Keith Suter’s Global Insights
What on earth is going on?
Breaking World News (1 of 3)
Barack Obama Wins the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize
October 11, 2009 | One of the most surprising announcements this week has been the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Barack Obama. Even the White House seemed surprised when it handled the announcement from Scandinavia. I think that the decision was premature. He may yet turn out to be a worthy recipient but only time will tell. There were certainly other potential awardees and so there was no shortage of candidates. It is not that Obama was such an obvious front runner. The decision has been controversial across the political spectrum. Even the people who supported Obama in 2008 are dubious whether... Full article »
Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 9:48 AM Comment
Controversial Owner at the Melbourne Cup
September 27, 2009 | The Melbourne Cup is the horse race that stops a nation. This year's race will attract even more interest than usual because of one of the horse owners: Chechnyan President Ramzan Kadyrov. Kadyrov has been compared with "Stalin" because of his treatment of political opponents. A person making this comparison, courageous human rights journalist Anna Politkovskaya, was coincidentally shot dead a few weeks later in Moscow. (She risked her life offending powerful interests in Russia). Allegations against him have been filed at the European Court of Human Rights. But he has not been found guilty of any crime. Chechnya is... Full article »
The Death Of South-East Asia's Most Wanted Person
September 20, 2009 | The Indonesian Government has confirmed the death of Noordin Mohamed Top. He was south-east Asia's most wanted person. He was the mastermind behind a string of terrorist attacks. The Government has been cautious about claiming his death because he was suspected of being killed only a few weeks ago - only for the Government to find out that he had eluded the security forces. This time the Government was taking no chances with premature claims. It would have been useful for him to have been captured alive and then interrogated. After all, he had successfully evaded capture or killing for... Full article »
Al-Shabaab Now Designated as a Terrorist Organization in Australia
August 22, 2009 | Al-Shabaab, the Somalian Islamicist group, has been designated as a terrorist organization in Australia. This brings Australia into line with the US's similar designation (February 2008). Five Australian men were arrested in early August and charged with terrorism-related offences. It will be alleged that they had some connection with Al-Shabaab. Al-Shabaab is loosely linked with Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda (in terms of wanting a medieval caliph to run the region, this time the Horn of Africa) and it can also be compared with Afghanistan's Taliban (in that it wants the implementation of strict Koranic law and order). In domestic Somali... Full article »
Corazon Aquino 1933-2009
August 16, 2009 | The world has been mourning the passing of Corazon Aquino, former President of the Philippines (1986-92). She died of cardiac arrest after a long battle with cancer. When the news of her passing came through I recalled the brief and dramatic moment when I met her in February 1986. It was at one of the largest election rallies in world history - millions of people were in the Manila stadium when we arrived. The nun who had been my minder for the day simply took me by the hand and we started to walk through the enthusiastic crowd. The people... Full article »
Robert McNamara 1916-2009
July 7, 2009 | Robert McNamara was one of the most remarkable figures in the US Government in the 1960s. He helped escalate the arms race - and then argued against it. He escalated the US's involvement in the Vietnam War - and then he later admitted it had been a mistake. He was a good example of how some people are often a lot smarter after they leave office than when they are in office. At least he was good enough eventually to admit he was wrong - many politicians go through the rest of their life in a state of denial. McNamara... Full article »
Posted by: Webeditor at 10:46 PM Comment
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Al Qaeda Vows "Dreadful Revenge" on France over Plans to Ban the Burqa
July 3, 2009 | Al Qaeda has vowed "dreadful revenge" on France over suggestions that France may ban the burqa. The burqa is the full-length woman's dress that leaves only a small gap in the facial covering, which is often a mesh net for breathing and seeing where she is going. French MPs have now set up a commission to decide if it should be made illegal for women to hide their faces in public. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has endorsed the move. Al Qaeda's North African network have called on French Muslims to react with "the utmost hostility". They see this as a... Full article »
Unrest In Iran
June 17, 2009 | The opposition forces are continuing their campaign. They feel robbed of a fair election. Iran is now gripped with the biggest internal crisis since the 1979 Revolution, which saw the overthrow of the Shah and the installation of the new type of government Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was first elected president in 2005 and last Friday stood for re-election. The ruling religious elite knew this would be a close election but they expected their candidate to get back in. By late Friday it was clear that he was in great trouble - polling booths were having to stay open late to cater... Full article »
FROMELLES
April 25, 2009 | The Australian Government has announced a new memorial for the July 1916 Battle of Fromelles. This was the first battle Australians fought on the Western Front and it resulted in the largest single number of casualties ever sustained by the Australian Army in a single day Full article »
Guns in the United States
April 24, 2009 | The Columbine massacre took place 10 years ago. It was the worst school shooting in US history. It was not the worst shooting in an educational institution as such because a total of 33 people (including the gunman) were killed at Virginia Tech (a higher education institution facility) in April 2007. Full article »
Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 7:17 PM Comment
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