Tatenda Chirusa
The talk for the last few weeks has been about Zimbabwe’s main opposition party the MDC which has been going through some turbulent times. After disagreement over participation in the Senate elections last year, the party into two factions, the Pro-Senate and the Anti-Senate. The Pro-Senate faction (which is the splinter group) just had their own elections and elected an outsider, a former student leader whose views are openly Anti-Senate.
If politics is anything close to rocket science, then the new elected leader of the Pro-Senate faction is the right man, because he actually is a robotics engineer and scientist and worked for NASA among his many accomplishments. There are two stories for this; take your pick or read both!
More political wheeling and dealing
Some opposition leaders were recently arrested in connection to an “arms cache” found by the police in the eastern part of the country. This comes after the main opposition leader went to trial a few years ago on treason charges. So it will be interesting to see how this case shapes up; does the state have a legit case, or is it just intimidation by the police?
Inflation worsens (what else is new)
And just in today, inflation has hit a record high 782% and is on track to hit the 1000% mark predicted by some economists at the beginning of the year. The numbers speak for themselves and the link is below.
And on top of it all, IMF debt looms...
You would think after the news articles above that someone would feel sorry for the poor nation. In actuality, the IMF is continuing its sanctions against Zimbabwe because the country has not paid the debt it owes.
On top of the drought, hunger, high inflation, high unemployment and an economy in the intensive cares, the country has to scrap funds together to pay off the IMF. I’m Zimbabwean so maybe I will always look at this situation differently...but you can check it out for yourself.
Vaibhav Rajpal
Though Yoga's origin is shrouded, evidence links the earliest Yoga tradition back at least 5000 years.
The Indus-Sarasvati civilization also gave birth to the ancient texts known as the Vedas, the oldest scriptures in the world. The Vedas are a collection of hymns that praise a higher power; they contain the oldest recorded Yogic teachings, and are considered a divine revelation. Thus, the wisdom of the Vedas is known as Vedic or Pre-classical Yoga. Vedic Yoga is characterized by ritualistic ceremonies that require Yoga practitioners to transcend the limitations of their original mind.
click here to learn yoga (it may take some practice)
Bush▓s India visit AND India-US nuclear deal
India▓s decision to go nuclear was seen as a strategic move to encounter growing threat from Pakistan & infact India was attacked in 1999 and world over there was serious concern that India or Pakistan might end up using nuclear power.
Being a resident of India, I feel sure that India will not resort to such an alternative. India has had a long history of non-violence, such that India has not invaded another country in last 10,000 years. It is also a country of secular tolerance: Sonia Gandhi (a Catholic born and bought up in Italy) is the leader of the ruling party, Manmohan Singh (a Sikh) is the Prime Minister and Abdul Kalam (a Muslim) is the president in a country where most of the population is Hindu.
The visit by George W. Bush finalized a civil nuclear deal which on some notes is criticized for its timing as the Iran nuclear struggle is going on. The American Ambassador to India, David Mulford, reflects his optimism.
And finally, here is some business news - maybe a bit boring, but do read if you need to manage your pension funds┘
Dominik Mauer
This week's news that German agents handed over sensitive documents detailing Saddam Hussein's defense strategy to the Americans has Berlin in turmoil. And conspiracy theories abound. Is someone trying to tarnish ex-chancellor Gerhard Schrцder's image? Hardly.
Rejecting the Bad: A Muslim Manifesto
"Who are the moderate Muslims, and why do they not speak up?" After being asked theis question over and over again since 9/11, particularly after the Danish cartoon crisis, Muslim intellectuals Akyol and Baran have proposed this Muslim Manifesto.
Pierre Cros
Here is an article about a murder that occured in France two weeks ago. The murderer had escaped in Cote d'Ivoire. But the Ivorian police found him. The article deals with his arrest.
Employment and young adults
This article is about a French protest that occured after a the government wanted to pass a project of law regarding employment of people under 26. The firms could hire them but would also be allowed to fire them within 2 years of work. The article sums up what has been going on these days over this issue.
Marianne Fernandez
Reunion island is facing a health crisis. The culprit: Aedes albopictus, a.k.a. the Asian tiger mosquito, the vector for a painful viral disease that has ravaged the population of the French Overseas Department and dealt a body blow to tourism, the mainstay of its economy.
Reunion island: a paradise near Madagascar
For those of you who were a bit confused with the above article...La Reunion is an overseas department of France located in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar, about 200 km southwest of Mauritius. Like the other DOMs, Reunion is also one of the 26 regions of France with much the same status as those situated on the European mainland.
Ecuadorian Nation against the TLC
Gabriela Cardenas
TLC stands for tratado de libre comercio, or Free trade market. Many different groups in Ecuador oppose the TLC, telling the president that they will do everything to avoid this situation. Even if they have to close the streets and stop working. They say that they will make the president quit if he pretends to sign the TLC.
Susana Gomez
A state of emergency has been declared in three of Ecuador's oil-producing regions after workers began a strike over pay and working conditions.
The strike is the latest dispute to hit Ecuador's oil industry and embattled President Alfredo Palacio. Last month, protesters forced a cut in exports after briefly shutting two pipelines to demand a bigger share of oil revenues. The situation is especially critical since Ecuador's oil production accounts for nearly half of its annual budget.
