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Back in 2004, in a video addressed to the American people, Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden described his "bleed until bankruptcy" strategy. "All that we have to do is to send two Mujahedin to the farthest point east to raise a piece of cloth on which is written al-Qaeda in order to make the [...]
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Immigration Reform Touches Indian Country, Turning Consultation Into Law, and More.
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John Kerry may have met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to discuss the peace process on Thursday, but what's really gotten commentators worked up is the contents of the shwarma he consumed during an impromptu snack in Ramallah. Reputable sources such as the Guardian, the New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times have reported that the secretary of state's sandwich was stuffed with turkey. But for many with ties to or interest in the region (including myself), the news made absolutely no sense. It would be one thing if Kerry had gobbled down chicken or lamb. But whoever heard of turkey shwarma?
Saudi journalist Ahmed Al Omran expressed this very sentiment in his response to the bewilderment of FP's own David Kenner:
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Three years after Congress passed sweeping reforms of Wall Street, the industry has successfully widened a variety of cracks in the Dodd-Frank law. But credit for the industry's success at watering down the landmark legislation doesn't just go to well-heeled lobbyists - regulators and lawmakers are helping. The New York Times's Dealbook blog reports this [...]
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The average Serie A crowd last year was 13,000 - comparable to Australia's A-League.
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In 2012, more people subject to the New York Police Department's controversial stop-and-frisks were arrested for marijuana than for anything else, according to a new analysis by the New York Civil Liberties Union. While NYPD's stated purpose for its aggressive and racially disproportionate stop-and-frisk program is to target guns, the number of people arrested for [...]
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House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said on Wednesday that he does not think there needs to be a special select committee to investigate the Obama administration's handing of the terror attacks in Benghazi, Libya last year. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) is leading the House Republican effort for a select committee and Boehner has said in [...]
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The next ten years will be characterized by major structural shifts in individual economies and a huge reconfiguration of the global economy as a whole. Above all, much depends on the two largest economies, China and the US, and their leadership in creating global public goods and maintaining a stable and open economic environment.
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by Brad Johnson, campaign manager for Forecast the Facts The nearly $300 million climate-resiliency initiative established by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg using Sandy relief funds will not address climate pollution, according to a city official. The New York City Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Resiliency (SIRR), formed in November 2012, will release a [...]
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On Thursday, California officials revealed insurance companies' opening bids for the state's Obamacare marketplace in 2014. The numbers are great for consumers -- and terrible for right-wing fear mongering over the health law. Covered California, the agency tasked with constructing and maintaining the Golden State's insurance marketplace, announced in a press release that rates submitted [...]
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Emily Mellgard coauthored this post. Emily is the Africa research associate at the Council on Foreign Relations. Information about the...
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The European Union (EU) recently signed a €44 million agreement with the Zambian Government to support mother and child health issues, as part of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) push. The project, which would run for four years, would be funded through a contribution fund with UNICEF and would be implemented in 10 districts in Lusaka and Copperbelt provinces.
Copyright © Zambian Economist 2013
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More than 70 Heads of State will gather this week to attend the 21st Africa Union summit which coincides with a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the continental institution. The summit's theme "Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance" will unfold with a call for Africans to "realize the dream of the founding fathers for a peaceful, prosperous, and united Africa". Despite the backdrop of this celebratory atmosphere, discussions of the many challenges and conflicts taking place in several regions throughout the continent will also be on the agenda.
A coalition of over 120 civil society organizations from African and the Middle East issued a joint statement calling on the A.U. to "use this anniversary not just to mark but to make history by supporting a new, bolder and comprehensive ...
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Editor's Note: This op-ed, written by Retired Army Col. Rick Orth originally appeared on Stars and Stripes. Col. Rick Orth is a senior fellow with the Enough Project. He served as the U.S. defense attache to Rwanda (1996-1998), Uganda (2001-2005), and Ethiopia and Djibouti (2005-2006), as well as the military adviser to the assistant secretary of state for African affairs (2006-2008).
The Congolese military has again been accused of significant human-rights abuses, including mass rape. Recently, the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office released a report concerning abuses by the Congolese Army (FARDC) as it retreated from advancing M23 rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo between Nov. 15 and Dec. 2.
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This is a guest post by Brooke Bocast, a PhD candidate in anthropology at Temple University and a visiting predoctoral fellow...
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Yes, the BBC sent the snooty John Simpson to South Africa to do a bit of parachute journalism and be led around by the white "rights" group Afriforum (since when are they are a credible source?) to come up with this insulting question: "Do white people have a future in South Africa?" Read it here. The [...]
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Editor's Note: Madison Brenchak is a student at Seymour Middle School in Seymour, CT. She is a member of Seymour's Small Steps club, a participant and supporter of the Darfur Dream Team Sister Schools Program. Learn more about the Darfur Dream Team and the Pazocalo social network that connects students at Seymour and 25 other U.S. schools with their Darfuri peers.
Right now, in 2013, it has been ten years since the tragedy occurring in Darfur started. In 2003, the Sudanese government began supporting militia groups called the Janjaweed ("Devil on Horseback" in Arabic) to terrorize villages in Darfur because of their ethnicity and with goals of acquiring land and resources. These actions have been widely recognized as genocide.
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Given South Africa's stated commitment to multilingualism, you might not think that a requirement from one of the country's universities that its students learn an indigenous African language would raise much alarm. Yet alarm has nonetheless been the reaction from a few unexpected quarters to the University of KwaZulu-Natal's announcement that all first-year students enrolled [...]
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