Archive for the ‘World current affairs’ Category
The Marco Polo Bridge incident
July 7th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
One of the themes of this blog is that there’s a big world out there – we need to know more about other countries and view things through others’ eyes. Take something as huge and as ‘given’ as the Second World War. Here in Europe, we see the war as commencing in September 1939 with […]
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The news from Jakarta
July 6th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
Some young Canadian friends of mine are on the last leg of a round-the-world trip during which they have been sending regular e-mails to family and friends. The latest and last message comes from Jakarta and reading it will make you glad to be as fortunate as you are to live in such comfortable circumstances.
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Forgotten World (90): Micronesia
July 6th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
Micronesia, in the western Pacific, consists of some 600 islands grouped into four states: Kosrae, Pohnpei, Chuuk and Yap. Although, it occupies a very small total land mass, it is scattered over an ocean expanse five times the size of France. Despite its small population (a mere 11,000) and the large amount of incoming aid […]
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Forgotten World (89): Niger
July 5th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
Historically a gateway between North and sub-Saharan Africa, Niger is a large, landlocked country bordered by seven others. It came under French rule in the late 1890s. After independence in 1960, its progress was held back by political instability and a five-year drought which devastated livestock and crops. Today Niger is rated by the United […]
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The American political system
July 4th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
Some months ago, I was asked to give a lecture to a group of Chinese civil servants on the British political system. I turned my lecture notes into a short essay for my web site here. I’ve received a number of positive responses from visitors to the site and so I’ve decided to expand the […]
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Forgotten World (88): Alaska
July 4th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
Alaska is one of the 50 states of the USA. It was purchased by the United States from Russian interests in 1867 for a mere $7M. It became the 49th state of the USA in 1959. It is easily the largest state in geographical size and, thanks to its minerals and oil, one of the […]
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Forgotten World (87): Paraguay
July 3rd, 2007 by Roger Darlington
Paraguay is a landlocked South American country of only just over 6M people. Politically, it is highly troubled. It experienced more than three decades of dictatorship under Alfredo Stroessner, who was ousted in 1989. The end of his iron-fisted rule did not bring political stability. Factional splits led to the assassination of a vice-president, the […]
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Forgotten World (86): Chad
July 2nd, 2007 by Roger Darlington
A major theme of NightHawk is that we live in a wide and varied world and we should know more about other countries and other cultures and learn to respect them. Therefore, on 17 occasions now, I’ve had a week-long feature devoted to parts of the world that tend to be under-reported or even forgotten. […]
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The question of nationhood
June 1st, 2007 by Roger Darlington
I really enjoy travelling to other countries and meeting people of different cultures. To date, I have managed to visit 46 countries of very different historical backgrounds and current circumstances. The more I travel, the more I feel that one of the key questions of our age is: what is the nature of the nation […]
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Forgotten World (85): Chongqing
June 1st, 2007 by Roger Darlington
It is a city that, with a population of 10 million, is already larger than many countries around the world. But it is the fastest growing city on earth and by 2020 its population is expected to have doubled to 20 million. But hardly anyone has heard of it. It is the city of Chongqing […]
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