Authored by Ahmed Chari via The Strategic Culture Foundation,
Qatar has been known for years as a small peninsula nation that punches far above its weight. Its immense oil wealth and enormous influence, through its English- and Arabic-language Al Jazeera channels, have given it diplomatic clout across the Arab world. Its soft power has been felt in negotiations in Darfur, Tripoli, Sanaa and elsewhere. Everywhere it has been either admired or envied.
By Chris at www.CapitalistExploits.at
Most of you know the story of Africa's great jewel.
Zimbabwe, presided over by the charming, charismatic, democratically elected leader Robert Mugabe.
So great is the country that under his leadership it has reached dizzying heights. The highest inflation in Africa, the highest unemployment in Africa, and, of course, the highest rates of poverty, which on the dark continent is really quite something.
Authored by Alice Salles via TheAntiMedia.org,
One of the few elected Democratic lawmakers with an extensive anti-war record, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), has combined forces with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) to push legislation through both the House and the Senate that would bar federal agencies from using taxpayer-backed funds to provide weapons, training, intelligence, or any other type of support to terrorist cells such as al-Qaeda, ISIS, or any other group that is associated with them in any way.
Authored by Darius Shahtahmasebi via TheAntiMedia.org,
Late last week, Saudi Arabia and other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) that are involved in attempting to isolate Qatar sent the tiny Gulf nation a list of 13 demands. They are insisting that Qatar meet these demands within ten days or face unspecified further action.
Instead of instituting a widespread laptop ban on every US-inbound flight, the Trump administration will require nearly 200 airlines (and implicitly almost 300 airports) around the world to meet new heightened security protocols, or be barred from entry.
As The Hill reports, the U.S. is rolling out new aviation security measures for all international flights coming into the country instead of imposing a laptop ban, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Wednesday.