Archive for the ‘World current affairs’ Category
Forgotten World (124): Nauru
February 14th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
Named Pleasant Island by its first European visitors, the former British colony of Nauru is the world’s smallest island nation, covering just 21 km² (8.1 sq. mi), and the world’s smallest independent republic with a a mere 10,000 citizens, as well as being the only republican state in the world without an official capital. This […]
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Understanding the sub prime crisis
February 13th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
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The American presidential election (18)
February 13th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
However you count it, Barack Obama has now taken the delegate lead over Hillary Clinton, following three more convincing victories in state primaries yesterday. You can see different estimates of the precise numbers here.
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Forgotten World (123): Ecuador
February 13th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
Ecuador – a South American country of 14M – is a patchwork of indigenous communities, including people of colonial Spanish origins and the descendants of African slaves. Traditionally a farming country, Ecuador’s economy was transformed after the 1960s by the growth of industry and the discovery of oil. There was rapid growth and progress in […]
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The American presidential election (17)
February 12th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
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Forgotten World (122): Portugal
February 12th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
By the 16th century, the seafaring nation of Portugal had built a huge empire embracing Brazil as well as swathes of Africa and Asia. There are still some 200 million Portuguese speakers around the world today. Now though it is simply a small member of the European Union with less than 11 million citizens. Although […]
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Forgotten World (121): Sderot
February 11th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
It’s time for 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 120 entries here. One of the most dangerous spots on earth is somewhere of which you’ve probably never heard. Sderot […]
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The American presidential election (16)
February 10th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
In my blog posting on the Super Tuesday event in London, I mentioned that British presenter Robin Oakley was there for CNN. In this story, he explains that the ballot boxes produced a 971 to 422 victory for Obama. If the British could vote in the US presidential elections of 2008, I think that they […]
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The American presidential election (15)
February 9th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
The “Mirror” newspaper today, in what it claims as an exclusive, has discovered a connection between Britain and Democratic hopeful Barack Obama. His stepmother Kezia Obama lives in Bracknell. You’ll find the story here.
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The American presidential election (14)
February 9th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
Hillary Clinton’s camp is now bracing its supporters for the time when in the next few weeks Barack Obama will overtake her in the delegate count. This is clever – it seeks to minimise the psychological boost that this will give to the Obama team. However, in a crucial sense, Obama is already in the […]
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