EAST ASIA
Political Front: Philippines Presidential elections are due to be held in May 2010.
Thousands of people in Thailand have launched a rally against allegedly anti-monarch remarks recently made by Thaksin in an interview with ‘British Times’.
Social Front:Indonesia and Malaysia intend to establish a joint task force in order to handle troubled Indonesian workers working in Malaysia. Meanwhile health experts have reported five million patients of Aids in Indonesia.
Economic Front: Indonesia and Pakistan have made plans to boost their economic ties via trade. Also The Asian Development Bank continues to provide financial assistance to Indonesia for economic reforms.
Malaysia expects substantive increase in its GDP by 2012. Meanwhile the Thai PM has declared political challenges, rising inflation and environmental issues to be the major obstacles in the way of economic reforms.
CENTRAL ASIA
Political Front: Kazakh Upper house of Parliament has approved a bill introducing tougher punishment for invasion of privacy in a move condemned by the opposition as an attack on press freedom. Meanwhile the new representative of the Kyrgyz PM to the parliament has recently been named.
Geo-strategic Front: In Azerbaijan a Baku court sentenced two bloggers on Nov. 11th, Hajizada to 2 years and Milli to 2 1/2 years in prison on hooliganism charges for an altercation at a restaurant on July 8th. The Azeri government has also blamed Germany and Norway over their interference in the case which is widely being condemned as politically motivated.
Meanwhile the Azeri President has accused Armenia of delaying efforts to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Azeri Parliamentarians have also requested NATO to implement UN resolutions on the disputed region.
The Tajik President recently attended inauguration of Hamid Karzai in Kabul. Also the US Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs recently paid a visit to Uzbekistan.
Social Front: OSCE has launched implementation of Civic Action for Security and Environment Programme in Azerbaijan. Meanwhile the imprisoned director of the Kazakh Bureau for Human Rights has been denied access to his lawyer; rising rage of human rights activists. The growing number of Kazakh students in the US has also grabbed attention.
Kyrgyzstan's dominant, pro-presidential Ak-Jol (Bright Path) party has approved a provision that would require its diplomats to understand the Kyrgyz language. Meanwhile Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged the government of Kyrgyzstan to release two human rights activists.
Economic Front: Azerbaijan seems keen for the Nabucco pipeline project that would connect it with Germany across Europe. Russia has also welcomed Azerbaijan’s participation in South Stream projects. Meanwhile talks about US-Azeri energy cooperation have started.
Political Front: Philippines Presidential elections are due to be held in May 2010.
Thousands of people in Thailand have launched a rally against allegedly anti-monarch remarks recently made by Thaksin in an interview with ‘British Times’.
Social Front:Indonesia and Malaysia intend to establish a joint task force in order to handle troubled Indonesian workers working in Malaysia. Meanwhile health experts have reported five million patients of Aids in Indonesia.
Economic Front: Indonesia and Pakistan have made plans to boost their economic ties via trade. Also The Asian Development Bank continues to provide financial assistance to Indonesia for economic reforms.
Malaysia expects substantive increase in its GDP by 2012. Meanwhile the Thai PM has declared political challenges, rising inflation and environmental issues to be the major obstacles in the way of economic reforms.
CENTRAL ASIA
Political Front: Kazakh Upper house of Parliament has approved a bill introducing tougher punishment for invasion of privacy in a move condemned by the opposition as an attack on press freedom. Meanwhile the new representative of the Kyrgyz PM to the parliament has recently been named.
Geo-strategic Front: In Azerbaijan a Baku court sentenced two bloggers on Nov. 11th, Hajizada to 2 years and Milli to 2 1/2 years in prison on hooliganism charges for an altercation at a restaurant on July 8th. The Azeri government has also blamed Germany and Norway over their interference in the case which is widely being condemned as politically motivated.
Meanwhile the Azeri President has accused Armenia of delaying efforts to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Azeri Parliamentarians have also requested NATO to implement UN resolutions on the disputed region.
The Tajik President recently attended inauguration of Hamid Karzai in Kabul. Also the US Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs recently paid a visit to Uzbekistan.
Social Front: OSCE has launched implementation of Civic Action for Security and Environment Programme in Azerbaijan. Meanwhile the imprisoned director of the Kazakh Bureau for Human Rights has been denied access to his lawyer; rising rage of human rights activists. The growing number of Kazakh students in the US has also grabbed attention.
Kyrgyzstan's dominant, pro-presidential Ak-Jol (Bright Path) party has approved a provision that would require its diplomats to understand the Kyrgyz language. Meanwhile Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged the government of Kyrgyzstan to release two human rights activists.
Economic Front: Azerbaijan seems keen for the Nabucco pipeline project that would connect it with Germany across Europe. Russia has also welcomed Azerbaijan’s participation in South Stream projects. Meanwhile talks about US-Azeri energy cooperation have started.
President of Kazakhstan has announced that his government would not allow foreign investors to get hold of all important Kazakh Banks; despite the fact that investors bring substantive benefits for the country’s economy. As far as energy sector is concerned Kazakh Parliament has expressed serious reservations regarding gas and oil supply to China.
