Policy Analyzer

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Algiers

- May 22, 2019

Horatio Clare The Guardian , Saturday 4 September 2010 Visitors can help bring Algiers out of the shadows. Photograph: Patrick Robert/Sygma/Corbia Isn't is strange that a gigantic country with some of the most beautiful coastline on Earth, a luminous hinterland of mountains vast and deserts idle, crowned with the most alluring capital city I know, should be just three hours from London and almost unvisited by travellers? We used to go: well-to-do Victorians loved wintering in Algeria . But modernity has been cruel to this great gorgeous land, and even by the standards of war-torn Africa , Algeria's is an awful story. We associate it with the violent end of French colonialism, civil war in the 90s that cost up to 200,000 lives, and sporadic terror attacks. But this is a gross underestimation of a magical place, and a delightful and beguiling people. With its Phoenician, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman, Barbary pirate and French colonial heritage, Algeria has a

RUSSIA AND TURKEY DITCHED US CURRENCY FOR S-400 MISSILE SYSTEM DEAL

- May 22, 2019

Both facing pressure from Washington, Moscow and Ankara ditched the US dollar when finalizing their landmark S-400 air defense missile systems deal and continue this way in the future, Russian leader Vladimir Putin said. “We understand that if we’ll make transactions in [US] dollars, they won’t come through,” Putin told reporters on Wednesday. He cited his recent talks with Turkey’s leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan adding that they thought up another option. Speaking at a business forum in Moscow, the Russian president noted that the ‘dollar-less’ S-400s deal with Turkey is just one recent example of the approach the nations share. The same will apply to “other types of goods” as well, he stressed. “We don’t have a goal of abandoning from the dollar, but we are forced to do so. And, I assure you, we will do it,” Putin said, adding that it will ultimately make global trade more secure and efficient. Russia and Turkey have been in talks about switching from the US dol

Sultan Abdülhamid II: A visionary who tried to keep the empire alive

- May 04, 2019

ERHAN AFYONCU, ISTANBUL Feb 16, 2018 An oil painting of Abdülhamid II displayed in Topkapı Palace’s portraits gallery. Bo rn in Istanbul on Sept. 21, 1842, Shahzade (son of the sultan) Abdülhamid spent his childhood and youth through the Tanzimat (Reformation) of the Ottoman Empire. As a young prince Abdülhamid II traveled through Europe with his uncle Sultan Abdülaziz in 1867, this was an opportunity for him to broaden his knowledge and vision of the world. In this journey, he went to France, England, Belgium, Germany and Austria, experiencing the Western lifestyle, traditions, customs and protocols in full detail. He also had the opportunity to see the most advanced technologies and inventions at the time and understand the level of advancement Europe had reached. He also got an idea of how international diplomacy worked. These observations and experiences would later prove critical for Sultan Abdülhamid once he assumed power. First years of his reign Abdülh

What is going on in Iran right now that is preventing democracy and not allowing them a powerful position in the world?

- August 01, 2018

Graham Cromie , MA Politics & Human Rights, University of Essex (2013) "As the west demonstrates, the UK, US and much of Western Europe are ‘democracies’ in name but aren’t very democratic in practice. it’s the same problem. Elites control too much the levers of power, corruption is endemic at many levels and citizen engagement is at an all time low. Its probably the same issues in Iran. Everyone is fighting the same fight. We should all form a global coalition for anti-corruption and ethical good governance. that’s something that crosses borders and is truly universal, unlike just the western concept of ‘democracy promotion’." Zhang Dayu , PhD candidate Physics & Optics "First of all democracy has little to do with powerful. None of the world leader, ever, became powerful because of democracy or were democratic. What’s preventing democracy? I can think of three general reasons, from a pure outside perspective, I have

Greece Golden Visa

- August 01, 2018

Greece Residency/Citizenship by Investment Question: ”How do I become a resident or citizen of Greece?" Answer: The government of Greece is offering Greek residency and citizenship (European citizenship) to foreign investors who contribute to the country's economic development. The country has produced streamlined legislation to create an efficient process by which non-EU residents may obtain a residence permit - and citizenship if so desired - based on investing into Greek real estate. The Greece Golden Visa Program is considered one of the most affordable residency by investment routes to Europe. The Greek permanent residency program ("Greece Golden Visa") allow applicants to live in Greece indefinitely and lifts traveling restrictions and elaborate visa requirements across the EU. The Program grants visa free access to the Schengen Zone to the applicant as well as the family within 2 months of submitting an application. Applicants may acquire Greek

A state-led massacre triggers an exodus of Rohingyas from Myanmar

- September 08, 2017

The Burmese army is burning villages, and raping and killing their inhabitants Sep 7th 2017 | GHUMDUM, AZA KHAYA AND SHAH PORIR DWIP ACROSS the border, inside Myanmar, columns of smoke can be seen rising at dawn; each evening dusk reveals the fires at their bases. All week villages have been burning in northern Rakhine state, home of the Rohingyas, a persecuted Muslim minority. Refugees have been fleeing to Bangladesh across rice paddies, along muddy mountain paths and in boats over the Naf river, which divides the two countries. They are fleeing systematic violence from the Burmese army and armed mobs of Rakhines, another local ethnic group. The UN has counted 164,000 who have already arrived in Bangladesh; many more are thought to be on their way. At the end of the Myanmar-Bangladesh Friendship Road, backed against the border fence near the town of Ghumdum, is a rapidly growing, makeshift camp holding some 5,000 new refugees. A Bangladeshi borde

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