Being so involved on both sides of the Atlantic with the economic woes, some of the many and violent political problems, some of which have been there for years and others surprising the world some months ago, seem almost to be ignored. And yet, they are still there, unresolved. Read the rest of this entry »

With all the turmoil in the Middle East and Africa, Israel has not been much on the news lately. All of a sudden we have heard about new developments that bring it back to our attention. First one is the proposal for a Palestinian state that will include all of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. The countries leading this proposal, Germany, Britain and France, would call for an Israeli withdrawal for almost all the territories that were captured in the 1967 Mideast war. Read the rest of this entry »

While the people of Japan continue struggling both emotionally and physically after the three disasters that have hit their country, it is the possibility of a nuclear accident in the Fukushima reactors which is keeping the world focus on that nuclear plant day after day. Read the rest of this entry »

Why everyday we hear a different approach about the no-fly zone over Libya from the U.S. government? We went from wanting to establish one to yesterday’s state department lack of support to today’s volte-face. Read the rest of this entry »

Nothing has changed much about the establishment of a no-fly zone over Libya. While the Arab League has said that the civilians must be protected, Western countries are no near on getting an agreement about what to do to stop Gaddafi bombarding the rebels and the population of the areas where they are. Read the rest of this entry »

The man who was often described as Europe’s last dictator, Alexander Lukashenko, appears to have won again the last elections in Belarus. A former collective farm boss, he has ruled his country since he first was elected in 1994, in great part thanks to Russia’s economic and political help. Read the rest of this entry »

The NATO summit in Lisbon is finished. After the dismal results of the G20 in Seoul, the leaders attending Lisbon have gone home relieved that things went better this time. Among the measures and reforms planned, the transatlantic leaders were supposed to agree upon a Strategic Concept that will guide the alliance for the next ten years. Read the rest of this entry »