Archive for the ‘World current affairs’ Category
Forgotten World (166): Bavaria
March 30th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
It’s time to have another week of postings in my long-running series called Forgotten World – a look at parts of the world that hardly feature in our media or thoughts. You can check the previous 165 entries here. Bavaria – located in the south-east of Germany – is the largest of the 16 Lander […]
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What does the name Pakistan mean?
March 22nd, 2009 by Roger Darlington
The name Pakistan means “Land of (the) Pure” in Urdu and Persian (Farsi). It was coined in 1934 as Pakstan by Choudhary Rahmat Ali, who published it in his pamphlet “Now or Never”. The name represented the “thirty million Muslims of PAKISTAN, who live in the five Northern Units of the British Raj — Punjab, […]
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What’s the future for divided nations?
March 19th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
I recently took a cab in London driven by a Tamil exile from Sri Lanka and we discussed the decades long conflict on that island. He surprised me by suggesting that the war was the result of Britain granting independence to what was then Ceylon as a single nation state in 1948 (it was renamed […]
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“The Day After Peace”
March 7th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
This evening, Vee and I visited our dear young friends Rachael and James for dinner and discussion. Together we watched a DVD of a remarkable and inspiring documentary entitled “The Day After Peace”. Featuring Jude Law, Angelina Jolie, the Dalai Lama, Annie Lennox, Kofi Annan and Jonny Lee Miller, the documentary charts the astonishing 10-year […]
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Forgotten World (165): Suriname
February 20th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
Suriname is the smallest state in terms of area and population in South America. The country is the only Dutch-speaking region in the Western Hemisphere which is not a part of the Netherlands. Since independence from the Netherlands in 1975, the former Dutch Guiana has endured coups and a civil war. Former military strongman Desi […]
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Forgotten World (164): Mauritius
February 19th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
Mauritius is a volcanic island of lagoons and palm-fringed beaches in the Indian Ocean which has a reputation for stability and racial harmony among its mixed population of one and a quarter million Asians, Europeans and Africans. Various cultures and traditions flourish in peace, although Mauritian Creoles, descendants of African slaves who make up a […]
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Forgotten World (163): Central African Republic
February 18th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
The Central African Republic (CAR) has been unstable since its independence from France in 1960 and is one of the least-developed countries in the world. It has endured several coups and a notorious period under a self-declared emperor, Jean-Bedel Bokassa, who headed a brutal regime which ended in 1979. Today General François Bozizé, president and […]
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The smartest guys in the room
February 17th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
I’ve only just seen the 2005 documentary film “Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room” [my review here]. There’s special chill in seeing this work through the prism on the recent collapse in the global banking system. It makes you realise that, while the guys at the top of Enron may have been particularly creative/crooked, […]
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Forgotten World (162): Bahamas
February 17th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
The Bahamas is an archipelago of 700 islands and islets in the Caribbean. It only has a population of around 330,000 but it attracts millions of tourists each year to enjoy its mild climate, fine beaches and beautiful forests. A former British colony and now a Commonwealth member, the country is a major centre for […]
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Forgotten World (161): Albania
February 16th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
It’s time to have another week of postings in my long-running series called Forgotten World – a look at parts of the world that hardly feature in our media or thoughts. You can check the previous 160 entries here. After World War II, Albania became a Stalinist state under Enver Hoxha, and remained staunchly isolationist […]
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