Vladimir Putin - the most unpopular politician in the world. It dropped below the President of Iran, a traditional leader antisimpaty past. These are the results of a survey on the credibility of world leaders. Led by top sympathies new U.S. president Barack Obama.

The American leader Barack Obama, who became president just six months ago, in a unique position in the eyes of world public opinion. This is the conclusion reached by the author of the study Stephan Weber of the World Public Opinion, which has submitted the results of another survey on the confidence the world leaders. The survey was conducted in 20 major countries around the world.

Obama is the confidence of 61% of those surveyed, 31% hold the opposite view.

«His oratorical ability, coupled with the changes, which he represents, offer them the opportunity to gaining sympathy of pe ... Read more »

Fiji President Ratu Sir Josefa Iloilo announced in a televised address to the nation on April 10 that the country's 1997 Constitution was revoked.

The decision came from the Fiji Court of Appeal on April 9, following more than two years of legal battle between Fiji's interim government and the deposed S.D.L. government of Laisenia Qarase. The Court's ruling overturned the Fiji High Court decision in October 2008 that legitimized the president's reserve power to dismiss an elected government and establish an interim government in January 2007.

The judgment by Fiji Court of Appeal justices Randall Powell, Ian Lloyd and Francis Douglas failed to clarify details of the expressed constitutional authority that allowed the Office of the President to discharge its executive duties and appoint an interim prime minister. Furthermore, immediately after the ruling, state lawyers notified t ... Read more »

Make no mistake, the proliferation of piracy in the Somali coast is a serious problem — not only for the international community but for Somalia in general, and more specifically, for the current Islamist-led unity government. After all, Islamic law has zero tolerance for banditry, whether sea-based or land-based.

That said, piracy in Somalia was not born out of a vacuum — it was initially an act of protestation by local fishermen in response to the illegal hyper-fishing practiced by numerous fishing companies, primarily based in Europe and Asia . The reckless greed of this "fishing mafia" has been dangerously depleting sea life in that part of the world. In due course the local fishermen were joined by others, including some of the profiteering elements of the Somali civil war, for reinforcement.

The partnership described itself as the de facto Somali coast guard. It offer ... Read more »

Those who think that Algerians have been passive victims of their country's political problems need look no further than the Algerian women's movement for a change of mind. Twenty-five years ago, a unique relationship developed between Algeria and the non-profit organization, Women Living Under Muslim Laws (W.L.U.M.L.), which is going strong even today.

W.L.U.M.L. provides assistance to women whose lives are governed by so-called "Islamic" laws or customs. The organization opposes the use of faith to further political causes and builds awareness of women's rights violations committed in the name of Islam.

In 1984, Algerian women watched in amazement as the government passed a law that institutionalized women's legal status as "minors." Women had demonstrated against the ratification of this law for more than two decades, believing it stood in stark opposition to Article 29 o ... Read more »

China — China View (April 18): South Africa's African National Congress (A.N.C.) has spent no less than $20 million on its 2009 election campaign, the party said on Saturday. A.N.C. national executive council member, Nomvula Mokonyane, said most of the money used in the campaign had been raised by the party through selling paraphernalia for example. She was speaking at a briefing ahead of the party's final election rally to be held on Sunday at Coca Cola Park and the Johannesburg Stadium. The rally would "set a precedent" for large-scale events with 400,000 people in total expected to view the event at the two stadiums and via a live satellite link at stadiums in the other eight provinces.

France — Euronews (April 24): Jacob Zuma must wait a little longer for the official declaration, but his supporters are already celebrating. The final votes are being co ... Read more »

Traditionally, in order to justify US militarism and intervention, certain countries and leaders have served the role of countries American pundits love to hate, says Stephen Zunes.

 
[An interview with Stephen Zunes by Kourosh Ziabari]

In September 2007, Stephen Zunes fell under the spotlight of the mass media following his meeting with the controversial Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in New York during his third trip to the US to attend the 62nd session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Dr. Stephen Zunes is a Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of San Francisco, where he serves as the chairman of Middle Eastern Studies pro ... Read more »

Hate speeches, candidates declaring huge, unprecedented amounts of money and property, friends turned adversaries turned friends, breaking of alliances, and unbridled promises are some of the things that 714 million voters are being assaulted with each day, with major issues like terrorism, the economic meltdown, rising prices and job losses being sidelined as India goes to the polls from Apr. 16 — May 13. New members will be elected to the 545-member Lok Sabha (the lower house of parliament) for five-year terms. There are dire predictions that the country could be heading for a weaker and perhaps short-lived coalition government, with major national parties losing out to regional allies.

With nearly 43 million first-time voters above the age of 18 joining the Electoral College, the coming national poll was widely expected to bring in a major paradigm change in the manner ... Read more »

In recent weeks, there has been a notable increase in Facebook "friend requests" from colleagues and friends in Iran. It seems that someone has decided to allow more Iranians access to the Web site, at last.

Facebook is one of the most popular online social networking venues among Iranians and it's estimated that over 200,000, mostly living abroad, are members.

Alexa.com, which collects Web traffic and ranking data, shows that a quiet but significant change took place among the usual top-ranked Web sites' weekly visits inside Iran. However, blog providers remain on top on the list — Blogfa, a free Persian Weblog service, claims to have more than 1,500,000 member blogs. Other providers, including Persian Blog, Mihan Blog, and Parsiblog are said to have an estimated 700,000 members, while roughly 300,000 Persian users frequent Wordpress, Blogger and Blogsky.
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Iran is credited with having the third largest blogsphere after the United States and China, with 2. ... Read more »

The Group of Twenty (G-20) leaders April 2009 meeting in London ended with significant pronouncements on how to end the ongoing global economic downturn. The G-20 leaders agreed that the current economic woes have spread to every country in the world and that  collective global action is necessary to resolve the crisis. In short, "a global crisis requires a global solution." In this review, I discuss whether Africa will benefit significantly from the G-20 agreement.

G-20 Agreement

The G-20 leaders agreed to reorganize the global financial system so as to reinvigorate credit lending processes worldwide. They agreed to strengthen regulations in the financial industry, including for the first time, establishing oversight of the hedge fund industry. They also agreed to reform international financial institutions so that these organizations can proactively deal with the c ... Read more »

Should you wish to evaluate the management ethic and the rarefied aesthetic values of those who manage the Jamaican bauxite industry you need go no further than Roxburgh, a spot quite near the geographic center of the country and which happens to be an important place in Jamaican history.

Roxburgh, which used to be a place of tranquility and peace, of big old guangos and expansive views in all directions of the rolling green hills of Manchester, is now fatally composed of bauxite. On Melrose Hill, before the turn off to Roxburgh to the south there once was a ravine cut through meters of solid bauxite, dark red, like living flesh, frozen.

At Roxburgh, off the beaten track like most other bauxitic obscenities, the Jamaica Bauxite Institute (J.B.I.), the Commissioner Of Mines and Geology (C.M.G.), the mining companies and the Jamaican bauxite workers have combined to create a s ... Read more »