Striker Abou Treika – a symbol of Egypt’s convoluted political transition
By James M. Dorsey.
Starred striker Mohamed Abou-Treika symbolizes the struggles in virtually every Egyptian institution between post-Mubarak reformers and supporters of the Mubarak-era status quo ante.
Breaking with the tradition of soccer [...]
Power Vacuum and Struggle in Ethiopia after Prime Minister’s Death
By Betre Yacob
It has been 18 days since the death of the late Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi was announced by the Ethiopian Government on the state Television. But still now, no one in Ethiopia knows who the successor is. Even if the [...]
If Dodd-Frank took so long … is US EITI in trouble?
By Amrit Naresh.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has finally voted on the implementation of oil and mining transparency rules in the Dodd-Frank financial regulatory reform bill, more than a year after the original deadline [...]
Ethiopia: The Funeral of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has Taken Place
By Betre Yacob.
The funeral ceremony of the Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, whose death had been a secret for several weeks and was announced on 20 August 2012 by Ethiopian state television, has taken place today (September 2) in Addis Abeba, [...]
The Ethiopian Daily laborers’ Fear: Accident
By Betre Yacob.
Abera is a 30 year old young man who works as a day laborer in a building construction company. He came from Estie Woreda, South Gonder Zone, Amhara Region. Daily he transports cement, stone and other raw materials up and down [...]
International NGOs are Forced to Amend their Projects in Ethiopia
HIV Vulnerable Groups’ Associations are Ending up Helpless
By Betre Yacob.
The Ethiopian government, following the new approved Charities and Societies Proclamation (NGO law), has screened out international NGOs which have had human right [...]
Soccer match to test Egypt’s shift from street to parliamentary politics
Egyptian military patrols soccer match (Source: Reuters)
By James M. Dorsey.
Egypt is testing with a partial lifting of a ban on fans attending soccer matches whether the country after 18 months of political volatility, including violent protests [...]
The Arab Revolts: Impact on Central Asia
By James M. Dorsey.
Synopsis:
The rise of Islamist forces in the complicated post-revolt transition in the Middle East and North Africa may have an impact on post-Soviet states in Central Asia, that are still struggling with transition to democracy [...]
Ten States With the Worst STD Problems
By Alton Parrish.
As of 2010 research, gonorrhea is up, chlamydia is diagnosed faster thanks to more accurate screening measures, and syphilis declined after experiencing a brief spike. Delving into the intricate whats and whys behind why [...]
Reinstituting Egypt’s Premier League: A Political Tug of War
Port Said riot: 74 dead (Source: Reuters)
By James M. Dorsey.
Egyptian security authorities, reluctant to lift a seven-month old ban on professional soccer, are considering testing the waters by allowing a limited number of fans to attend [...]
Hollande first 100 days in office
By Sanchia Alasia.
France’s finance minister Pierre Moscovici confirmed this week that the country is on course to cut three per cent of gross domestic product by next year, despite a socialist president being in power for 100 days.
President [...]
Soccer weaves a thread through Syrian rebels and Assad forces
Fawwaz al-Assad’s soccer club: Bashar without the thugs.
By James M. Dorsey.
Soccer, never distant from Middle Eastern politics, weaves its own thread through the brutal battle for the future of Syria, wracked by the Arab world’s most [...]
The Arab Spring Revisited: From Mass Protests to Local Revolts
By James M. Dorsey.
Synopsis
The push for change in the Middle East and North Africa, dominated by the bloody civil war in Syria, has morphed from mass anti-government protests in the capitals into a wave of smaller, political and socio-economic [...]
Power developers deeply frustrated by SA’s regulatory obstacles
By Alwyn Smith.
Regulatory uncertainties are continuing to hamper the development of much-needed private power capacity in South Africa, the head of the South African Independent Power Producers Association said on Tuesday.
In fact, MD Doug [...]
When BBC Coverage of the Earthquake in Iran is Better Than Iranian State TV
By Nima Ch
At least 180 people have died in northwestern Iran because of an Earthquake. Iranian State TV does not report very much about the earthquake. Instead of presenting this disaster, they broadcast Ramadan Prayers and other religious stuff! BBC [...]
New Omnia nitric acid plant registered as CDM project
By Alwyn Smith.
Specialist chemical services provider Omnia said on Monday that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) had registered its new nitric acid complex, in Sasolburg, as a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) [...]
Conflict in Syria: The Regional Fall-out
By James M. Dorsey.
Synopsis
The international community’s inability to end the bloodshed in Syria contributes not only to a hardening of ethnic and sectarian battle lines in that war-torn country, but also to the exacerbation of fault lines [...]
French wealthy planning to flee France’s high taxes
By Marilyn Z. Tomlins
Switzerland has always meant much more to the wealthy of France than small squares of chocolate wrapped in pretty paper. Switzerland was where they banked, illegal as it was, and where they went to live to escape France’s [...]
Egyptian president asserts power in Sinai and on the pitch
By James M. Dorsey
Taking on the military: Sports Minister El-Amry Farouk
Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi is negotiating his working relationship with the country’s powerful military in the battle against armed militants in the Sinai [...]
Afghanistan’s Future: Civil War or Soccer Rivalry?
By James M. Dorsey.
Thousands of young men hope to play in the Premier League.
Soccer symbolizes Afghanistan’s choices coming full circle as U.S. forces prepare to withdraw from the Central Asian nation more than a decade after they invaded [...]