The WIP: Byline portal + WIP Contibutors

Dalai Lama: 'I Pray for China's Leadership'

Mon, 12 May 2008 13:53:45 -0800

by Padma Rao and Erich Follath, Spiegel Online, Germany - Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, leader of the Tibetan people, discusses the uprising in his native Tibet, why he doesn't support protests against the Olympic torch relay and his proposals for a compromise with Beijing.

A Test of the UN's Moral Authority

Mon, 12 May 2008 13:48:57 -0800

by Rosemary Righter, Times Online, UK - Governments with the power to help must insist on doing so, with or without the junta's co-operation - with the approval of the UN Security Council if they can, and without it if they must. Governments had the approval neither of Saddam Hussein nor the Security Council in 1991, when they airlifted aid to fleeing Kurds in northern Iraq. The idea that states can do what they please within their borders has been modified since 1945 by a growing acceptance that states have responsibilities as well as rights, and that gross violations of those responsibilities are an international concern. Forcing aid on the regime would be a risky venture; but to cite sovereignty as the reason why nothing can be done without its assent would be to let this foul regime get away with mass murder.

China: Buying Farmland Abroad, Ensuring Food Security

Mon, 12 May 2008 13:45:30 -0800

by Antoaneta Bezlova, IPS, Italy - Rattled by rapidly rising global grain prices, China is looking at strategies to ensure long-term food security for its 1.3 billion people such as procuring farmland overseas and opposing the formation of any international grain price- fixing monopolies.

Shoura Council Passes Child Law, Criminalizes Female Circumcision

Mon, 12 May 2008 13:39:40 -0800

by Magdy Samaan, Daily News Egypt, Egypt - Parliament is yet to decide whether to pass the law or not and it is expected to stir a heated debate, especially given the 20 percent of Muslim Brotherhood MPs. Some of them had already rejected parts of this law, citing contradictions with Islam. The law is also criticized for criminalizing a number of practices that are quite common in Egyptian society.

Headed Home

Mon, 12 May 2008 13:35:45 -0800

by Charlotte McPherson, Today's Zaman, Turkey - Often, people ask me if America has changed a lot during the time I have been away. Every culture is in a process of change. For many of you, summer is a time of movement. Perhaps you have been living in a new culture the past year or more and soon you’ll be returning to your home culture. William Hazlitt, in his “Notes of a Journey through France and Italy,” writes, “The first thing an Englishman does on going abroad is to find fault with what is French, because it is not English.” Often when individuals visit another culture, they can be quite critical. It’s surprising, though, how many people on their return home can be critical of their own culture.

Ruud Awakening for Gullit: The Dutch Soccer Coach Has Met His Match with the LA Galaxy

Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:18 -0800

by Bia Assevero
- USA -

• The Galaxy's David Beckham during a losing game against the Colorado Rapids in March.
Photograph by Raj Patel. •

Ruud Gullit knows his soccer.

He’s Dutch for one thing, and the Dutch have produced some of the most spectacular talents that the modern era of the game has ever seen. From Van Basten to Bergkamp, from Rijkaard to Gullit himself, the Dutch have redefined the game more than once.

Gullit has played for some of the most prestigious and recognizable clubs in Europe, including AC Milan, the team owned by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Then, when his playing days were over, he coached two of England’s biggest clubs: Chelsea and Newcastle United.

His latest challenge, however, is proving to be a rude awakening. Gullit was hired last November to replace Frank Yallop as head coach of the overly hyped and oft-maligned Los Angeles Galaxy.

Mugabe Wages Retribution Campaign After Losing the Election: Hundreds Flee for “Safety”

Sat, 10 May 2008 00:00:17 -0800

by Constance Manika
- Zimbabwe -

In the early hours of April 25th, Tariro Gweru and her husband Wellington awoke to a deafening knock on their bedroom hut. Wellington says he identified the frantic voices of his two friends, Simon Takavada and Misheck Dzikamai, got up and quickly opened the door.

As his two friends made their way breathlessly into his house, Wellington knew there was something seriously wrong. Simon and Misheck indeed had bad news: while coming home after having a beer, the two spotted trucks packed with ZANU PF youths, war veterans and soldiers making their way to their village.

