PBS: Escaping Eritrea … [Read More...] about ካብ ውሽጢ ቤት ማእሰርታት ኤርትራ
UPFRONT
Putin’s long game has been revealed, and the omens are bad for Europe
Natalie Nougayrede | Friday 18 March 2016 | The Guardian Through his writings, Russia’s foreign minister tells us what the president really wants – a historic realignment in his favour While European leaders believe they are edging towards a solution to the refugee crisis after securing a deal with Turkey, another power watches closely from afar: … [Read more...] about Putin’s long game has been revealed, and the omens are bad for Europe
Africa’s $700 Billion Problem Waiting to Happen
Alex de Waal | March 17, 2016 | Foreign Policy The Horn of Africa region is central to the world’s maritime trade. It’s also beginning to fall apart. Back in 2002, Meles Zenawi, then prime minister of Ethiopia, drafted a foreign policy and national security white paper for his country. Before finalizing it, he confided to me a “nightmare scenario” — not included … [Read more...] about Africa’s $700 Billion Problem Waiting to Happen
Israel May Be Trafficking Former Eritrean Slaves
Peter Dörrie | March 15, 2016 | Warisboring.com Take an unwanted refugee, get military equipment in exchange In Uganda’s capital Kampala, a sign in Eritrean script points the way to a back alley. There’s a small hotel here with only a few rooms, most of them empty. In room number eight an old man sits on a worn-out sofa. His trousers and shirt are stained and he … [Read more...] about Israel May Be Trafficking Former Eritrean Slaves
North Korea’s Propaganda Problem: Why the Hype Isn’t Working
Jonathan Corrado |March 13, 2016 | Foreign Affairs These days, affiliates of North Korea’s Chosun Workers' Party Propaganda and Agitation Department have been hard at work on a massive new propaganda campaign. Their goal is to shore up North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s power base ahead of the 7th Party Congress, to be held in May. And so, the department has … [Read more...] about North Korea’s Propaganda Problem: Why the Hype Isn’t Working
Vladimir Putin orders Russian military to begin withdrawal from Syria
Laura Pitel, Nadia Beard | 14 March 2016 | The New Statesman Troops will begin pulling out from the country on Tuesday as Russian President says 'objectives have been achieved' Vladimir Putin has announced that Russian troops will begin a partial withdrawal from Syria, in a surprise move that could herald a major shift in the conflict. In a claim given a wary … [Read more...] about Vladimir Putin orders Russian military to begin withdrawal from Syria
How the West got it wrong as the Syrian civil war developed
Robert Fisk | Sunday 13 March 2016 | THE INDEPENDENT Five years ago, we were high on Arab revolutions, and journalists were growing used to 'liberating' Arab capitals Just before I left Syria last month, a tall and eloquent Franco-Lebanese man walked up to me in a Damascus coffee shop and introduced himself as President Bashar al-Assad’s architect. It … [Read more...] about How the West got it wrong as the Syrian civil war developed
The American berserk
Simon Heffer | 12 March 2016 | THE NEW STATESMAN The rise of Donald Trump is a symptom of the decay of a great but exceptionally unhappy nation. To be at the Democratic National Convention in Denver in August 2008 was a little like attending a religious revivalist meeting. Nearly eight years of George W Bush and his toxic friends – the Cheneys and Rumsfelds … [Read more...] about The American berserk
The Islamist Behind Sudan’s Throne
Nesrine Malik | March 8, 2016 | FOREIGN POLICY Hassan al-Turabi remade his once cosmopolitan country into a strict Islamic state. But, for him, the revolution never stopped. LONDON — Hassan al-Turabi died last Saturday as he had lived: agitating in his native Sudan, and elsewhere in the Arab world, to put Islam at the center of political life and himself at the … [Read more...] about The Islamist Behind Sudan’s Throne
Helping Hurts: Why Supporting Dictators Can Doom Them
Sean Yom | March 7, 2016 | FOREIGN AFFAIRS Great powers have long supported unsavory dictatorships in pursuit of strategic interests, such as natural resources, military security, and financial gain. The relationship usually involves an impressive array of incentives, including diplomatic carrots such as treaty agreements and bilateral accords; economic aid in the … [Read more...] about Helping Hurts: Why Supporting Dictators Can Doom Them
The World According to Men
Chrisitna Asquith | Mar 7, 2016 | THE ATLANTIC Many media organizations still portray international affairs through a predominantly male lens—and there are real consequences. ISTANBUL—For most of the 19th and 20th centuries, women war correspondents were rare creatures—considered intellectual oddities, more likely to be fetishized than taken seriously as news … [Read more...] about The World According to Men