reasons Conflict Will Last Anyone who thinks the current tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran are a passing phase ought to take a deep breath and remain calm. Although the current crisis is unlikely to lead to a military confrontation, a much hotter rivalry may be with us for some time. … [Read more...] about Saudi Arabia and Iran’s Forever Fight

Sharing the Nile

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Jan 16th 2016 | Cairo | THE ECONOMIST The largest hydroelectric project in Africa has so far produced only discord WHEN Egyptian politicians discussed sabotaging the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in 2013, they naturally assumed it was a private meeting. But amid all the scheming, and with a big chuckle, Muhammad Morsi, then president, informed his colleagues that their … [Read more...] about Sharing the Nile

Ethiopia confronts its worst ethnic violence in years

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Paul Schemm | 14 January 2016 | THE WASHINGTON POST Scores are killed as members of the Oromo minority protest a plan that they fear will take their lands. WENCHI, Ethi­o­pia — The cows are back in the valley near the village of Wenchi in Ethiopia’s highlands, after being driven out five years ago by the arrival of a Dutch agricultural company. They returned in … [Read more...] about Ethiopia confronts its worst ethnic violence in years

Record-Busting Star Explosion Baffles Sky Watchers

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 Nell Greenfield Boyce | 14 January 2016 | NPR     LISTEN TO THE STORY A mind-boggling stellar explosion is baffling astronomers, who say this cosmic beast is so immensely powerful that no one's sure exactly what made it go boom. The recently discovered inferno is about 200 times more powerful than a typical exploding star, or supernova, and 570 … [Read more...] about Record-Busting Star Explosion Baffles Sky Watchers

Hocine Aït Ahmed obituary

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Lawrence Joffe | Thursday 14 January 2016 | THE GUARDIAN Campaigner for Algerian democracy and independence Hocine Aït Ahmed, who has died aged 89, was one of the key figures in Algeria’s fight for independence, and could conceivably have become president. But he was also highly principled, and, once the country was free from the French, always found … [Read more...] about Hocine Aït Ahmed obituary

Egypt does not view Ethiopian dam as threat, says minister

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Menna Alaa El-Din | Thursday 14 Jan 2016 | AHRAM Egypt's irrigation minister Hossam Moghazi said on Wednesday that although Egypt is “worried” about Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam, it does not view it as a “threat.” In a TV interview with satellite channel MBC Misr’s “Happening in Egypt,” Moghazi stressed that Egypt is not against the development of Nile Basin … [Read more...] about Egypt does not view Ethiopian dam as threat, says minister

Africa stranded as high tide turns

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Jeffrey Herbst and Greg Mills | 14 January 2016 | BUSINESS DAY SINCE the turn of the century, Africa’s growth has averaged about 5%. Now, as commodity prices are cratering, projections for growth are ratcheting down. There is real concern that some African countries have borrowed too much and that many did not do enough during the "fat" years to reduce their dependence … [Read more...] about Africa stranded as high tide turns

Half of South Sudan’s children ‘not in school’ because of war

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AP and Telegraph Staff | 13 Jan 2016 | THE TELEGRAPH More than 1.8 million kids aged between 6 and 15 are not in school in the world's newest state, Unicef says More than half of the children in South Sudan are not in school, the highest proportion in any country, the UN children's agency said on Tuesday. Fifty-one percent of children between ages 6 and … [Read more...] about Half of South Sudan’s children ‘not in school’ because of war