70 percent of Tajikistan’s water supply infrastructure has become obsolete and requires serious repairs.
GCC- Gulf Cooperation Council
Geo-strategic Front: GCC Secretary General Abdul Rahman Al-Attiyah has strongly condemned Israel's decision of building 900 settlements in Jerusalem, saying it violates international law and damages the efforts towards Middle East Peace process.
Saudi Arabia and the United States have discussed prospects of expanding military cooperation during a strategic meeting of their high officials. Meanwhile Saudi King and French President Sarkozy also discussed the prospects of Middle East peace process during Sarkozy’s visit to the Kingdom.
Social Front: This year a sharp decline of almost 70% would be observed in the number of local pilgrims because of the threat of Swine flu. 20 swine flu victims have already been found among pilgrims so far. Bahrain also expects a new wave of the virus.
Economic Front: The upcoming GCC Summit is expected to launch the unified Gulf currency.
FERTILE CRESCENT
Political Front: Iraq's general election in January was thrown into doubt when the presidential council demanded a greater say for minorities and nationals living abroad. In the meantime Iraq’s Kurds threatened to boycott the elections, days after the country’s Sunni vice president threatened to veto the newly passed election law needed to hold the January vote. Current political crisis has devalued the recently passed Election law that had been welcomed by all political groups.
Lebanon’s new national-unity Cabinet has claimed that the March 14 and March 8 political camps have retreated from the tactics of confrontation which led the country to the brink of civil war in May 2008. Meanwhile it is expected that Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s government would almost certainly not alter the status quo on the most divisive issues such as Hezbollah’s possession of arms or the UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon, but it would likely lead the rival factions to abandon the trench-warfare dynamic that has dominated the domestic political scene since late 2006.
Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, has clearly stated that declaring a Palestinian State should not be conducted before ending the Israeli occupation.
Geo-strategic Front:Russia's plan to supply Lebanon with 10 MiG-29 fighter jets is soon to enter its final phase.
Social Front:Diabetes is being regarded as a potent social issue in Jordan.
Economic Front:Egypt’s Industrial Development Authority (IDA) has declared substantive progress in establishing a large-scale industrial project in Cairo.
TURKEY
Political Front: Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan informed parliamentarians about the government's democratic move process in a parliamentary general assembly. The government has also announced to establish a human rights institution and a commission on combating discrimination and strengthen legal measures to combat hate crimes.
Col. Dursun Çiçek, who has recently been arrested for drafting an action plan to destroy the ruling party, was interrogated by civilian prosecutors about the members of the military who gave him the order to prepare the plan. He however denied knowledge of the action plan and responsibility for the signature on the document. This ‘anti-democracy’ plot has seriously damaged people's trust in the Turkish military. Later on, the accused Colonel was released less than two days after his arrest on charges of membership in Ergenekon, a move strongly condemned by the jurists.
Geo-strategic Front: Turkey has expressed its readiness to store low-enriched uranium from Iran and assured that there would be no technical obstacles in the way of such storage. Ahmadinejad has appreciated Turkey’s role regarding Iran’s nuclear program. Meanwhile growing Turkish ties with Spain, Italy, Egypt, Russia and Iraq remain significant. Turkey has also welcomed Kosovo’s first elections and has strongly condemned Israeli aggression.
Social Front: The number of women who wear the headscarf has increased from 64.2 percent to 69.4 percent in the last four years under the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) administration and the percentage of women who wear the “turban,” a more conservative way of covering the head, has increased from 3.5 percent to 16.3 percent. Meanwhile many people claim that Turkish education has also become more religious taking Turkey to the ‘Arab’ path.
Meanwhile the number of swine flu victims has crossed 73.
Economic Front: Growing unemployment seems to be a serious concern for the Turkish government.
CHINA
Geo-strategic Front: Mainland China has expressed keenness to enhance economic cooperation with Taiwan. Meanwhile Chinese growing ties with Sudan, Philippines, Vietnam, Syria, Japan and Africa grabbed attention. China has also expressed serious concern regarding Israeli aggression in Palestine.
The US President’s visit to China dominated the geo-strategic front this week, considered as very critical and significant. Public within the US observed sharp divide over this issue. Analysts view his visit as a new beginning of the US-China relations. While talking to media Obama stressed greatly on the need of joint US-China cooperation to confront various global challenges being faced by the globe.
Economic Front: The visit by Barack Obama has been well received by US businesses in China. Meanwhile the Chi Next Index fell by the end of the week as 19 out of the 28 shares at China's start-up board for small and medium-sized enterprises were down. The gross domestic product (GDP) of China's western regions rose 12.5 percent in the first nine months from a year earlier
Social Front: Widely spread swine flu has become a serious source of concern for China like many other countries as death toll suffering from the virus has crossed 53.
70 percent of Tajikistan’s water supply infrastructure has become obsolete and requires serious repairs.
GCC- Gulf Cooperation Council
Geo-strategic Front: GCC Secretary General Abdul Rahman Al-Attiyah has strongly condemned Israel's decision of building 900 settlements in Jerusalem, saying it violates international law and damages the efforts towards Middle East Peace process.
