Who are Somalia's al-Shabab?

This is not really an article, its a question-answer based article which describes Somalia's militant Islamist group al-Shabab. This Islamist group is appearing nowadays on the world news while people are uncertain of who they really are or who they support. I believe its important to know all aspects on the news to get a clear picture of what is really going on around us.

Al-Shabab "the youth" (arabic) is a military group that emerged in Somalia back in 2006 to fight the Ethiopian troupes that entered Africa's Horn to back the previous government. Ahmed Abdi Godane is the head of the group. It joined Al-Qaeda last february "to fight the Christian minority which still leads in the nation". The al-Shabab controls the center and most of the south, including Kismayo, second most important city after Mogadishu, the capital. Kismayo, a port city allows in ships with supplies, especially from Eritrea, al-Shababs only regional ally. This group is also related to the famous pirates which make up for economic gains and create terror to nearby foreigners.

In addition, al-Shabab is loosing effectives since they have denied the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and several Western agencies from distributing aid in areas under its control, causing tens of thousands of people to emigrate to nearby areas. Al-Shabab has appeared in the news nowadays for its bombings in Kampala's, Uganda's capital city and because of Kenya's action to fight this group.

In my opinion, it is important that we have a knowledge on the different groups that exist overseas in order to be able to comprehend what happens around us. I also believe there is something to be done with these terrorist groups, we can't have military groups govern a nation with these forms of governments. We can't allow these kind of groups to be leaders, we shall try to end with these.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15336689

Australia says it will open combat roles to women

In these past days, Australia’s government has decided to let women serve in all front-line combat roles. Special Forces, infantry and some artillery roles are now open to women, which made big scandals all over the world, since only Canada, Israel, New Zealand and Australia are the only developed countries with no restrictions on women serving in military forces.

In my opinion, as the Defense Minister Stephen Smith said, “In the future, your role in the defense force will be determined on your ability, not on the basis of your sex”. I think it is too important to know that any job can be done by anyone, it only depends on the ability and how you do it, not on your sex. It is not fair not giving a job to someone just because his or her sex, since we know that human are equal.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/28/world/asia/australia-will-allow-women-to-serve-in-frontline-combat.html?_r=&ref=australia

Countless Grievances, One Thread: We’re Angry

In Phoenix there’s also been a protest against people dying in foreighn wars. They call it the Phoenix’s version of Occupy Wall Street. Not only in Phoenix or the capital, but also in other places throughout the USA and the world, people have gone on the streets to protest against the Occupy movement. The protest is not only against the occupation, but also against national issues like education and the local environment. They all have the same cause and feeling: anger. Unfortunately, the protest was not always peaceful. In Chicago for example, 175 people have been arrested for violations.

I always support people who protest for justice, but still I’m quite skeptical about it. I often wonder if it has a use. Do politicians really listen to people who get out on the street to come up for their rights? In most cases, I don’t think so. I think it is more a way for people to get lost of their frustrations and anger, but in the end few changes. Still, it is quite admiring that so many people around the world get out to protest, and not only citizens of the USA.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/18/us/the-occupy-movements-common-thread-is-anger.html?ref=us

Taser used on 11 year old

A police officer used a teaser to take down an 11 year old boy armed with a pen.

Supposedly the boy had stabbed another person with what the police thought was a knife, he then fled into an empty building. Negotiation with the boy failed due to the fact that he had hearing problems and did not have his hearing aid during the incident, and police decided to use the Teaser when he came out again. Once he was tased the boy was taken to the hospital for observation and was released the next day. The man that was stabbed did not have life-threating injuries since he was barely hurt with the pen. Later on it was declared that the boy could not be judged because of being under 12 years old.

In my opinion this shows how crazy the world is going lately. It seems unmoral to use a weapon against an eleven year old boy, and it is even more unmoral to know that the boy had been drinking wine and had had previous violence issues. The education system seems to be failing along with morality and nobody is doing anything to solve this.

