Archive for the ‘World current affairs’ Category
Some international events and anniversaries in 2019
January 3rd, 2019 by Roger Darlington
Countries with more than a third of the world’s population will hold nation-wide elections. They include India, the planet’s largest democracy, plus the populous Indonesia, Nigeria and South Africa. The European Union – presumably down from 28 to 27 Member States because of Brexit – will have an election to the European Parliament, China will […]
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Defending the UK contribution of 0.7% of GDP on international aid
December 20th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
This is a speech which my son Richard made very recently at a conference in Oslo on international aid. You will understand why I am super proud of him and the work he is doing.
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Have you heard of the Holocaust?
December 5th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
Of course, you have. I believe (and I hope) that people who read this blog are at least averagely well-informed. But a new survey has revealed an astonishing (and very worrying) lack of knowledge of the Holocaust and widespread prejudice against Jews. A recent survey by CNN found that about one European in 20 in […]
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Without a fair tax on tech, it could be the end of the state as we know it
November 12th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
This is the title of an interesting article by John Harris in today’s “Guardian” newspaper. He highlights two connected questions: “The first is obvious: what do we do about the corporations that are driving huge social and economic change, but have so far proved reluctant to pay anything approaching their fair share of tax? From […]
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Is there any good news in the world? Maybe in Ethiopia …
October 17th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
All that most people in the world know about the African state of Ethoipia is that it had a famine in 1984. But profound political changes are currently taking place in the country. As the “Guardian” newspaper reports today: “Ethiopia’s prime minister has appointed women to half the posts in his cabinet and created a […]
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Anti-corruption referendum in Colombia
August 27th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
This is major year for voting in the South American state of Colombia. In March, there were elections to the Congress (both House of Representatives and Senate) and in May and June there was voting in the two stages of the presidential election. Now today – coincidentally the day I arrived in Colombia for a […]
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A review of a travel guide to Colombia
August 19th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
As I explained in an earlier posting, I’m about to have a holiday in Colombia. Therefore I’ve just read a travel guide titled “Culture Smart! Colombia” by Kate Cathey (2011). This book proved to be a short but comprehensive guide to the country’s history, politics, economy, customs and traditions. However, the book was published before a […]
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Worldwide which are the best and the worst cities in which to live?
August 15th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
Each year, the Economist Intelligence Unit produces a Global Liveability Index and it has just published this year’s results. The ten most liveable cities in 2018 are: 1. Vienna, Austria 2. Melbourne, Australia 3. Osaka, Japan 4. Calgary, Canada 5. Sydney, Australia 6. Vancouver, Canada 7. Tokyo, Japan 8. Toronto, Canada 9. Copenhagen, Denmark 10. […]
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Will Colombia’s peace settlement survive the change of president?
August 7th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
Today a new president takes office in the South American state of Colombia. On 17 June, Ivan Duque, the conservative candidate of Democratic Centre – who is alleged to be under the control of the former president Alvaro Uribe – beat the leftist Gustavo Petro (a former member of the guerilla group M-19) standing for […]
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How high can inflation go? Pity the people of Venezuela.
July 28th, 2018 by Roger Darlington
Currently I’m doing a short course at the City Literary Institute on the Weimar Republic of Germany from 1919-1933. A defining feature of that country at that time was the hyper inflation experienced in 1923. At the start of the crisis in July 1922, one American dollar could be bought for 493 German marks. By […]
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