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ARCHIVES:
01-30-09
AFGHANISTAN ELECTIONS
Current Afghan President Hamid Karzai was
installed in power by the U.S. after the Taliban was defeated in
2001. In 2004, he won the post in a national election. Karzai's
5-year term will end this year as President Barack Obama makes good
on his promise to make Afghanistan the key focus of his foreign
policy.
Afghanistan
in a Nutshell
11-27-08
THE FINANCIAL CRISIS EXPLAINED
Today the Fed announced it would commit an
additional $800 billion to buy "mortgage-backed securities" and
guarantee consumer loans (credit cards, auto and student loans) in
hopes of stimulating the economy and bringing an end to the
financial crisis.
Causes
and consequences of subprime mortgage lending
11-21-08
OBAMA AND
THE WORLD
On November 4th, the United States elected Barack
Obama the country's next president. The election was
closely watched by the rest of the world in hopes
and in fear of a "new world order."
Obama and the World
11-10-08
IRAN
Iranian economists criticize Iranian president
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ahead of June 2009 elections.
Iranian
economists criticize Iran's president
09-03-08
POLITICS OF OIL
What does hurricane Gustav have to do with the price
of eggs?
Oil
09-01-08
RUSSIA AND CUBA
A
new "cold war" or just flexing some muscles? Russia
wants to rekindle relations with Cuba sparking
memories of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
Russian-Cuban
relations
01-24-08
IRAQ
In January 2008 Iraq adopted a new interim flag. The
old flag included three stars representing the
Ba'ath party with "God is Great" (Allahu Akbar)
written in Arabic in Saddam Hussein's handwriting.
Iraq's new flag
12-18-07
DUBAI
Dubai's evolution from piracy,
pearling and port calls to its current status as one
of the wealthiest places in the world makes it an
attractive destination for businessmen and
celebrities.
Dubai: emirate
of superlatives.
12-16-07
THE HAJJ
From December 18
to December 21, 2007, more than 2 million Muslims
will travel to Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj, the
pilgrimage to Mecca required of all Muslims at least
once in their lifetime.
Islam and the
Hajj
12-12-07
PUTIN
CHOOSES SUCCESSOR
Is Russia's
President Vladimir Putin
assuming too much power by choosing his loyal
protégé to succeed him?
11-05-07
PAKISTAN'S
PRESIDENT DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY
Musharraf
declares state of emergency
05-26-07
IAEA SAYS IRAN CLOSE TO
HAVING THE ABILITY TO DEVELOP NUCLEAR WEAPONS Mohammed
ElBaradei has estimated that Iran could enrich enough uranium to
build a nuclear bomb within 3-8 years.
Can the West destroy Iran's
nuclear capabilities?
05-15-07
IRAN'S PRESIDENT CRITICIZED
for high unemployment, inflation and escalating housing costs.
Read more about Iran's
unemployment problem
04-30-07
IRAN -
U.S. MEET IN EGYPT TO DISCUSS STABILIZING IRAQ. The conference
at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh will also be attended by
representatives from Iraq's neighbors, the Group of 8 Nations and
the Europan Union.
Read Op-Ed "Iran loses with
chaos in Iraq"
Read the Iraq Study Group's
suggestions on Iran-US relations
04-25-07
IRANIAN POLICE ARRESTED NEARLY 300 WOMEN
accused of not dressing properly. All women in Iran are required to
cover their hair and wear loose-fitting manteaus (coats) in
compliance with Islamic codes of decency. Women who were showing too
much hair or donning coats deemed too tight were taken to police
headquarters.
Read more about Iran's dress
codes
Read more about
women's rights in Iran
04-09-07
DEBATE OVER NUCLEAR POWER Debates in Congress over
greenhouse gas emissions leads to renewed interest in nuclear power.
Read
more about the
pros and cons of nuclear power.