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2011/10/17/bc-boy-taser-investigation-report.html

International negotiators urge Eta to lay down weapons

International negotiators urge Eta to lay down its weapons, ending with 40 years of continuous violence. Eta is listed as a terrorist group by Spain, the European Union and the United States.The 17th of October a conference took place in the north of Spain, San Sebastian, to deal with the end of the terrorism by Eta. But in the conference neither the Spanish government nor Eta was officially represented, but there were members of the EU and United Nations.

Eta has always been seen as a terrorist group by the Spanish government because they have killed 800 people since the 70s. Therefore actual governments and International Organizations "are fighting" for the ceasefire of this terrorist group as soon as possible. Patxi Lopez, the Socialist leader of the Basque regional parliament, urged Eta and its supporters to "to take advantage of this opportunity, to truly take advantage to put a final end to it".

The Spanish government maintains that they will not negotiate at all with Eta while they hold arms and belief that Eta ceasefire is closer than other times.

I think that this conferences are very helpful for Spain to fight against the terrorism because it is an actual problem for the spanish society. There have been many negotiations among the years to try to finish with this terrorist group but they have never been successful. Foreign support from International Organizations, The European Union and The United Nations hopefully will help somehow to the definitive ceasefire.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15330766

India's economy: Not just rubies and polyester shirts

This article is comparing China and India’s economy. Taking into account different data, it shows how India has recently being developing its economy not only in terms of quantity but also in quality and what is more, moving from products such as jewels to products related to engineering and petrochemical industries. Also the market where India sells its products in America and Europe has increased a lot. Despite the fact that China still sells five times more than India, the latter is improving in so many different areas that the former should be concerned with this situation.

This is a widely maintained topic that makes the world be alert to the situation. Regarding economy, China has always been superior compared to India; however, this might change some day. Probably not in terms of quantity, because still there is a huge gap that India should overcome to reach China, but it is possible in terms of the quality of economy. Also it is important to know, that when it comes to exporting products and markets, India has a interesting advantage which is the language, since most of the enterprises have no problems in communicating in English making trade easier for every country.

Source: The Economist; http://www.economist.com/node/21531527

The Reduction of Military Offensive by Libyan Rebels

Libyan rebels have reduced the intensity of Saturday's military offensive on the bastion of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, in the city of Sirte, in northern Libya; whilst also continuing their progress in taking control of the northwesterly sector of Beni Walid, the second outpost of Gaddafi´s regime. Sources close to the Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC) have stated that the rebel fighters have slowed down their offensive on Sirte in order to allow the civilians in Gaddafi´s hometown, who have been caught in the cross-fire, a safe passage out of the city. The same source also said that the 400 pro-Gaddafi soldiers, who are still settled in Sirte, remain in possession of heavy weapons, snipers and rockets.

It is a much needed consideration on the part of the rebels to allow the civilians, innocent members of Libyan society not necessarily fighting on one side or the other, to leave their homes and to get away from the line of battle. A much more pragmatic and less violent option, although eveidently wars are not about being as such, is for the rebels to call a ceasefire and allow the pro-Gaddafi supporters to withdraw from the town peacefully, abandon the cause and give up their arms, thus avoiding the need for innocent citizens to be expelled from the homes, businneses and livelihoods for the sake of capturing or killing a few more pro-Gaddafi supporters.

The ceasefire by the rebels should involve the withdrawal of the pro-Gaddafi soldiers, who should abandon the cause and stop using force.

Chile commemorates anniversary of mine rescue of “Los 33”

    A year ago from Thursday, the final miner of 33 attained the surface, rescued after 70 days inside San José mine in Chile’s northern Copiapó region. Indeed, on August 5, 2010, 33 miners who would, from then on, be known as “Los 33” had been trapped 700 meters underground after a collapse in the mine where they were working. Contact was not made until 17 days after the accident but the 33 managed to survive.

The anniversary was commemorated on Thursday with the release of a documentary about the rescue, a mass and celebrations and exhibits around the country, those last ones lead by the First Lady and several ministers.

