Archive for the ‘World current affairs’ Category
Is Israel about to attack Iran?
January 12th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
Last week’s “Spectator” magazine made its cover feature an article by Douglas Davis with the title “Israel will do whatever it takes to stop another holocaust”. Davis argued that sometime in the next 12 months, and maybe sooner rather than later, Israel is likely to launch an attack – probably nuclear – in an attempt […]
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How happy is your country?
January 10th, 2007 by Roger Darlington
According to a project at the University of Leicester, the happiest countries in the world are: 1. Denmark 2. Switzerland 3. Austria 4. Iceland 5. The Bahamas 6. Finland 7. Sweden 8. Bhutan 9. Brunei 10. Canada 11. Ireland 12. Luxembourg 13. Costa Rica 14. Malta 15. The Netherlands 16. Antigua and Barbuda 17. Malaysia […]
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And he’s off …
December 28th, 2006 by Roger Darlington
“So now we have a presidential campaign boosting a candidate who is the most pro-labour politician in America today, run by a labour studies professor (I’m not making this up) who until yesterday was running a workers’ rights organization. This is the kind of politics we haven’t seen in America for more than a generation.” […]
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How democratic is your country?
December 26th, 2006 by Roger Darlington
As explained in an article in “The World In 2007”, an annual publication from the “Economist” magazine: “Free elections and civil liberties are necessary conditions for democracy, but they are unlikely to be sufficient for a robust democracy if unaccompanied by transparent and at least minimally efficient government, adequate participation in politics and a supportive […]
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Forgotten world (55): Antarctica
December 22nd, 2006 by Roger Darlington
Antarctica is 14.425 million km², making it the third-smallest continent after Europe and Australia. On average, it is the coldest, driest, and windiest continent and has the highest average elevation of all the continents. Some 98% of it is covered in ice, there has never been an indigenous population and there are no permanent human […]
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Can you believe it?
December 21st, 2006 by Roger Darlington
What a week for bizarre news: A woman gives birth to three babies in two wombs – more here. Kimomo dragons give birth without mating – more here. A Japanese hiker survives 24 days by ‘hibernating’ – more here. A skydiver in New Zealand survives a fall of a 4,500 metre (15,000ft) – more here. […]
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Forgotten World (54): New Zealand
December 21st, 2006 by Roger Darlington
Most people know more about New Zealand from its appearance in “The Lord Of The Rings” film trilogy than they do by hearing about it in the news. Certainly the country is notable for its geographic isolation, being separated from Australia to the northwest by the Tasman Sea, some 2000 kilometres (1250 miles) across. Its […]
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Forgotten world (53): The Netherlands
December 20th, 2006 by Roger Darlington
The Netherlands – a nation of just over 16 million – is often referred to by the name Holland. This is not terminologically precise, as the provinces of North and South Holland in the western Netherlands are only two of the country’s 12 provinces. In the 17th century, the country was a great maritime nation […]
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Forgotten world (52): Bangladesh
December 19th, 2006 by Roger Darlington
Originally part of India until 1947 and then the eastern part of Pakistan until 1971, Bangladesh became an independent nation after a bloody civil war. Bangladesh has the seventh largest population in the world (147 million) and it is one of the globe’s most densely populated countries with its people crammed into a delta of […]
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Forgotten world (51): British Virgin Islands
December 18th, 2006 by Roger Darlington
On ten occasions now, I’ve had a week-long feature on NightHawk devoted to parts of the world that tend to be under-reported or even forgotten. You can check out the previous 50 entries here. This week, I am going to run an 11th series of postings on this theme. The British Virgin Islands (BVI) comprise […]
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