Saudi Arabia and the United States have discussed prospects of expanding military cooperation during a strategic meeting of their high officials. Meanwhile Saudi King and French President Sarkozy also discussed the prospects of Middle East peace process during Sarkozy’s visit to the Kingdom.
Social Front: This year a sharp decline of almost 70% would be observed in the number of local pilgrims because of the threat of Swine flu. 20 swine flu victims have already been found among pilgrims so far. Bahrain also expects a new wave of the virus.
Economic Front: The upcoming GCC Summit is expected to launch the unified Gulf currency.
FERTILE CRESCENT
Political Front: Iraq's general election in January was thrown into doubt when the presidential council demanded a greater say for minorities and nationals living abroad. In the meantime Iraq’s Kurds threatened to boycott the elections, days after the country’s Sunni vice president threatened to veto the newly passed election law needed to hold the January vote. Current political crisis has devalued the recently passed Election law that had been welcomed by all political groups.
Lebanon’s new national-unity Cabinet has claimed that the March 14 and March 8 political camps have retreated from the tactics of confrontation which led the country to the brink of civil war in May 2008. Meanwhile it is expected that Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s government would almost certainly not alter the status quo on the most divisive issues such as Hezbollah’s possession of arms or the UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon, but it would likely lead the rival factions to abandon the trench-warfare dynamic that has dominated the domestic political scene since late 2006.
Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, has clearly stated that declaring a Palestinian State should not be conducted before ending the Israeli occupation.
Geo-strategic Front:Russia's plan to supply Lebanon with 10 MiG-29 fighter jets is soon to enter its final phase.
Social Front:Diabetes is being regarded as a potent social issue in Jordan.
Economic Front:Egypt’s Industrial Development Authority (IDA) has declared substantive progress in establishing a large-scale industrial project in Cairo.
TURKEY
Political Front: Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan informed parliamentarians about the government's democratic move process in a parliamentary general assembly. The government has also announced to establish a human rights institution and a commission on combating discrimination and strengthen legal measures to combat hate crimes.
Col. Dursun Çiçek, who has recently been arrested for drafting an action plan to destroy the ruling party, was interrogated by civilian prosecutors about the members of the military who gave him the order to prepare the plan. He however denied knowledge of the action plan and responsibility for the signature on the document. This ‘anti-democracy’ plot has seriously damaged people's trust in the Turkish military. Later on, the accused Colonel was released less than two days after his arrest on charges of membership in Ergenekon, a move strongly condemned by the jurists.
Geo-strategic Front: Turkey has expressed its readiness to store low-enriched uranium from Iran and assured that there would be no technical obstacles in the way of such storage. Ahmadinejad has appreciated Turkey’s role regarding Iran’s nuclear program. Meanwhile growing Turkish ties with Spain, Italy, Egypt, Russia and Iraq remain significant. Turkey has also welcomed Kosovo’s first elections and has strongly condemned Israeli aggression.
Social Front: The number of women who wear the headscarf has increased from 64.2 percent to 69.4 percent in the last four years under the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) administration and the percentage of women who wear the “turban,” a more conservative way of covering the head, has increased from 3.5 percent to 16.3 percent. Meanwhile many people claim that Turkish education has also become more religious taking Turkey to the ‘Arab’ path.
Meanwhile the number of swine flu victims has crossed 73.
Economic Front: Growing unemployment seems to be a serious concern for the Turkish government.
CHINA
Geo-strategic Front: Mainland China has expressed keenness to enhance economic cooperation with Taiwan. Meanwhile Chinese growing ties with Sudan, Philippines, Vietnam, Syria, Japan and Africa grabbed attention. China has also expressed serious concern regarding Israeli aggression in Palestine.
The US President’s visit to China dominated the geo-strategic front this week, considered as very critical and significant. Public within the US observed sharp divide over this issue. Analysts view his visit as a new beginning of the US-China relations. While talking to media Obama stressed greatly on the need of joint US-China cooperation to confront various global challenges being faced by the globe.
Economic Front: The visit by Barack Obama has been well received by US businesses in China. Meanwhile the Chi Next Index fell by the end of the week as 19 out of the 28 shares at China's start-up board for small and medium-sized enterprises were down. The gross domestic product (GDP) of China's western regions rose 12.5 percent in the first nine months from a year earlier
Social Front: Widely spread swine flu has become a serious source of concern for China like many other countries as death toll suffering from the virus has crossed 53.
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Business and Politics in the Muslim World (BPM)refers to the project entitled, "Globalized Business and Politics: A View from the Muslim World.' The blog development project has been undertaken and developed jointly by the Gilani Research Foundation and BPM as a free resource and social discussion tool.
Please PREVIEW your comments before posting.
Business and Politics in the Muslim World (BPM)refers to the project entitled, "Globalized Business and Politics: A View from the Muslim World.' The blog development project has been undertaken and developed jointly by the Gilani Research Foundation and BPM as a free resource and social discussion tool.
Please PREVIEW your comments before posting.
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