The Crisis in Burma: In Search of a Unified International Response

Fri, 09 May 2008 12:50:58 -0800

with Maureen Aung-Thwin, Suzanne DiMaggio, Thaung Htun, Scot Marciel, Sean Turnell, Open Society, USA - Asia Society and the Open Society Institute convened a panel discussion to revisit the situation in Burma in light of the military government's announced "roadmap to democracy," including its intention to conduct a national referendum to approve a new constitution in May, followed by a multiparty general election in 2010. How credible is this development given that the new constitution would effectively bar independent political leaders from participating in the process? The panel also assessed recent efforts at the international and regional levels to advance national reconciliation in Burma. What role can and should international actors such as the United Nations and the United States play together with ASEAN and Burma's influential neighbors?

Mugabe Has a Mountain to Climb

Fri, 09 May 2008 12:46:58 -0800

by Constantine Chimakure, Zimbabwe Independent, Zimbabwe - President Robert Mugabe has a mountain to climb if he is to win the anticipated presidential election run-off against MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, which is legally expected to take place before May 23. An analysis of the March 29 presidential election results announced last Friday by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) shows that it would be a huge task for Mugabe to beat Tsvangirai if opposition forces unite behind the former secretary-general of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions.

Europe Reluctant to Set Up a Security Doctrine

Fri, 09 May 2008 12:43:02 -0800

by Judy Dempsey, International Herald Tribune, France - "A security doctrine or a security strategy means power," says Frédéric Bozo, political science professor at the Sorbonne. "This is an issue that most Europeans, with perhaps the exception of Britain and France, do not want to deal with. Since that is the case, it is very difficult to talk about Europe regarding itself as a global actor."

Africa’s Farms Reap Rewards

Fri, 09 May 2008 12:40:28 -0800

by Jenny Wiggins, Financial Times, UK - Historically, there have been tenuous links between farmers and food producers, with many companies having scant knowledge of how and where their ingredients are grown. But as the prices of raw materials soar – from the barley used to make beer or the cocoa used to make chocolate – leading brewers and food manufacturers from Cadbury Schweppes to Diageo are increasingly recognising their businesses will benefit from investment in agriculture.

Women in the Running

Fri, 09 May 2008 12:37:45 -0800

by Maya Schenwar, truthout, USA - America has pretty much agreed that, whether or not Hillary Clinton wins the Democratic nomination, she will have made history. However, no matter the outcome of the primary season, the struggle for women's voices to be heard in the political sphere will be far from over. Despite all the focus on Clinton's gender over the course of her campaign, there's been surprisingly little discussion of the gender makeup of the political system as a whole.

Kenya’s Kazuri Bead Factory Allows Women from Kibera Slum to Build New Lives

Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:46 -0800

by Sarah Wyatt
- USA -

Years of hardship and backbreaking labor in the riot-stricken slums of Kibera in south Kenya have worn 18 year old Eshe Koome to the bone. A single mother of two, she walked out on her abusive husband and survived for two years as a daily wage laborer, loading vegetables and other goods for sale.

• Eshe is now able to earn a living wage at Kazuri. Photograph by Sarah Wyatt. •

Yet Eshe's eyes sparkle today with a new zest for life as she strings pearlescent blue beads on a loom. Proudly turned out in a traditional skirt, the teenager says: "All that's in the past now. I am building a life."

Eshe's story captures in a nutshell how a group of formerly indigent, urban women operates a business for themselves. The Kazuri Bead Factory, located in the Nairobi suburb of Karen, is unique in that it is Kenya’s first visitors’ attraction of its kind, created for and by women. Founded by Lady Susan Wood in 1975, the company is known for its beautiful, hand-painted beads made from the authentic clay from the Mt. Kenya area. Kazuri (Swahili for “small and beautiful”), also produces a number of other goods popular with tourists including pottery, hand-beaded sandals and purses. The beads are often featured on three-dimensional art cards and can also be found in shadowboxes.

'Aid Work in Burma Is Extraordinarily Difficult'

Thu, 08 May 2008 13:14:14 -0800

by Schabnam Tafazoli, Spiegel Online, Germany - Aid organizations are complaining that they are not being allowed to deal effectively with the aftermath of Cyclone Nagris in Burma. Ingo Radtke, director of German aid group Malteser International, speaks about the frustration of not being able to help people who are in desperate need.

Goodbye Bangladesh

Thu, 08 May 2008 13:10:18 -0800

by Nicki Bennett, New York Times, USA - So does that mean people shouldn’t be living in flood or disaster-prone areas, as one of my blog readers wondered recently? Having thought about questions like this a lot for the past few months, I would say no. Firstly (as another blog reader was quick to point out), the people of Bangladesh don’t really have that option as the vast majority of their country sits on a flood plain.