Ban seeks to placate Kagame over UN report. China warns Japan over fishing boat incident. ‘Nigerian Taliban’ raid jail, freeing prisoners. Bombing rocks Russian market. Clinton describes Mexico drugs crime as “like an insurgency.” All this and more in today’s briefing.
Minorities often bear the weight of a society’s frustration, all the more so when domestic problems, like an economic downturn, combine with the external pressures of a perceived threat. This is when solidarity is needed most
The US now holds more people in solitary than anywhere else in the world. Observers reckon the numbers, which have increased dramatically in the last twenty years, are somewhere between 25,000 and 80,000. But there is a growing clamour for change
Avni Dogru summarises the middle east's falling in and out of love with US President Barack Obama. Without a rapid reversal of US policy, it looks as if the downward trend will only accelerate.
The increasingly militarised confrontation between the United States, Israel and Iran only strengthens the Ahmadinejad regime's intransigence, allowing it to side step an ongoing crisis of legitimacy.
President Obama declares an end to combat operations in Iraq. Israeli settlers to resume settlement building in Hebron ahead of peace talks. Pakistan blocks British military aid in flood relief efforts. All this and more in today's briefing.
Netanyahu distances himself from Yosef remarks before Israeli-Palestinian talks are set to begin in Washington. Chinese and North Korean media confirm Kim Jong-il visit. Campaign continues against female parliamentary candidates as five are killed in western Afghanistan. Chechen president heads op
A fire rages through a block. Rebuilding is never done. It gets wearying. First published Feb 4th 2006
The UN mission in the DRC is failing to protect civilians, as it emerges that 200 women were raped in a systematic attack in North Kivu earlier month. A US official alleges that Taliban forces have threatened foreign aid workers in Pakistan. A wave of attacks across Iraq raise questions about Iraq
The nuclear dispute will not be resolved by negotiation, but that doesn't make an attack on Iran any less absurd.
"Do not place cadavers or feces on the sidewalk for curbside collection." Or try and set up a soup kitchen serving hippie food. Petty abuses of power will not be stopped by a city-destroying, life-crushing calamity. First published November 1st 2005
More attacks in Mogadishu, as Al-Shabab steps up its campaign against African Union troops. Convicted Islamists escape prison as fears of militant action in Central Asia increase. Russian security forces kill top Causcaus Emirate leader. Report calls for further US-Russian nuclear disarmament. All
