Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Thursday 23 August 2012

Eurasia Review: News & Analysis

Link to Eurasia Review


Posted: 22 Aug 2012 11:20 PM PDT
Rating agency Standard & Poor’s says a Spanish request for a bailout to help it through the eurozone’s sovereign debt crisis probably would not harm the country’s credit rating, AP reports. Spain is reeling from the collapse of a property boom that forced it to request up to €100 billion in financial aid for its [...]

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Posted: 22 Aug 2012 11:17 PM PDT
By Abdul Rahman Al-Rashid An article recently published on the “Al-Manar” website, a key Hezbollah media organ, explored the situation in Syria and examined possible scenarios in a country hit by war. Like the rest of the supporters of the Assad regime, followers of Hezbollah have their own political terms. Here the regime is described [...]

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Posted: 22 Aug 2012 11:14 PM PDT
Prominent Muslim organizations and individuals have welcomed Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah’s call to establish a center in Riyadh to promote dialogue between various religious sects and said the move would strengthen Muslim unity. Several leaders and intellectuals across the world have applauded the king’s proposal, which he made while inaugurating the [...]

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Posted: 22 Aug 2012 11:12 PM PDT
By Nina Shea Today’s New York Times and Washington Post shed rare light on the latest gross injustices that result from Pakistan’s blasphemy law. They report on yesterday’s arrest of Rimsha Masih, an 11- or 12-year-old Christian girl, who, according to some accounts, suffers from Down’s syndrome. Rimsha has been jailed for allegedly burning pages [...]

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Posted: 22 Aug 2012 11:08 PM PDT
By James Phillips Egypt is preparing a military offensive against Islamist militants in the Sinai who have launched a series of terrorist attacks against Egyptian border guards in an effort to weaken the central government and provoke a war with Israel. This campaign is expected to include armored forces and air strikes in the first [...]

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Posted: 22 Aug 2012 11:05 PM PDT
By Lawrence Husick At one time in the recent past, leaders in developing countries and in international organizations decried the “brain drain” that led the best and brightest in what we used to call the “third world” to emigrate to the West to take advantage of superior educational and employment opportunities. The United States was [...]

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Posted: 22 Aug 2012 10:57 PM PDT
By Shubhra Chaturvedi The sudden re-emergence of a hue and cry (http://bit.ly/O3FwOM) in the Sri Lankan media regarding radiation emitted by the India nuclear plant at Kudankulam could not capture much attention around the world. The news however did raise certain issues especially in view of the incidents of tritium leakage in India. Do these [...]

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Posted: 22 Aug 2012 10:51 PM PDT
(EIA) — Between August 6 and August 13, the price of retail regular grade gasoline on the West Coast (PADD 5) increased 19 cents per gallon, well above the 8-cent-per-gallon increase for the United States as a whole. While rising global crude oil prices have pushed gasoline prices higher nationwide, an August 6 fire at [...]

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Posted: 22 Aug 2012 10:47 PM PDT
By Melkam Lidet ‘Out of sight out of mind’ is a common saying in different languages– the further away one is from something or the longer time one has spent away from it, the less relevant it becomes. After days of traveling with friends to the north of Israel – Haifa, Akko, the Galilee and [...]

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Posted: 22 Aug 2012 10:43 PM PDT
David Brooks in the New York Times commits the standard error of pundits who want to appear neutral but know the Romney-Ryan plan would be a disaster for America. He asserts that Ryan makes a serious effort at entitlement reform. “If you believe entitlement reform is essential for national solvency, then Romney-Ryan is the only [...]

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Posted: 22 Aug 2012 10:41 PM PDT
The push to disarm Americans has been around a long time. An estimated ninety million Americans own guns legally and in states that permit concealed carry the crime rate drops precipitously by comparison with others that do everything they can to make the purchase and carry of firearms difficult. Gun ownership in America is the [...]

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Posted: 22 Aug 2012 10:39 PM PDT
(EIA) — Like most of its neighbors, Oman is dependent upon its oil sector for the majority of its export revenues and government spending. Oman possesses the largest oil reserves of any non-OPEC country in the Middle East and significant reserves of natural gas, of which it is a leading exporter regionally. While crude oil [...]

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Posted: 22 Aug 2012 10:31 PM PDT
By J Jeganaathan The US recently appointed James Cunningham and Richard Olson as ambassadors to Afghanistan and Pakistan respectively. Speculations are now rife about how are they going to shape the US end-game in the Af-Pak region. The appointments occurred in the final phase of the US war in Afghanistan, codenamed ‘operation Enduring Freedom’. Predictably, [...]

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Posted: 22 Aug 2012 10:28 PM PDT
By Dr. Anthony Rusonik The August 5th ambush of 16 Egyptian troops in Sinai may prove to be a litmus test for Egypt’s new President Mohammed Morsi.CC Jonathan Rashad Fresh from his June election victory, President Morsi has enjoyed an unexpected honeymoon in which Egypt has earned a reprieve from the social and economic malaise [...]

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Posted: 22 Aug 2012 10:25 PM PDT
By Richard Johnson Rapidly escalating demands for limited water and land from all sectors of the economy call for urgent solutions. This is what over 2500 political and business leaders as well as representatives of 200 international organisations will strive for at the World Water Week in Stockholm, August 26-3, 2012. In more than 100 [...]

