Stung by his complete failure to muster the parliamentary support needed to join in a Saudi-led intervention in Yemen’s civil war, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is now counting the costs of his $1.5 billion folly.
The recent university terror attack at Garissa on 2 April 2015 marked the highest number of deaths in one single terror attack in the history of Kenya. Surpassing the 67-recorded deaths in the Westgate attack on 21 September 2013, the 148 lives lost in Garissa went into records as the most horrible of all al shabaab attacks on Kenyan grounds.
Looking at it from my perspective, I see that in a slow but sure pace, the criminal masterminds of terror in Kenya are fastening their grip on our land and making great success strides each day.
Those who seek reconciliation with Japan’s neighbours and those who would rather paint a picture of a glorious wartime past still tears at Japan. These differences in attitude are never more apparent than between the increasingly nationalistic Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leadership and the liberal Imperial family.
On 21 January 2015, the Japanese government received a threat from the Islamic State (IS) that it would behead two Japanese hostages unless Japan paid a US$200 million ransom. The message from IS pointed to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s announcement that Japan would offer US$200 million in assistance to states countering IS as part of a US$2.5 billion assistance package for Middle Eastern states. How will the hostage crisis impact Japanese foreign policy, and especially Japan’s use of the Self-Defense Forces (SDF)?
For decades, and especially since 11 September 2001, many academics, policymakers and activists have struggled against what they consider unacceptable attacks on Muslims and Islam itself. Over a decade before President Obama used the same words, President Bush said of the War on Terror, ‘Ours is…not a war against Islam’.
South Asia is home to a growing youth population and widely considered to benefit from the “demographic dividend” in the coming decades. The United Nations Population Fund’s State of World Population 2014 report The Power of 1.8 Billion: Adolescents, Youth and the Transformation of the Future therefore call for increased investment in youths and adolescents.
Schooling versus learning
High levels of immigration are often justified by the positive effect on economic growth, but there are powerful environmental and economic arguments for limiting the numbers.
Smarting from sanctions leveled by the US and other western nations after its actions in Crimea and the Ukraine, Russia has begun trying to woo Latin and South American nations into more favorable trade arrangements. But, what will the Russians be trying to buy and sell in these nations, and what impact might this have on US economic and security interests?
Investors are nervous as Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations commence air strikes in Yemen to combat Houthi rebels. Many fear the battle could affect crude supplies going forward.
The US dollar is broadly lower, with the escalation of the conflict in Yemen dragging it down, as are month and quarter-end position adjustments and the ongoing technical correction following last week’s FOMC meeting. The euro, yen and Canadian dollar are at new highs for the week. The sharp rally in oil prices is helping spur the short squeeze in the Canadian dollar, and appears to be lifting the Norwegian krone as well. Oil prices are up 4-5%, on supply disruption worries, but also in recognition that this is part of a bigger conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran.&n
