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11/19/2009
Trust deficit
Hamid Karzai did enough to appease the US and its allies yesterday. In a much-anticipated inauguration speech after being sworn in for a second five-year term, President Karzai promised to tackle corruption by prosecuting government officials and ending a culture of impunity. Karzai called for the ...
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11/18/2009
Settling for chaos
For a change, America has sharply criticised an Israeli decision to construct 900 new homes in an East Jerusalem settlement. Media reports say that the rare rebuke brings to a new low the already strained relations between Washington and Tel Aviv. US officials have categorically said the latest ...
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11/17/2009
Shifting powers
Gone are the days when a US president could come to China expecting the release of a dissident or a trade concession as a sweetener. The political and economic realities are a lot different today than in the past, and in a sense a bit harsh for the US. For those who wanted proof, the current visit ...
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11/16/2009
Fighting hunger
The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation could not have called the Rome summit any day later. With the world’s hungry topping one billion for the first time in history, it hoped that leaders would commit to raising the share of official aid spent on agriculture to 17 percent of the total — its ...
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11/15/2009
Emergence of a superpower
Those who wanted to write off Europe as a colossus incapable of exerting any influence on the world stage can go for a rethink. Contrary to their perceptions, Europe is adding up more muscles, and if the current plans work out, the world will witness the emergence of a force that will rival other ...
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11/14/2009
A giant step forward
One discovery leads to another. It’s a never ending chain, with benefits galore for human being. The same is the case with lunar research too. Scientists have found “significant” amounts of water in a crater at the moon’s south pole, a major discovery that will dramatically revise the ...
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11/13/2009
A political war
Sri Lankan politics is taking a curious turn. Just a few months ago, when the country was engaged in a fierce battle with the Tamil rebels, no one had expected that the two architects of the war – President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Army General Sarath Fonseka – would fall out soon after victory was ...
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11/12/2009
Cementing relations
When US President Barack Obama arrives in Beijing next week, many prickly issues will feature in his talks with the Chinese officials. But the president is expected to steer clear of any confrontation as he seeks to keep strong Sino-American relations on track. Climate change, trade and human ...
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11/11/2009
Neighbourhood problem
It is nearly three months since Yemen launched a blistering ground and air offensive against Shia rebels. Saudi Arabia had quietly assisted Yemen forces in their three-month old “Scorched Earth” campaign against the Shia Zaidis, known as Houthis. But the launch of F-15 sorties and artillery ...
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11/10/2009
A government, at last
“At last, at last, a government for Lebanon,” read the front-page headline in An-Nahar, a Lebanese Arabic daily, yesterday. The headline aptly sumps up the mood about the formation of a new government in the country led by Prime Minister Saad Hariri. It’s definitely an occasion for Lebanese to ...
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11/9/2009
A giant step forward
Iraq has achieved a milestone with a special election law that will let Iraqis take complete responsibility for their future. Iraq’s parliament on Sunday passed the long-delayed law paving the way for national elections in January after overcoming a potentially explosive row over the disputed city ...
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11/8/2009
A tribute to Berlin Wall’s fall
Germany is today celebrating the 20th anniversary of the fall of Berlin Wall in a peaceful revolution which led to the end of communist rule and national unification. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to descend on the centre of the German capital today to recapture the euphoric mood ...
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11/7/2009
Fanning hatred
America is still in a state of shock at the reprehensible and deadly shootings by army psychiatrist Major Nidal Malik Hasan at Fort Hood, a US Army base in Texas, killing 13 people and injuring many more. The gunman, with two guns including a semi-automatic weapon, opened fire apparently without ...
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11/6/2009
In reverse gear
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ decision not to run for re-election has caused concern among all those who want peace to prevail in the region. Abbas may have his own reasons for making the decision, but it’s not hard for others to guess them: the single most important factor which triggered ...
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11/5/2009
Gold — a safe haven
THE GOLD industry was betting that the bullion price would soar from its record high of $1,095 a troy ounce on the back of India’s big purchase. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced the purchase of 200 tonnes of gold from the International Monetary Fund under the multilateral funding ...
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11/4/2009
A wake-up call to Obama
That Barack Obama has lost some of his lustre is a plain fact that doesn’t need much elucidation. For those who wanted more proof, it has come in the form of two election defeats for Democrats in key gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia, where Republicans were celebrating the victories of ...
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11/3/2009
Averting a deadlock
Sudan is passing through a crucial phase in its history as it makes the preparations for the first multi-party elections in 24 years. Parliamentary, presidential and state-level elections are due in April next year followed by a southern referendum on independence in January 2011, both of which are ...
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11/2/2009
Blocking peace
The United States keeps stressing that it is committed to achieving a just and comprehensive peace between Israel and the Palestinians based on a two-state solution. Until Barack Obama took charge, many Arabs had doubted Washington’s sincerity in pursuing ‘just peace’ as US policy was tilted ...
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11/1/2009
Struggling for credibility
Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah’s decision to pull out of the run-off election has plunged the country into a fresh political crisis at a time when the country can least afford it. The withdrawal of the only rival to President Hamid Karzai will guarantee him a second term in office, ...
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