Archive for the ‘World current affairs’ Category
Israel: the politics and the land
January 5th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
I’ve just added an 11th entry to the short descriptions of various political systems on my web site. Israel has a very different political system than most democratic states as explained here. Almost four years ago now, I spent a fascinating week in Israel touring the country and talking to lots of people. You can […]
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The future of Gaza
January 2nd, 2011 by Roger Darlington
“We do not want to hate, we do not want to feel all of this feelings, we do not want to be victims anymore. ENOUGH! Enough pain, enough tears, enough suffering, enough control, limitations, unjust justifications, terror, torture, excuses, bombings, sleepless nights, dead civilians, black memories, bleak future, heart aching present, disturbed politics, fanatic politicians, […]
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What can we expect on the international front in 2011?
December 31st, 2010 by Roger Darlington
“Politically speaking, not a lot changed and not a lot was solved in 2010. Economic hard times, disappointment with an underachieving Barack Obama, the familiar bloody slog in Afghanistan, lack of progress on climate change, sabre-rattling in east Asia and stalemate in the Middle East made it a year many will be happy to forget. […]
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Political systems of different nations
December 23rd, 2010 by Roger Darlington
Some of the most visited pages on my web site are my various short guides to political systems of different countries. I started with Britain and the USA and gradually expanded the scope. I’ve had no meetings this week as we run up to Christmas, so I’ve had time to add two more such essays, […]
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The race between India and China
December 20th, 2010 by Roger Darlington
As I do each December, I am enjoying reading the review of the coming year produced by the “Economist”. In “The World In 2011”, it points out that, in the coming year, India might manage to grow its economy at the same rate – around 8.5% – as China for the first time since 1990. […]
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Forgotten World (230): Ceuta & Melilla
December 10th, 2010 by Roger Darlington
Ceuta (pop. 75,000) and Melilla (pop. 73,000), fragments of Europe on north Africa’s Mediterranean coast, came under Spanish control around 500 years ago. Spain insists that the urban enclaves are integral parts of the country, but they are surrounded by Morocco, which views the Spanish presence as anachronistic and claims sovereignty. Improving relations were jeopardised […]
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Forgotten World (229): Vanuata
December 9th, 2010 by Roger Darlington
Vanuatu – a string of more than 80 Pacific islands once known as the New Hebrides – achieved independence from France and Britain in 1980. Most of the islands are inhabited and the total population is almost 250,000. Vanuatu is mountainous and much of it is covered with tropical rain forests. Like most of the […]
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Forgotten World (228): American Samoa
December 8th, 2010 by Roger Darlington
Settled as early as 1000 B.C., Samoa in the South Pacific was “discovered” by European explorers in the 18th century. International rivalries in the latter half of the 19th century were settled by an 1899 treaty in which Germany and the United States divided the Samoan archipelago. The USA formally occupied its portion – a […]
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How many nuclear weapons do we need?
December 7th, 2010 by Roger Darlington
We’ve now had 10 weeks of my 12-week course at the City Lit in central London entitled “International Relations And World Conflict”. The latest session was devoted to nuclear disarmament. Wikipedia provides an estimate of the number of nuclear weapons possessed the USA, Russia, Britain, France, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel. You can […]
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Forgotten World (227): Montserrat
December 7th, 2010 by Roger Darlington
Montserrat is a self-governing British colony, an island in the Caribbean with a mere 4,500 citizens. In 1997 a major eruption devastated the southern part of the island and buried the capital, Plymouth. Agricultural land was destroyed, villages were flattened, and 19 people were killed. The crisis prompted more than half of the island’s population […]
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