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Posted: 22 Aug 2012 10:22 PM PDT
The way Arup Patnaik, the Commissioner of Police of Mumbai, handled a Muslim mob that went on a rampage at the Azad Maidan in Mumbai on August 11,2012, has come in for mixed comments. The mob had been demonstrating against the recent anti-Muslim violence in the Rakhine State of Myanmar and India’s Assam State. Some, [...]

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Posted: 22 Aug 2012 10:20 PM PDT
By Kamran Chaudry A minority rights activist said Wednesday there was growing support for the release of a young Christian girl arrested last week on charges of blasphemy and that he would seek approval to represent her in court. “Support from government officials is overwhelmingly strong. Top clerics in the country are condemning the injustice [...]

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Posted: 22 Aug 2012 10:17 PM PDT
Dengue fever, transmitted by the Aedes mosquito, affects hundreds of millions of people in around one hundred tropical countries and causes 25 000 deaths per year. In the absence of a vaccine, determining the factors that influence epidemics to predict them better is a real public health challenge. One scientific study, conducted in New Caledonia, [...]

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Posted: 22 Aug 2012 10:13 PM PDT
Carnegie scientists are the first to discover the conditions under which nickel oxide can turn into an electricity-conducting metal. Nickel oxide is one of the first compounds to be studied for its electronic properties, but until now scientists have not been able to induce a metallic state. The compound becomes metallic at enormous pressures of [...]

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Posted: 22 Aug 2012 10:12 PM PDT
By Aryaman Bhatnagar India and Iran have contributed substantially to the development of Afghanistan post-2001 and have committed to further increase their involvement in the country in the future. Both countries have also collaborated with each other on a number of critical projects. What accounts for the cooperation between the two countries in Afghanistan? What [...]

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Posted: 22 Aug 2012 10:09 PM PDT
By A. K. Verma The events of August 11, 2012, when a call by Raza Academy of Mumbai for a protest against perceived mistreatment of Muslims in the far away Bodo territory of Assam, led to rioting in which thousands participated, necessitating police firing and death of two and injuries to many more including police [...]

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Posted: 22 Aug 2012 10:07 PM PDT
By Trevor Grundy Conservative Scottish Christians are calling for a boycott of a talk by well-known atheist Richard Dawkins, scheduled for a book festival in late October that explores belief. The Faclan Hebridean Book Festival will be held at Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis off the northwest coast of Scotland from 30 October to [...]

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Posted: 22 Aug 2012 10:04 PM PDT
Tempted to get a tattoo? Today, people from all walks of life have tattoos, which might lead you to believe that tattoos are completely safe. But there are health risks that can result in the need for medical care. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is particularly concerned about a family of bacteria called nontuberculous [...]

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Posted: 22 Aug 2012 09:46 PM PDT
The disproportionate focus on human rights from a negative perspective has sadly resulted in detraction from understanding the role that human rights can in fact play in a post-war setting such as ours. The time is ripe for human rights to be approached positively, recognizing its value and ability to contribute to the process of [...]

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Posted: 22 Aug 2012 09:39 PM PDT
North Korea put on a good show at the London 2012 Summer Olympics, finishing 20th in the overall medal tally and breaking a world record in the process. What does participation in the world’s foremost international sporting event mean for the Hermit Kingdom? By Ong Suan Ee The 2012 London Olympics have proved to be [...]

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Posted: 22 Aug 2012 09:33 PM PDT
(RFE/RL) — The French government has revealed measures to ease Roma integration. France has faced strong international criticism for years for its expulsions and police raids on makeshift Roma camps. Many of the Roma immigrants seeking jobs in France come from Romania and Bulgaria, both newcomers to the European Union. The government said it will [...]

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Posted: 22 Aug 2012 09:31 PM PDT
By Fatmir Aliu and Marija Ristic Meeting for the first time together at the UN, Prime Ministers Hashim Thaci and Ivica Dacic traded accusations – though both sides did pledge to continue EU-led talks. Serbia and Kosovo leaders, meeting at the United Nations, pledged to honour the agreements they have reached under EU auspices – [...]

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Posted: 22 Aug 2012 09:29 PM PDT
By Stephen Lendman Never bet against Washington’s imperial plans. New tactics follow failed ones. Efforts to oust Bashar- al-Assad continue. Proxy killers can’t do it alone. They’re no match against Syria’s superior military strength. It’s committed to rout them. Expect NATO intervention anytime or perhaps post-US November elections. Libya 2.0 looks increasingly likely. What better [...]

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Posted: 22 Aug 2012 09:27 PM PDT
By Kathy Kelly At Maryhouse Catholic Worker, in New York City, word arrived, on a hot August day that, due to street construction, the water would be cut off for four hours the following day. The Catholic Worker community serves scores of guests each day, and the water shortage would have to be dealt with [...]

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Posted: 22 Aug 2012 09:22 PM PDT
By Jemal Oumar France, Britain, Spain and Italy are forming a specialised combat force to rapidly intervene in Sahel countries to hunt down leaders of al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups, according to a new report. Algeria’s El Khabar reported August 16th that the 2,000-man force, under preparation for months, includes “more than 800 personnel from [...]

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