04-05-07
IRISH LEADERS MEND FENCES On April 4th,
Protestant leader Ian Paisley shook hands with the Irish Prime
Minister, Bertie Ahern, after decades of refusing to accept any role
for the Irish government in the affairs of Northern Ireland. The
momentous gesture came a week after Catholic and Protestant leaders
met in Northern Ireland in hopes of bringing peace to the region
after 30 years of violence.
Read
more about the source of conflict in Northern Ireland
04-01-07
IRANIANS PROTEST AT BRITISH
EMBASSY
A small group of Basij (a voluntary
paramilitary force) and students protested at the
British embassy in Tehran, Iran demanding that the
British apologize for illegally entering Iranian
waters.
Read more about
British sailors captured by Iran's Revolutionary
Guard
03-25-07
MORE SANCTIONS ON IRAN
On
March 24, the United Nations adopted Resolution 1747
imposing further sanctions on Iran for refusing to
"suspend all enrichment-related and reprocessing
activities, including research and development, and
work on all heavy water-related projects."
Read more about
sanctions on Iran
03-21-07
CHAOS IN SOMALIA Fighting
intensified in March 2007 between Somali gunmen and
soldiers from Somali's transitional government
backed by Ethiopian troops. Somalis fear that the
country will devolve into anarchy if the government
is unable to control the violence. American's fear
the chaos will draw Islamic militants from other
parts of the world.
Read more about
Somalia.
03-19-07
HAMAS SHARES POWER WITH MODERATE PALESTINIAN
PARTIES Hamas agreed to share power in the Palestinian
government in order to end the international embargo and put a stop
to fighting between Hamas and the relatively moderate Fatah party
Read more about the Palestinian
coalition government
03-17-07
SUMO WRESTLERS ACCUSED OF FIXING GAMES
Sumo wrestling has been the target of scandal after a Japanese
magazine article claimed that, like US and Mexican professional
wrestling, the tournaments were scripted. The magazine accused some
of the most successful sumo wrestlers of fixing matches for money.
Read
more about sumo wrestling
03-15-07
COCAINE TRADE MOVES TO AFRICA
Cocaine dealers from Colombia have begun moving their
trafficking operations to the poorest countries in western Africa.
From there, the illicit drug is transported to Europe, the United
States and other destinations.
Read more about the cocaine
trade
03-12-07
SAUDI ARABIA BECOMES POWER BROKER IN MIDDLE
EAST Saudi Arabia is planning to host an
Arab Summit in its capital, Riyadh, by the end of March to discuss a
dormant 2002 plan for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
Last month, Saudi Arabia hosted the leaders of Hamas and Fatah in
order to help bring peace between the battling factions in the form
of a joint government.
Read more about the Saudi peace plan between Hamas and Fatah
03-09-07
PAKISTAN'S TRIBAL AREAS
The Taliban is still alive and well operating
from the lawless tribal frontier between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Read more about the Taliban and Pakistan
03-08-07
ISLAM, ASHURA Today marks the 40th day (Arbaeen) of mourning
for the 7th century martyrdom death of Islam's Prophet Muhammad's
grandson, Husayn and his companions. On this day, Shi'a Muslims
around the world participate in solemn gatherings and religious
processions while offering condolences to each other. Muslims are
also encouraged to renew vows to oppose tyranny and fight injustice.
Read more about Ashura
03-07-07
IRAQ, SAMARRA
In March 2007, Sunni insurgents stepped up
attacks on Iraqi Shi'as preparing for the Shi'a Muslim commemoration
of Ashura. The attacks are intended to rekindle the sectarian civil
war triggered by the bombing of the Samarra Mosque in February 2006
in order to destabilize the Shi'ite-dominated Iraqi government.
Read more about
Samarra 03-06-07
What's new today? Everything! World in a Nutshell is the brainchild
of Amanda Roraback, author of the Nutshell Notes series of books
offering short, current information about various countries around
the world. This site is the "nutshell" version of the
Nutshell Notes
books padded with extra features like the "Teacher's Corner,"
"Contextual Film Reviews" (reviews of films in historical context),
real-life blogs from the field and whatever else we come up with.
Stay tuned for more! |
