February 2007

THE United States, heavily engaged in Afghanistan and Iraq in its global war on terror, is now fighting on a third front in Somalia . Washington assembled an anti-terrorist coalition in the Gulf of Aden in 2001 and it is clear from recent air raids and the deployment of US battleships that it regards the Horn of Africa as part of the theatre of operations in its battle against al-Qaida.
It is up against the Union of Islamic Courts, funded by Mogadishu traders who had had enough of (...)

Energy is at the centre of Russia’s strategic partnership with the European Union. Oil is the cause of its struggle with the US over the routes of pipelines from the Caspian and Central Asia. Dismantling the Yukos group will complete Russia’s renationalisation of energy. President Vladimir Putin, in his second term, has restored state power within a market economy framework.

A violent civil war now dominates Iraq. If the country is to be stabilised, a central government with a monopoly on coercion must be rebuilt with administrative capacity to give it legitimacy.

The United States has condemned the assistance the Taliban receive from across the Pakistan border. President Pervez Musharraf has announced the destruction of three training camps close to the frontier but, as elections approach, he is also trying to reach an accommodation with Islamist groups in Pakistan.

President George Bush is planning to reinforce the United States presence in Iraq and may be contemplating a strike against Iran, undeterred by military reversals, unpopularity among voters at home or the opposition of foreign governments.

On 8 February violence broke out at the Al-Aksa mosque, revealing underlying tensions. Jerusalem is the holy city of three religions, but Israeli government policy has always been to preserve its control over the city to prevent its division, so that East Jerusalem can never be the capital of a Palestinian state.

Two French companies are involved in the construction and operation of a light rail system from the centre of Jerusalem to a northern terminus. It is promoted as a unifying project: in fact, it will be yet another way to isolate the Palestinians.

Gentrification has charmed its way into European cities for the past 35 years and more, promising rehabilitation of buildings and cityscapes, new cultural venues, shops and restaurants, and of course big profits for developers. But what happened to the real citizens?

Uruguay has emerged from relative obscurity since President Tabaré Vázquez instituted an emergency welfare programme and began investigations into the fate of the disappeared. The country’s economic situation has improved but it is attracting problematic investments.