In order to remember the accident and the consequent rescue, a documentary called “Los 33” has been released; showing never-before-seen footage of the process and the producer of the movie “Back swan” has already bought the rights to the miners’ story, though the screenplay has not yet been written. Besides, three major exhibits on the rescue in Chile have been opened in different museums around the country. The Natural History Museum in Washington DC also opened the first official exhibit on the rescue “Against all odds: Rescue at the Chilean Mine” with some 20 original objects; a total of 300,000 visitors have already come to see it and it will remain open until 2012.

I think those are great ideas to commemorate the event and make people remember for a very long time. This should be a starting point to have better work conditions and try to avoid those situations. It was a very important issue for Chile and it must not be forgotten, so if you go to Washington DC some time before its closing, I encourage you all to visit the museum and the exhibit of the rescue, which seems to be very interesting!

http://www.santiagotimes.cl/chile/other/22668-chile-commemorates-anniversary-of-mine-rescue-of-los-33

Article by Anna Pope for The Santiago Times

Abortion in 'extreme cases' should be legal, says Morocco minister

The social and family development minister of Morocco spoke on Saturday about the government's intention to change the laws regarding abortion. Despite being illegal in the country, it is estimated that up to a thousand clandestine abortions take place in Morocco every day, many of them without proper medical precautions.  The minister stated that abortion would be legalized only in cases of incest, rape or seriously malformed fetus, and that this change in the legislation would be made in order to prevent women with dramatic pregnancy circumstances from putting their lives at risk by aborting illegally.     

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Even though abortion is always a sensible topic, it should never be considered taboo. In my opinion, and keeping in mind everything that the article talks about, the changes that the government of Morocco wants to implement as regards to abortion are pretty sensible and positive ones. Legal abortion only in extreme cases -when the negative physical and mental consequences of pregnancy result from factors that are out of the woman's control- is a right that should be included in every modern country's legislation, because it gives many women the possibility to choose over their own lives and to have a better future without having to go against the law or to even risk their health. Unfortunately this right is sometimes misinterpreted by both conservatives and liberals; the former saying that -no matter what the circumstances are- abortion is murder, the latter seeing abortion as freedom to  regret when it is too late -totally disregarding its consequences.

Source: http://moroccoworldnews.com/2011/10/abortion-in-‘extreme-cases’-should-be-legal-says-morocco-minister-2/

Bangladesh unveils 130 'Doel' laptops

Last week at Dhaka, Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hashina announced the launch of 'Doel', the first laptop built in the country. According to officials, it is one of the cheapest in the world as its most basic model has a total cost of only 10,000 taka ($130). The goal is that every village in Bangladesh will be able to buy one in order to progressively achieve benefits. However, this is only the first step towards one of the most ambitious plans ever conducted by the Bangladeshi government, which by 2021 expects that all of Bangladesh will be "digitally connected". Nonetheless, this plan has been criticized because of the lack of internet connection in Bangladesh today.

On one hand, I think this plan, if successful, could bring Bangladesh closer to progress. On the other hand, there are other more relevant issues that Bangladesh should focus on, some of which include a) high unemployment rate, b) corruption, c) people living in poverty, d) low wages, etc. All of these make it quite difficult for most of the Bangladeshi to acquire a computer, and even if they were able to purchase one, the internet infrastructure in the country does not work properly. I personally believe that the government should focus on the problems already mentioned which are more relevant to the people’s quality of life rather than giving more importance to technological advances.

Source:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-15261076

BlackBerry's message goes missing

"Some users in EMEA are experiencing issues. We're investigating, and we apologize for any inconvenience." That was the explanation that BlackBerry gave to its clients after 6 hours of no service. Last Monday (10^th October) Europe, Africa and Middle East lost their internet service and when the people tried to call their cell phone networks for explanation they were directed back to RIM, the company that provides the phones with the internet.

The problem started in London, when one of the switches that sends the information accidentally broke. On Tuesday the problem seemed to be solved, but at 3pm it was back. It spread to Canada and two hours later USA users were suffering the same problems too. The issue lasted three days, and fortunately on Thursday it was completely fixed.

