World

New Belgium Prime Minister does not know his own national anthem

Belgium has a new Prime Minister since 20 March. He is Yves Camille Désiré Leterme of the Christian Democratic and Flemish party.  The 48-year old is a former Minister-President of Flanders and Flemish Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries. He is a curious choice for a country of two nationalities.

After a decade of slaughter, now an epidemic of sexual violence

By far the world's most devastating recent conflict has been in the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire), where over 5 million people have lost their lives in the last decade.  Although there is now a signed peace agreement between warring government and rebel factions, violent conflict has raged on in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and huge numbers of women and children continue to be targeted for rape and sexual violence.

Afghanistan starved of humanitarian aid and overwhelmed with military hardware

Peace in Afghanistan is being undermined by the failure of Western nations to deliver promised assistance, according to aid agencies working in the country, as reported by Reuters. Afghanistan relies on international aid for 90 percent of its spending as it tries to rebuild state institutions shattered by nearly 30 years of war and at the same time fight off a renewed Taliban insurgency that killed 6,000 people last year. The U.S.

Olympic workers mistreated

Over 700,000 rural Chinese migrants are enduring ‘spartan' living conditions in Beijing according to the intenational agency, Human Rights Watch (HRW). Almost one million Chinese have migrated from rural areas to Beijing to work on thousands of construction projects ahead of this year's Olympic Games. Employers house the workers on-site in dormitory-style dwellings and provide meals for the workers at food canteens in exchange for a daily wage deduction of seven to 10 Yuan (€0.6 to €0.86). The workers earn between 50 and 100 yuan (€4.3 to €8.6) per day.

The exploitation of tribalism for wealth and power

The violence which followed the elections in Kenya on 27 December 2007 has come as a surprise. It shouldn't have. The combination of economic and ethno-political factors in Kenya had created an explosive mix which was just waiting for the right or rather “wrong” circumstances to explode. By Gérard Prunier

Fidel remembered: a view of the Cuban revolution

As his ill-health results in the handing over of power to his younger brother Raul, little is expected to change in Cuba. here richard gott deciphers the cuban revolution, its impact, its meanings and the iconic figure that is Fidel Castro. By Richard Gott

Archive: The legacy of Benazir Bhutto

The former Pakistani Prime Minister, assassinated on 27 December 2007, herself danced with some of the lethal sectarian organisations that populate much of Pakistan. 

By Prakash Kumar

The photodiary below capturing the events that immediately preceded and succeeded the killing of Benazir Bhutto were taken by the Getty Images photo-journalist, John Moore

 

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