January 2008

The unimaginable has happened, to the displeasure of arrogant Europe. Africa, thought to be so poor that it would agree to anything, has said no in rebellious pride. No to the straitjacket of the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), no to the complete liberalisation of trade, no to the latest manifestations of the colonial pact.
It happened in December at the second EU-Africa summit in Lisbon, where the main objective was to force the African countries to sign new trade agreements by 31 (...)

The many regional and sectarian leaders in Iraq now wield a power over ordinary citizens that the new national institutions cannot, and may not want to temper. Iraq may fall into a second violent civil war. Or it may become an imperial protectorate with a privileged military and sharp class divisions.

United States intelligence has now revealed its near-certainty that Iran halted its nuclear weapons work in 2003. The Democratic majority elected to both houses of Congress a year ago promised to end to the Iraq war but has done nothing. Could it now act on Iran?

How George Bush’s wartime administration used a magician, Hollywood designers and Karl Rove telling 1,001 stories to sell the invasion of Iraq.

The US has lost ground in Latin America over the past decade, since the project to develop the Free Trade Area of the Americas flopped and since leftwing governments took power and used it with imagination and vigour. The US continues to try to block such emancipation by promoting more free trade agreements, and increasing military cooperation in the name of the war on terrorism and narcotics and the defence of market democracy.

Last month Hugo Chávez and his Bolivarian revolution were defeated for the first time, albeit by barely over 1%, in the constitutional reform referendum. Those who opposed him and those who supported him both challenged what he has done so far and what he plans to do in future. Will the shock be enough to provoke some real self-examination?

The Italian government is stumbling, and if Romano Prodi is forced to resign, the president of the republic, Giorgio Napolitano, will have the key role. The grand old man is the embodiment of Italian post-war history.

Last March, after five years of civil war in Ivory Coast, both sides agreed to share power . But after delays in disarming the militias and listing voters, the UN decided to maintain sanctions and elections have been postponed.

Evangelism, with its attendant free market in miracles, blessings and prayers for wealth, has become a powerful force in Uganda in the past 20 years, and the born-again have profitable, secretive connections with the politically powerful. The movement offers hope and connections to the young and poor.

For 12 years a radio and television news programme, Democracy Now, has survived and even flourished on a cobbled-together broadcast network that reaches all of the United States and out into the world. It has almost no paid resources, yet daily defies the corporate and government agendas, and has sometimes forced mainstream media into picking up its stories, if not its attitudes.

Towards the end of a rain-soaked Irish summer, the skies dried for a day to greet Israeli dancer Daniel Vais as he landed on the island of Cape Clear for a performance. In the midst of these dark days of winter, Colin Murphy recalls a day of sun, art and some surprises

One of the least likely outcomes of the 30 years of the Troubles in Northern Ireland has been the world’s desire to come and visit the place just as soon as it was considered safe to do so. Both opposing sides want to claim the past and to tell the annually growing crowds of tourists their views about what happened between 1968 and 1998.