As a BlackBerry user I have to accept that I was kind of upset with RIM, but I also realized during those 3 days how much attached to those devices we are. The world was almost paralyzed and everybody was complaining about the “disaster”. The problem lasted 3 days, and a lot of companies lost not only money but a lot of time since the Blackberry is one of their main instruments, so I can also understand the caliber of the issue, but as I have already said, it is sad that nowadays we cannot live without those types of communication.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-15270955

Ukraine ex- PM Yulia Tymoshenko jailed over gas deal

The Former Prime Minister of Ukraine, Yulia Timoshenko

The Former Ukrainian Prime Minister, Yulia Tymoshenko has been sentenced for seven years in prison. She was imprisoned for acting beyond her powers when she signed natural-gas contracts with Russia in 2009. As a result of those negotiations of high price for Russian natural gas, she inflicted damages on the Ukrainian state gas company, Naftogaz, as well as on the Ukrainian economy.

From my point of view, this case is politically motivated. I think there are two main political motives. First one is to get rid of an opposition leader, Yulia Tymoshenko, who played an important role during the Orange Revolution. And the second motive is to modify the negotiations of 2009, in order to low the price of Russian gas sold to Ukraine. There is no doubt that the ex-prime minister of Ukraine exceeded her authority and made an individual decision which has been harmful to the country. But, do you think that because of this fact she must be in prison for seven years? Anyway, in my opinion, it is clear that the Ukrainian government is trying to do the same thing as Bulgaria had done previously. The Ukrainian government is trying to modify the negotiations of Russian natural gas. I have chosen this article because there are many european countries which depend on the Russian natural gas, so it is important to know about this issue which plays such crucial role in the IR.

Source:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15250742

Venezuela and Russia Sign Bilateral Accords Worth $8 Billion

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin (Reuters)


The governments of Venezuela and Russia signed bilateral accords worth $8 billion US dollars last week, in the areas of development, technical-military cooperation, energy, and agriculture. The accords were signed at a meeting in Caracas between Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and Russian deputy prime minister Igor Sechin, who headed the Russian delegation to Venezuela. Of those $8 billion, 4 will be devoted to military cooperation and arms sales.

This news simply confirms the good health of the friendly relationship between Russia and Venezuela, two countries that share many common interests, like control over energy sources and opposition to U.S. cultural and military hegemony. The agreement includes financial aid to housing, agricultural and intercultural programs, but it is important to remark that half of those $8 billion will be used to finance the purchase of new military armaments by Venezuela, a country that has not been exactly Washington’s best friend since Hugo Chávez came to power. In fact, the U.S. has voiced concerns over Venezuelan purchases of arms from Russia, with a state department spokesperson questioning “the need for Venezuela to have such a robust defence system”. I have chosen this news because I think it is important for us to know about this kind of international alliances, which challenge American hegemony and show different national interests. With this agreement, for instance, Venezuela shows its desire for modern armament and its need of “protection,” while it proves Russia’s intention of having another friendly country in the Americas besides Cuba.

Source: http://venezuelanalysis.com/news/6545

Cluster bombs : Lebanon conference aims for eradication

On September 13 of this year, officers from 100 countries gathered in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, to attend a conference on cluster munitions. Cluster munitions are a great danger because many of the bombs fail to explode and they can kill civilians and even children. Lebanon suffered attacks by Israel in 2006 and currently hundreds of thousands of cluster munitions are unexploded. What constitutes a serious threat to the Lebanese population. Hence the effort by many countries to eradicate this weapon. But Lebanon is not the only country with this problem, so do Iraq and Libya. As expected, countries with the world’s cluster munitions did not sign the treaty. These countries are China, Israel, Russia and the United States.

I think this is a serious problem that should not go unnoticed. How can a country live with the uncertainty of not knowing whether a cluster bomb is going to explode? It seems unbelievable to me the fact that the United States, China, Russia and Lebanon refuse to sign the treaty. And China, Russia and the U.S. are those who have the right to veto?Those who are supposed to set an example to the world and in the meantime let people live in danger with the fear that their children may die? This type of article once again shows me that the States are guided only by pure interest because if they were moved by humanitarian concerns this problem would not even be discussed. Unfortunately, without the support of countries with veto power, they do not have too much to do.

