Archive for the ‘World current affairs’ Category
Challenges to the Chinese
October 27th, 2010 by Roger Darlington
My portfolio career may be collapsing all around me as the Government moves to abolish both Consumer Focus and the Communications Consumer Panel, but yesterday I had a stimulating time in Oxford addressing a group of 24 Chinese state officials from the centrally- administered municipality of Tianjin in the north of the country. The topic […]
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Forgotten World (225): Ukraine
October 22nd, 2010 by Roger Darlington
Europe’s second largest country, Ukraine gained independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and has since veered between seeking closer integration with Western Europe and reconciliation with Russia, which supplies most of the country’s energy. A significant minority of the population of Ukraine are Russians or use Russian as their first language. […]
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Forgotten World (224): San Marino
October 21st, 2010 by Roger Darlington
Landlocked San Marino, totally surrounded by Italy, is one of the world’s smallest countries. In size it is only 61 square kilometre (23.6 square miles) and the population is a mere 32,000. In 1862, a friendship and cooperation treaty with Italy, which has since been revised and expanded, reinforced San Marino’s independence. Tourism dominates the […]
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Forgotten World (223): Falkland Islands
October 20th, 2010 by Roger Darlington
The British – who control them – call them the Falkland Islands, but Argentina – which lays claim to them – knows them as the Malvinas and in 1982 they went to war over them with the British defeating an Argentinean invasion. The fighting cost the lives of 655 Argentine and 255 British servicemen. London […]
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Forgotten World (222): Guinea-Bissau
October 19th, 2010 by Roger Darlington
Formerly Portuguese Guinea, Guinea-Bissau in west Africa won independence from Portugal in 1974 after a long struggle spearheaded by the left-wing African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC). Once hailed as a potential model for African development, Guinea-Bissau – a nation of a mere 1.6 million – is now one of […]
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Forgotten World (221): Cameroon
October 18th, 2010 by Roger Darlington
It’s one of the regular weeks of postings in my long-running series called Forgotten World – a look at parts of the world that too rarely feature in our media or thoughts. You can check the previous 220 entries here. The modern state of Cameroon – an African country of some 19 million – was […]
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If the Chilean miners are freed …
October 12th, 2010 by Roger Darlington
– as we all hope and trust – through whose intervention will this ‘miracle’ have been achieved? The prayers of the Catholic Church? The prayers of a Seventh Day Adventist preacher? The prayers of a local evangelical preacher? God acting on His own initiative? The efforts of the rescue team and the skill of the […]
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My international relations course (3)
October 6th, 2010 by Roger Darlington
It’s week 3 on my course at the City Lit in central London entitled “International Relations And World Conflict”. This evening, we discussed the definition and the role of the state and were given this article to read. Helpfully our lecturer Dr Dale Mineshima-Low puts all the course handouts and further reading on a section […]
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My international relations course (2)
September 29th, 2010 by Roger Darlington
As explained last week, I’ve just started a course at the City Lit in central London. The course – which will run for an evening each week for 12 weeks – is entitled “International Relations And World Conflict” and our lecturer is an American called Dr Dale Mineshima-Lowe. Session two this evening was quite heavy […]
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My international relations course (1)
September 22nd, 2010 by Roger Darlington
This evening, I started a course at the City Lit in central London. The course – which will run for an evening each week for 12 weeks – is entitled “International Relations And World Conflict”. Our lecturer is an American called Dr Dale Mineshima-Lowe. There are supposed to be 32 students but not all turned […]
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