Daily Update - Your World in Financial Crisis

The bigger they are, the harder they fall: Foreign Policy magazine makes it clear that Russia's heavy-handed foreign and domestic policies are proving disastrous for the nation throughout the financial crisis

Obama journeys north of the border to Canada to provide U.S. assurances on trade

Indonesia seeks currency swap deal with U.S., Japan, China, and South Korea to bolster its devaluing rupiah

Cocaine prices fall - Another indication of the global financial crisis? Not really: Drug smugglers are opening new smuggling routes to Europe through weak West African and Balkan states

Speaking of the narcotics trade, Ecuador expels second U.S. diplomat in spat over counter-narcotics training program

Also, Mexico's drug cartels now organize protests against the presence of government troops in Mexican border towns - protesters are offered food and money to block off border crossings

Slovenia and Croatia enter diplomatic contention - and a bit of "facebook war" - over border disagreement, putting Croatia's EU membership at risk

Real war will continue in Afghanistan, as U.S. Commander says 60,000 troops will be needed in Afghanistan during "tough" year of 2009

Today begins the first trial of the former Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia. After some thirty years the first trial is under way with Comrade Duch, as he is known, in the defendant's chair. Though evidently an important watershed moment for the Cambodian people in coming to grips with a traumatic past it still begs the question of whether, as Dr. Martin Luther King once said, justice delayed is really justice denied.

In response to recent tough talk by North Korea Secretary of State Clinton issues a warning. The trip is also notable in that it is the first time in some forty years a Secretary of State has made his or her first overseas trip to Asia rather than Europe.

Things could hardly be worse in Japan. The Finance Minister has resigned after appearing to drunk at a news conference at a G-7 conference. Now new economic data is out that Japan's export dependent economy is shrinking so fast it's suffering from whiplash. As goes Japan so goes the world?


From the land of false dawns comes another potential heartbreaker. After Qatari brokered talks the main rebel group in Darfur has signed an accord with the Sudanese government. Whether this will end the residual but noteworthy violence in the region is about as certain as the outcome of Israel's recent election. If we're looking for false dawns in the region look no further than the UN-AU peacekeeping force. Authorized a year ago and at half the strength a year later. The international community has let Darfur down to a large extent. Is it realistic to hope its own leaders can chart a different course?

Daily Update

Peace may finally be on its way to Darfur after Sudan and the region's most active rebel group reach tentative agreement

Venezuelan President Chavez wins and limits to term removed, allowing him to continue his rule indefinitely

Four of Russia's regional governors are replaced by President Medvedev due to concerns about social unrest

Bosnia, along with other Balkan states, faces many obstacles that prevent it from a secure future as a potential EU member state

China worries about possibly damaging protectionist actions

British and French submarines collide in Atlantic

Japan's economy enters an even deeper slump

Islamic law to be component of peace deal between Pakistan and Taliban-linked group

Daily Update

Venezuela votes on whether or not Chavez will continue to serve as president

Sri Lanka grapples with what to do with displaced Tamil refugees

Israel refuses to agree to Gaza ceasefire until captured soldier is released

Rebuilding Haiti: More difficult than the UN thought

US heading towards a more favorable relationship with Russia

Treason charges against Zimbabwean opposition politician have been dropped, and replaced with new charge of conspiring to acquire arms with a view to disrupting essential service. The road ahead will surely be anything but smooth.

Bolivians question whether or not country is better off under indigenous President Morales

An economic stimulus plan is approved in Australia, despite having been blocked during an earlier vote.

Daily Update

U.S. Missile Shield plans in Poland could "slow down" if Russia is willing to help exert pressure on Iran over its nuclear program

A Russian warship detains 10 more pirates off the coast of Somalia, but pirates previously detained by the U.S. Navy may never see trial

Article from Reuters compares Russian and U.S.-Coalition experiences in Afghanistan - neither seem capable of bringing stability to the nation with force alone

U.S. Secretary of State Clinton seeks to build a broader diplomatic relationship with China on her first trip since entering office - Clinton will visit Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, and China, and plans to discuss issues of human rights and climate change with the Chinese government

Dubai's economy enters a downward spiral as foreign workers, 90 percent of the population, are leaving

U.S. drone aircraft kills 25 in Pakistan, including Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters who take refuge in Pakistan in between conducting attacks in Afghanistan

EU vote observer "forcefully expelled" from Venezuela after calling Chavez a dictator, just days before a referendum is to be held on relaxing presidential term limits

Zimbabwean opposition official is arrested by Mugabe's security forces on conspiracy charges, despite a power-sharing agreement between the opposition party and Mugabe

Daily Update

Taliban-affiliated suicide bombers, armed gunmen attack government ministries in Kabul, killing 20 and injuring 57

The U.S. Congress is poised to pass a $789 billion stimulus plan for the American economy - the proposed plan would create 3.5 million jobs - Dow rises in response

Mirek Topolanek, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic and current reigning President of the European Union, is scheduled to visit Central Asian states on the topic of opening new natural gas pipelines in the region, bypassing Russian pipelines, to the effect of maintaining energy security even if gas pipelines are shut down again by Russia due to political disputes.

Australian wildfires may have been started by arsonists, as a search for suspects continues in hard-hit Victoria county. Queen Elizabeth II has made a personal donation to the Victorian Bushfire Fund, which has raised more than £14 million

The new multi-national surface patrol force maintaining security in the Gulf of Aden has made its first arrest of 7 suspected Somali pirates

Indonesia issues tsunami warning after 7.0 quake rattles waters north of Sulawesi

France is prepared to sell fighter jets, frigates, and missile systems to Kuwait, in addition to fielding a military base there, in order to "maintain stability in the region."

Sarkozy also defends France's $7.9 billion state loan to French automakers Renault and Peugeot as "not protectionism" and in line with EU regulations, although the move underscores pressure throughout the EU on retaining local jobs for local workers during the economic crisis

Yesterday and Today

The death toll for the fires in Australia breach have breached the 200 mark and may continue to rise as authorities discover more destruction in the wake of the fires. As always with the political response to natural disasters these days it seems highly vogue to use the opportunity to remind audiences of the linkage to climate change.

Israel has held their snap elections for a new government and according to preliminary news and polling the centrist Kadima party led by Foreign Minister Livni is doing better than expected. Which is to say not losing. As predicted ultra-dark horse Lieberman will come in third to the chagrin of Labor. Likud despite potentially coming in second argues that the rightist parties collectively form a majority which will then morph into a government.

A 'watch this space' story developing is that China is submitting its human rights record to the UN for examination.

Iran is keen on talks with the US. The new administration will need to deal with some pressing sticking points.

As a sign of the changing times and fortunes in Iraq even France is getting involved. Sarkozy who for so long has danced around the Iraq issue is in Iraq pledging economic assistance.