Roula Khalaf Mass death penalty makes mockery of Egypt’s judiciary

March 25, 2014 5:11 pm by Roula Khalaf

 

Egyptian policemen standing guard outside the courthouse in Minya during the trial of some 683 Islamists on March 25, 2014. AFP/Getty Images

That Egypt’s judiciary is politicised is nothing new. Usually, though, at least it goes through the motions of a trial, allowing some form of defence and taking its time in issuing controversial verdicts.

A court in the southern city of Minya, however, has dispensed with all formality, opting instead for an absurd and outrageous miscarriage of justice. On Monday, it delivered the biggest mass death penalty in the country’s modern history, sentencing 529 Muslim Brotherhood followers to death for an August attack on a police station, in which the deputy police chief was killed. The defendants’ lawyers were not allowed into the proceedings – which lasted a mere two days. Read more

Posted in Egypt, Foreign affairs, Islamism, Middle East, World affairs |

Smart Reads 25 March, 2014

March 25, 2014 2:08 pm by FT

♦ In the new cold war, Russia could hit the US where it hurts – in Iran.

♦ Vladimir Putin has confounded three US presidents as they tried to figure him out.

♦ The decision in Egypt to hand the death sentence to 528 Muslim Brotherhood members was widely condemned, but Egyptian TV told a different story.

♦ The US is losing its edge as an employment powerhouse after its labour participation rate fell behind the UK’s.

♦ Russia’s actions in Crimea have sent a chill through its former Soviet neighbours in Central Asia and the Caucasus.

♦ American economist Hyman Minsky is back in vogue as his ideas offer a plausible account of why the 2007-08 financial crisis happened.

♦ A report on how former Tunisian president Zein al-Abidine Ben Ali changed the rules of business underlines the challenges still facing the country. Read more

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Posted in Egypt, Foreign affairs, Iran, Middle East, Tunisia, Vladimir Putin |

Tony Barber Wilders sparks backlash – even among his own supporters

March 25, 2014 12:46 pm by Tony Barber

Until a week ago, it looked as if the far-right, anti-immigrant Freedom party (PVV), led by Geert Wilders, might become the largest Dutch political party in the European parliament after the May 22-25 elections to the EU assembly.

But that was before Mr Wilders offended large sections of Dutch opinion, and provoked high-level resignations from the PVV, by making incendiary, xenophobic remarks at a political rally. His party, once top of the opinion polls, is falling back as a result. Read more

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Posted in Europe, Foreign affairs |
From FT.com March 24, 2014

By Gideon Rachman

As US President Barack Obama and the leaders of the EU huddle together this week, they will strive to look united and resolved. The reality, as Vladimir Putin knows, is that they are divided and uncertain. The Russian president has moved with a speed and ruthlessness that has left western leaders floundering. Russia swallowed Crimea, in less than a week, with scarcely a shot fired. It has now massed troops on Ukraine’s eastern border – and all that the west has so far offered the Ukrainian military is a supply of US army ready-meals.

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Posted in Eastern Europe, Russia, US foreign policy, US politics, War |

Reporting Back: Venezuela

March 24, 2014 2:59 pm by Andres Schipani

In our Reporting Back series, we ask FT foreign correspondents to tell us about a recent trip.

In this dispatch, Andres Schipani, the FT’s Andes correspondent, gives his account of a visit this month to Venezuela, where protests over the past month against the socialist regime of president Nicolás Maduro have left at least 33 people dead. Read more

Posted in Chavez, Foreign affairs, Latin America, Reporting Back, Venezuela, World affairs |

Smart Reads March 24, 2014

March 24, 2014 12:56 pm by FT

♦ Many Iranians see basij– the ideologically-driven volunteer forces of the Revolutionary Guards – as stick-wielding thugs, but they show a softer side as they sip cappuccino and discuss art at Café Kerase.

♦ Although demographic and other factors are against the US Republicans, the Grand Old Party is seeing a strange revival.

♦ It’s not a good time for Japan to put its tax rates up, which is why the government is allowing retailers to act like they haven’t.

♦ Much has changed in Sarajevo since the day in 1914 when Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand was shot, providing the spark that lit the flames of the first world war, yet much has remained the same.

♦ The Egyptian army’s gift of land for homes has prompted speculation over a closely guarded secret: the size of the army’s stake in the economy.

♦ A property boom across Germany‘s biggest cities has been dubbed a betongold – literally concrete gold – rush. Read more

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Posted in Egypt, Foreign affairs, Germany, Iran, Japan, Property, US politics |

Russia sanctions: Breaking down the numbers…

March 24, 2014 12:05 pm by Shawn Donnan

Here is an addendum to our post on Friday on what might come next for trade sanctions on Russia. I spent part of the weekend playing with the data on MIT’s brilliant Observatory of Economic Complexity. It is a fabulous place for visualisations of trade data. The underlying data are a few years out of date. But the overall trend still holds true and so these interactive charts on Russia seem worth sharing given the current debate. Read more

Posted in Europe, Foreign affairs, Germany, Global economy, Oil, Russia, US foreign policy, War, World affairs |

Gideon Rachman Is this the end of America’s pivot to Asia?

March 21, 2014 4:56 pm by Gideon Rachman

Most people in Washington are dismayed about the turn of events in Ukraine. But there are two groups I have come across that seem pleased: lobbyists for the defence industry and specialists on Europe. At a conference on the future of Europe that I spoke at yesterday at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), one of the other speakers said firmly – “This should be the end of America’s pivot to Asia.” The remark was greeted with widespread approval. Read more

Posted in Asia, US foreign policy |

Russia sanctions: What comes next?

March 21, 2014 1:53 pm by Shawn Donnan

Both the US and the EU are stepping up their sanctions against Russia over its annexation of Crimea. So far it has all been very personal; both the US and the EU have focused on making life difficult for key individuals in and around the Kremlin and President Vladimir Putin. But that is unlikely to be the end of it. Both the US and the EU have threatened to impose further, broader, sanctions on the Russian economy. So in terms of trade, what might they target? Read more

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Posted in Eastern Europe, Europe, Foreign affairs, Russia, Ukraine, US politics, World affairs |

France clings on to its agricultural heritage

March 21, 2014 12:54 pm by Peggy Hollinger

There was good news for Europe’s farmers this week after a survey of EU citizens showed strong public support for the much criticised common agricultural policy. French farmers, who rely on EU subsidies for about half their income, will be especially glad to hear that Europeans polled by the latest Euro Barometer survey place an increasing importance on the challenges of developing agriculture while preserving the environment .

The French certainly believe the farmer is crucial to safeguarding the countryside as well as producing their food as the recent Salon de l’Agriculture showed. One of the world’s largest food and farm shows, it is held every year close to heart of Paris and this year drew a record 703,000 visitors.

People come here to revel in the best of the French terroir – the people, the food and the drink that make up rural France. The Salon is a mandatory stop for any politician with ambition, and this year everyone from President Francois Hollande to hopefuls in the race for Paris mayor made an appearance. Read more

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Posted in Environment, Europe, France |
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