Gold Rush: Striking inequality in rural Tanzania

The United Republic of Tanzania is one of the largest producers of gold in Africa. Small-scale mining is responsible for a sizable percentage of all exports, but with a distinct lack of regulation in this sector communities are exposed to Read on! →

Puntland politicians to pick new President

Puntland is a tiny semi-autonomous region in eastern Somalia, the only and first administration under the new federal government in Somalia. It is roughly a third of the country, and has a population of 3.5 million, enjoying relative stability in Read on! →

From Bully to Friend: Changing America’s international image

Even though President Obama is enjoying his holidays in Hawaii, he will most certainly think about his past and future decisions. Without a doubt, the Middle East will figure prominently among his list of key topics for the year 2014. Read on! →

Israel and the West Bank build a bridge over murky waters

The new Memorandum of Understanding signed between Israel and West Bank in December 2013 goes some way to addressing Palestinian water shortages but it does not address the root causes of this shortage and the disparity in water supply between Read on! →

The Wrath of Khans: The other presidents of Russia

In between musings about the economy and his republic’s famous honey, Rustem Khamitov admits he is the last President of Bashkortostan. In case your knowledge of ‘stan’ geography is a bit rusty, Bashkortostan is a semi-autonomous republic within Russia, home Read on! →

Berlusconi’s downfall: The last act of a classic tragedy

Although Silvio Berlusconi is arguably one of the most prominent political figures in Europe, he is well known for all the wrong reasons. His career has been overshadowed by innumerable scandals. But from repeated allegations of corruption to questionable bunga-bunga Read on! →

Banking on Merkel: Germany expected to hold course on Eurozone

Germany is likely to continue with the same cautious, pragmatic approach in overcoming the crisis, despite the Southern Eurozone countries’ expectations of changing the policies. The decisive day, 22 September 2013, not for the German people only but also for Read on! →

Peace down the line: Are Iran and the US ready to talk?

On Friday the 27th September, the president of the United States and his Iranian counterpart had a 15-minute phone talk, which signalled the first such high-level dialogue between these two countries for over 30 years. Since the Iranian Shah was Read on! →

Terrorists on Twitter: Should extremists be on social networks?

The attacks on the Westgate Centre in Nairobi by Somali terrorist group, al-Shabaab have brought into focus an age old question about how liberal western democracies handle extremists who use mass media as a propaganda tool. Al-Shabaab were probably the Read on! →

A rebel fighter signals victory after he fires a shoulder-fired missile toward a building where Syrian troops loyal to President Bashar Assad were hiding in the Jedida district of Aleppo, Syria on November 4, 2012.

Syria: Assad might negotiate, but why would the rebels?

We are only engaging with half the problem on Syria. As hard as it might be to persuade Assad that he cannot win the war, it may be harder to persuade the rebels they should stop fighting it. The reason Read on! →