Islamic extremism in India
India’s decision to move a domestic cricket tournament to South Africa has focused attention on a rise in home-grown jihadi terrorism. Although it long insisted that Islamic extremism had not developed among its Muslim communities, India is now having to accept that a small section of its 160-million-strong Muslim community has become radicalised.
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Chavez's awkward tenth anniversary
After ten years in power, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, won a referendum in February to lift restrictions on consecutive re-election. He now faces no legal obstacle to his goal of staying in power for at least another decade, provided that he continues to win at the polls. Yet this success coincided with a sharp deceleration in the country’s economic growth. The oil bonanza is over and the prospects are gloomy.
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Russia and the financial crisis
Russia has been hit hard by the global financial crisis. It has spent heavily on supporting the rouble, and the stock market has fallen sharply. A budget deficit is projected and growth forecasts have been lowered to between zero and 2%. The rapid slowdown has highlighted institutional, structural and systemic tensions within the Russian Federation.
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Flickers of hope in DRC
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda have collaborated to isolate militias that have plagued Central Africa for the past decade. There has been a swift turnaround since ethnic Tutsi militia leader Laurent Nkunda launched a major offensive in DRC in late 2008. Rwanda’s Tutsi-led government withdrew its support for Nkunda, and he was arrested. In return, the Congolese government agreed for the first time in a decade to allow the Rwandan army to carry out operations on DRC territory.
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Balkan ambitions stall
The countries of the Western Balkans appear from the outside to be moving slowly but peacefully towards eventual membership of the European Union (EU). However, viewed from within the region, the picture is not quite so rosy. Warning lights are flashing. Progress, especially in terms of the steps needed to achieve full European integration, has slowed or even stopped.
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