A new era between Colombia and the U.S relations

This past 12^th of October, the Ambassador of Colombia Gabriel Silva signed the FTA (Free Trade Agreement) with the President of the United States, Barack Obama. It has been a historical day and a new era for the relations between the two countries. For Colombia, the approval of the agreement means a total progress in their social, economic and political status in the world as well as a tremendous recognition of the efforts that they have been making to progress and to try to put an end to the drug cartels, the guerrillas and the insecurity of the country in general. Even though the relations will most probably improve, both presidents have been negotiating and discussing, since last September, a new agenda to deal with the problems mentioned before as well as other future issues that Colombia still needs to address like energy, sustainable growth, education and economic development.

In my opinion, the approval of the Free Trade Agreement has and will be very positive for Colombia and its insertion in the world. After many years of negotiations and efforts to end up with some of the multiple problems that Colombia has had in the past years, this agreement is a very good opportunity for the country and its people to have a permanent access to one of the most important economies in the world. The FTA will bring more employment reducing poverty, more exportation and more investment for industry, infrastructures etc. It is one step closer to become a more powerful country and a more stable democracy in the world. I also think the FTA will make Colombians work harder to maintain their new position and will possibly be a model for its neighbor Latin countries.

Source :http://www.colombiaemb.org/english/news-center-mainmenu-185/1119-colombia-applauds-fta-approval-calls-todays-vote-the-beginning-of-a-new-era-in-us-colombia-relations

China calls on Syria's Assad to speed up reforms

China is giving a last call to Bashar al-Assad, the person in charge of the actual Syrian presidency. The Chinese country is losing its patiente with Syria, since in their opinion it is urgent to speed up reforms and stop the conflict. Foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said China did not "want to see more bloodshed, conflict and casualties".

Russia supports this idea as well and it has made a similiar appeal, asking Mister Assad for either implement reforms or go.

Both countries, China and Russia, have irritiated the West after using their veto at the UN Security Council resolution made last week condemning Syria for the campaign against protesters. After this, and other situations in which vetoes have been used, the European have proposed the idea of avoiding them.

After reading this article, two questions have come to my head: first of all, is China qualified of asking another country to stop the massacres that are taking place when it is one of the countries that probably violates most human rights? In my opinion, before asking other states to do anything, China should examine and look through its own agenda.

The second idea that has come to my mind after the reading is about the UN veto debate. Should it be avoided? abolished? is it fair to be handled by states that won a war some decades ago?

Syria probably needs to take into consideration these ''advices'', but it is not the only country that needs some reflection : before getting into international conflicts and urgent matter of this field, the inner problems are as well important.

Unfortunately, we live in a world full of hypocresy.

Independent State of Samoa

Anti-dumping Laws

Samoa has enacted anti-dumping laws in order to both protect the local products and to strengthen the policies required by the WTO in order to be a member of it. There was already a tariff to control imports, but it is not enough nowadays, when goods flow all over the world freely. This is especially important for a country like Samoa, said the Trade Minister, because the island’s agricultural goods cannot compete with the price of products coming from Latin America. Contrary to what many people might think, imposing tariffs on imports does not go against the WTO commitments of free trade, because dumpling is illegal and it is not fair for weaker countries engaging in free trade.

Samoa’s economy is based on agriculture, but the price of these products is not as competitive as the ones imported from South America. I understand that the Government has decided to impose a trade barrier to control dumping. It is important for a developing economy like the Samoan to be able to sell its products in its market without having too much competitiveness from outsiders. At the same time, free trade promotes the growth of wealth because more money flows into the economy as a result of imports. Therefore, I think that it is good to have anti-dumping laws to prevent unfair competition, but tariffs cannot be excessively high, or other countries might think that it is too expensive to trade with Samoa.