Archive for the ‘World current affairs’ Category
A British Government programme to combat modern day slavery
July 18th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
A very close friend of mine is Cindy Berman who is Senior Social Development Adviser, Asia Regional Team, at the Department For International Department here in the UK. She has been working on a programme to tackle modern day slavery which was launched this week. There are an estimated 21 million people living in forced […]
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A very happy 95th birthday to Nelson Mandela
July 18th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
Over the last few weeks, many of us feared that it would not happen, but today we celebrate the 95th birthday of Nelson Mandela, the most inspirational leader of my life time. I have visited Robben Island where Mandela was imprisoned [my account here] and where I bought his biography “Long Walk To Freedom” [my review here]. […]
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Malala Yousafzai’s address to the United Nations
July 12th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
Malala Yousefzai, who was shot in the head by Pakistani Taliban last year, today addressed the UN Youth Assembly on her 16th birthday and made an impassioned call for children’s education and women’s rights.
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12 things you need to know about Qatar
June 26th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
On the occasion of the transfer of power from father to son in the tiny but immensely rich state of Qatar, the “Guardian” newspaper helpfully provides this checklist of facts about the kingdom that you should find interesting. One fascinating fact is that immigrant workers – mostly from south Asia and the Philippines – outnumber native […]
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Don’t worry – it’s only your metadata that the spies are collecting
June 23rd, 2013 by Roger Darlington
The revelations from Edward Snowden to the “Guardian” newspaper – about how the American and British security establishments are monitoring our communications – are stunning and the full repercussions have still not been worked out. We need a lot more light on PRISM. One of the messages that we are hearing – which is intended […]
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One of the most serious reasons why being a woman is tough anywhere any time
June 22nd, 2013 by Roger Darlington
Physical or sexual violence is a public health problem that affects more than one third of all women globally, according to a new report released this week by WHO in partnership with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the South African Medical Research Council. The report, “Global and regional estimates of violence […]
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At last, some good news from the Islamic republic of Iran
June 16th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
I’m encouraged by the news that Hassan Rouhani has won the presidential election in Iran. In a tum-out of around 72%, he managed to take over 50% of the votes. The victory may seem ironic, given that Rouhani was the only cleric among the six candidates, but he appears to be the most committed to reform and […]
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Where to now for the Kurds?
June 11th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
A friend of mine is currently in the Kurdish north of Iraq on one of his regular visits. The area is peaceful and I would love to visit it myself one day. Meanwhile the situation of the Kurds in various Middle Eastern countries is being impacted considerably by developments in the region, as summarised in […]
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Who was the Turkish leader Kemal Ataturk?
June 9th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
“It began as a small environmental protest against plans to redevelop Gezi Park, and Istanbul’s adjoining Taksim Square. But over the past two weeks it has morphed into a countrywide revolt. Three people have been killed, 4,000 injured and 900 arrested. The demonstrations have spread to more than 70 Turkish cities, including the capital, Ankara, and the […]
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How many nuclear weapons are there – and how many do we need?
June 3rd, 2013 by Roger Darlington
Today the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) launches the findings of “SIPRI Yearbook 2013″, which assesses the current state of international security, armaments and disarmament. Key findings include: Alone among the five legally recognized nuclear weapon states, China expanded its nuclear arsenal in 2012; The number of personnel deployed with peace operations worldwide is falling rapidly, […]
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