Archive for the ‘World current affairs’ Category
The world’s newest country: Czechia
April 16th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
As Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic, I’ve visited the country 26 times because my wife is half-Czech and we have many relatives and close friends there. Indeed I regard the capital Prague as my favourite city. But this week the nation rebranded itself as Czechia. Why? All is explained here.
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Where is Dabiq and why is it so special?
April 15th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Media reports suggest that Syrian Government forces are close to retaking the ISIS-occupied town of Dabiq in north-west Syria close to the Turkish border, but ISIS is putting up a strong resistance. Before the war, this was a small town which had a population of only just over 3,000, so what makes it so special? […]
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The Panama Papers story has been over a century in the making
April 10th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
It is amazing that the Panama Papers were leaked almost a year ago but the story was only broken when journalists had done the necessary research. Originally an anonymous hacker handed the files to journalists on “Süddeutsche Zeitung” who shared the information with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Then 400 reporters working in 80 […]
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“Mexico: What Everyone Needs To Know”
April 9th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
This is the title of the book that I read during our recent two-week holiday in Mexico. We visited six archaeological sites of pre-Hispanic civilisations, but I also wanted to learn about the contemporary issues facing Mexico and this book addresses those issues. You can read my review here.
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A short guide to the Mexican political system
April 9th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Over the years, I have written a series of short guides to various political systems, starting with those of the UK and the US. During the primary race in the States, my guide to the American system is being viewed by around 350 a day I have just returned from a two-week visit to Mexico […]
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It’s “the largest mass poisoning of a population in history”, it’s still continuing, and you’ve never heard of it
April 7th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
“Nearly 20 million Bangladeshis are still drinking water poisoned with high levels of arsenic despite millions of wells being tested and hundreds of thousands of safe ones having been bored to avert a major health crisis, a new report has suggested. The lack of progress in improving what the UN’s World Health Organisation called “the […]
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The Panama Papers scandal is HUGE
April 6th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
The leak of files from the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca continues to create upheaval around the world. The documents were leaked to the German daily “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, which shared them with the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, the “Guardian”, the BBC and other media organisations. Both the amount of information and the number […]
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Highlights of Mexico (3): Mexico today
March 23rd, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Mexico is a large country with a large population. Geographically it covers over two million square kilometres (over 760,000 square miles) which makes it the 13th biggest nation on the globe. It has an estimated population of over 120M which makes it the 11th most populated country on earth. The country has three time zones. […]
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What will Barack Obama find on his historic visit to Cuba?
March 20th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
Today Barack Obama will be the first sitting US president in 88 years to visit Cuba. The last such visit was in 1928 when Calvin Coolidge went over to give a speech at an international conference. The opening up of relations between the USA and Cuba will be one the lasting legacies of the Obama […]
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How common is rape in India?
March 15th, 2016 by Roger Darlington
I have recently been in e-mail correspondence with an Indian woman currently living in Canada. She felt that my “Short Guide To The Indian Political System” contains “some negative information”, but I explained to her that “My readers expect a critical evaluation in my guides to political systems since constitutional details alone do not explain what […]
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