Opinion Poll:
A majority of people in Britain see the Afghan war as impossible to win, according to a new poll taken amid steeply rising casualties and growing government emphasis on finding a political solution to the conflict. More than half of those questioned by pollster ComRes — 52 percent — said British troops should be pulled out of Afghanistan right away, while 43 percent thought they should stay. Fifty-eight percent of respondents viewed the war as un-winnable, while only 31 percent thought it could be won.
The Latest News for the Week (July 26-August 01, 2009):
The ‘War on Terror’ and related issues remained an important news item for this zone. The U.S. continued to debate the implications of shutting down the notorious Guantanamo Bay prison. U.S. District Judge Ellen Huvelle scheduled a hearing of Mohammed Jawad who has been held in the prison for many years, without substantial evidence against him. This issue became very contentious as the judge urged the government to release him, but the government changed the details of the case to prevent that from happening.
On the other hand, countries in the West have decided to further increase their cooperation regarding terrorism and data sharing, leading to privacy advocates to warn that the governments were encroaching on citizens’ privacy. European Union nations unanimously supported expanding the bloc's anti-terror cooperation with the United States to stop the transfer of funds supporting terror groups.
All remaining British troops in Iraq have been relocated to Kuwait because the Iraqi government has yet to extend their right to remain. A mandate allowing UK forces to stay in Iraq expires on 31 July and about 150 personnel have been moved out until an agreement is reached. The mandate has not yet passed its third reading in the Iraqi parliament
The U.S. health-care plan introduced by Obama has been a major issue in the U.S. and has spurred intense debates. Obama claims that his health-care plan will allow millions of uninsured Americans to be included in an effective and cheap manner. Opponents claim that Obama’s health-care plan will burden common Americans unnecessarily, while benefiting illegal immigrants etc. This debate is linked with the debates that continue regarding the state of the U.S. economy, as news reports circulated that the American government claimed that the American economy’s long decline leveled off significantly from April through June. Obama stressed that although there were some optimistic signs of recovery, but the recovery will be a gradual process and innovation and creativity would be the key to this recovery.
The Henry Louis Gates Jr. saga raged on in the U.S. as President Obama invited him together with police Sgt. James Crowley to discuss and talk over the issues between them over drinks and snacks. Some observers praised President Obama’s decision to hold this meeting, and termed it as a ‘teachable moment’ in U.S. racial history, while others critiqued it as ineffective and dismissive about the very real problem of racial profiling in the country.
Another issue that has remained on the radar this week has been the issue of immigration and illegal immigrants. Australia has decided to revise and toughen its immigration policy. Thousands of Indian students in Australia are expected to lose college places as the government cracks down on shady migration practices. Similarly Italy has introduced even tougher anti-immigration reforms, which crack-down heavily on illegal immigrants.
A new development that has caught headlines in different countries is the novel way of communication used by some governments to keep citizens informed i.e. Twitter. The UK government has officially introduced the communication tool of Twitter to its repertoire of communication channels, while the Australian state government of Victoria, introduced Twitter as a means to curb drunk driving.
In South America, the Colombia-Venezuela spat continued to dominate the headlines as Colombia accused Venezuela of supplying weapons and funds to the anti-state rebel FARC forces. Venezuela reacted belligerently and ceased diplomatic relations with Colombia and demanded that Colombia apologize and never repeat such accusations against Venezuela. The Organization of American States (OAS) has been trying to smooth out the tensions and try to bring both sides on the negotiation table, but have been largely unsuccessful till now.
Albanian officials confirmed that Prime Minister Sali Berisha's party has won re-election following a lengthy recount process. The opposition still claimed that the results did not reflect the actual support of their party. Albania also made headlines as the governing Democrats have proposed a law allowing same-sex civil weddings in the small, predominantly Muslim country. This step reflected a growing global trend in recognizing same-sex relationships and rights. Recently, the New Delhi high court ruled that homosexuality was no longer illegal in its jurisdiction. Similarly, Australia's centre-left ruling party on Saturday voted for national recognition of same-sex unions but stopped short of lifting a ban on gay marriage. Thus the issue of same-sex marriage has become a major contentious issue in numerous regions of the world, for instance, Portugal's Constitutional Court upheld the country's ban on gay marriage, rejecting a challenge by two lesbians who are seeking to wed.
Business and Politics in the Muslim World (BPM)refers to the project entitled, "Globalized Business and Politics: A View from the Muslim World.' This project has been undertaken and developed by the Gilani Research Foundation as a free resource and social discussion tool.
No comments:
Post a Comment