Archive for the ‘World current affairs’ Category
What should be done about the starlings in Rome?
November 24th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
During a recent visit to Rome, I did a blog posting in which I mentioned seeing lots and lots of starlings flying overhead in wonderful formations. But apparently these birds cause problems and the authorities are considering a number of ways of tackling the issue as explained here.
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Why do jihadis seem so evil?
November 23rd, 2015 by Roger Darlington
“There appears … to be something especially potent about Islam in fomenting terror and persecution. Contemporary radical Islam is the religious form through which a particular kind of barbarous rage expresses itself. So, to understand why jihadis have been drawn into a different moral universe that allows them to celebrate, brutally inhuman acts, we have […]
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A 30-mile traffic jam in Kenya
November 20th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Since my son and his family relocated to Kenya about three months ago, I have been more than usually interested in the history of, and news from, the country. So I was amazed to learn that more than 1,500 trucks are locked into a traffic jam stretching for 50 km (30 miles) on the highway between […]
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100 amazing women from around the world
November 19th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Our news and current affairs are still dominated by men, so it’s good to see the BBC compile a list of 100 women who are changing the world. Check out some of these special people here.
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The remarkable story of Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi
November 10th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
It’s exciting news that in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), the National League for Democracy (NLD) looks set to have won a stunning election victory, although there are many constitutional, economic and ethnic problems ahead. The NLD leader is the remarkable Aung San Suu Kyi who has a special connection with the UK because her late […]
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A short guide to the Canadian political system
November 2nd, 2015 by Roger Darlington
While I was in Kenya a couple of weeks ago, there was a General Election in Canada with a spectacular result. Having started out in third place, the Liberals stormed to a decisive victory, so that the new Prime Minister is Justin Trudeau, son of the two-time PM Pierre Trudeau. As a result, I’ve updated […]
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Will Kenya be the next country to be troubled following a visit by the Darlingtons?
October 25th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Vee and I have a bit of a track record. So many of the countries we have visited in the last decade or so have just suffered civil war or political turmoil or do so shortly after our time there. Don’t believe me? Check out this list. As regular readers of NightHawk will know, we […]
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Notes on Nairobi (1): the country
October 14th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Two months ago, our son Richard, his wife Emily and their daughter Catrin relocated to Nairobi in Kenya as a result of his work. He is now the Head of Strategic Advocacy for an organisation called Well Told Story. So this week, Vee and I are going to visit them for the first time. It […]
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How the world’s population is becoming heavier and heavier
October 10th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
“In 2010, 11.5% of adults, or 565 million people, were obese. By 2014, that had already risen to 13% (670 million) … if the trajectory does not change, 17% of adults will be obese by 2025. There will be 170 million adults with a BMI above 35, which is the threshold for urgent medical treatment, such […]
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What’s really happening now in North Korea?
October 8th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
“It is estimated that 30-50% of North Korean GDP is now produced by the private sector … Kim Jong-un is different: he quietly encourages the market economy … Kim Jong-un wants to apply to his country a model of authoritarian capitalism, a so-called “developmental dictatorship”. This model worked very well in Taiwan and South Korea and now […]
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