Monthly Archives: September 2013

Egypt tightens grip on religious life, bans preachers

September 10, 2024 by Lora Moftah in Middle East.

Egyptian policemen in front of Al-Fath mosque in Cairo, August 17, 2013. (REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh)

By requiring that all imams go through state channels to be legally qualified to preach, the new military-backed government can ensure tight control over the message of religious sermons.

Fukushima nuclear crisis adds risk for Japan’s recovery plan

September 7, 2024 by Chris Zappone in Asia-Pacific.

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Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks during the Tokyo 2020 bid presentation during the 125th IOC Session - 2020 Olympics Host City Announcement at Hilton Hotel on September 7, 2024 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks during the Tokyo 2020 bid presentation during the 125th IOC Session. Ian Walton/Getty Images

The decision by the International Olympic Committee to award the 2020 Olympics to Tokyo suggests that the Committee has been assured by prime minister Shinzo Abe’s pledge that the Fukushima crisis would be over by then.
If Abenomics is successful, and the country follows a trajectory back to health, the games will be…

Obama’s Bushification complete as world leaders shun Syria action

September 6, 2024 by Matt Taylor in Europe, Middle East.

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A burning effigy and placard of U.S. President Barack Obama is seen during a protest by a students' national union against possible U.S. military action in Syria, in front of the U.S. embassy in Brasilia September 6, 2013. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino

President fails to find support for military intervention after Assad regime uses chemical weapons, a brutal turnaround for the winner of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.

Not quite the Cold War

September 5, 2024 by David A. Andelman in Asia-Pacific, Europe, Middle East, U.S..

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Russias President Vladimir Putin (L) welcomes US President Barack Obama at the start of the G20 summit on September 5, 2024 in Saint Petersburg. Russia hosts the G20 summit hoping to push forward an agenda to stimulate growth but with world leaders distracted by divisions on the prospect of US-led military action in Syria.

The geopolitical fight over the Syria crisis is not the Cold War Redux, but that doesn’t make it less scary.

As Olympics near, Russia’s anti-gay crackdown continues

September 5, 2024 by Lara Vergnaud in Europe.

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Protestors hold graphic images of Russian President Vladimir Putin wearing lipstick during a protest against Russian anti-gay laws opposite the Russian embassy on August 23, 2024 in Madrid, Spain.

Anti-gay legislation has taken on a louder resonance outside of Moscow as the Sochi Winter Games approach.

Femen’s problems hit home with Svyatski reveal

September 5, 2024 by Lara Vergnaud in Europe.

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Director Kitty Green (3rdR) poses with Femen activists, Inna Shevchenko (C) and Sasha Shevchenko (R) during the photocall of "Ukraine is not a Brothel" presented out of competition at the 70th Venice Film Festival on September 4, 2024 at Venice Lido. AFP PHOTO / GABRIEL BOUYS

It’s hard to find a figure less sympathetic — and more antithetical to Femen’s platform — than founder Victor Svyatski, who called group members “bitches” and “weak.”

Uganda calls for peace talks as tide turns against M23 in Congo

September 4, 2024 by Lora Moftah in Africa.

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A Congolese soldier guards suspected M23 rebels in Goma September 2, 2013. (REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya)

Heads of state from Africa’s Great Lakes region are converging for an emergency meeting after significant military gains by a joint U.N./Congolese intervention force in the eastern DRC.