Although it may be too early to stage another Mission Accomplished photo-op, Iraq is headed towards democracy, as 62 per cent of the 18.9 million eligible voters were believed to have turned out to vote in the Iraqi national parliamentary elections this past Sunday. Despite several incidences of violence, the 2010 Iraqi election is being hailed as an overall success.

The March 7 election was Iraq’s fifth nationwide vote since the removal of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003,...

At 3:34 local time on Feb. 27, an 8.8 magnitude earthquake hit Chile. In the chaos that followed, cars lay overturned in the streets and few survivors were found amidst the building rubble. Today, the newly homeless of Chile inhabit the streets.

That day, nearby countries also felt tremors during the three-minute-long earthquake. To make matters worse, a tsunami arrived in the coastal central region soon after the earthquake subsided.

Plate tectonics are something Chileans know quite well. In 1960,...

There are few subjects in the international sphere that incite as much emotion or spark such heated debate as the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Khaled Abu Toameh, a journalist who covers the conflict from the front lines, shared his perspective on the dispute and his opinion on possible solutions this past Friday when he spoke at the Laurier campus.

The event was one of a series held at 23 university campuses across Canada as part of the Size Doesn’t Matter campaign, which...

Barry Rubin, a professor at the Israel’s Interdisciplinary Centre (IDC), visited Laurier’s Waterloo campus last week for a speaking engagement organized by the independent advocacy group Israel on Campus (IOC). During his hour-long lecture, Rubin presented a stark portrait of Arab-Israeli political conflict and focused on what he believes are the many obstacles in the way of Middle Eastern peace and stability.

As director of the IDC’s Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) centre and a fellow at their International...

As Mexico’s Murder City becomes more perilous than ever, President Felipe Calderón attempts to reconcile a losing war.

Residents of Ciudad Juárez, Mexico have condemned President Calderón for ignoring one of the most important axes in the war on the Mexican drug trade. Ciudad Juárez, which is situated on the northern border within view of El Paso Texas, is now Mexico’s second-largest drug hub.

Over the past 20 years, the industry has been monopolized by a gang known locally as...

Last Monday, 49 military officials were arrested in Turkey on suspicion of plotting a military coup. According to the Associated Press, 33 officers have now been formally charged with attempting to topple Turkey’s Islamist-based government.

The Guardian reports that among those arrested were 17 retired generals, four serving admirals and 27 lower-ranking officers, as well as a former deputy chief of the army, a retired air force chief and the chief of the navy.

The alleged plot dates back to...

Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi’s call for an Islamic holy war against Switzerland last Thursday stands as the most recent marker of rapidly deteriorating relations between Libya and the famously neutral European nation, and threatens to further complicate an already difficult political situation.

Gaddafi’s demand for Jihad, holy war, came before a crowd of visiting Muslim dignitaries at a mosque in the Libyan city of Benghazi.

During a lengthy address, the longstanding dictator criticized Switzerland’s recent referendum banning the construction of...

Despite condemnation from many in the world community, most recently Michael Ignatieff, the sixth annual international Israeli Apartheid Week commenced in over 40 cities across the globe on Monday

On Monday afternoon, Laurier’s campus became the kickoff site for Waterloo-based participation in the sixth annual international Israeli Apartheid Week.

The commencing protest was a collaborative effort between the University of Waterloo’s Students for Palestinian Rights (SFPR) and Laurier for Palestine (L4P).

Monday’s event set...

Nepali speaks to Laurier students

A small group of Laurier students were privileged to explore a world 11,916 kilometers away this week as Laxman Shrestha gave a presentation about the challenges he faces running an orphanage in his home country of Nepal.

Shrestha prefaced his presentation by explaining the...

In addition to managing a dismal domestic economic situation, two foreign wars and a negative country image, U.S. President Barack Obama must tackle another hurdle: China.

This past Thursday, Obama was subject to considerable disapproval from China when he met with the internationally-revered cultural and religious leader the Dalai Lama in a low-key meeting at the White House.

Beijing views the exiled spiritual leader as an antagonistic separatist leading the Tibetan secessionist movement from China. China strongly emphasizes issues...

Fresh off the heels of reading week, many Laurier students are returning to campus tanned and happy after vacations in sunny destinations. While enjoying a sushi dinner recently, I overheard the conversation of one such student reminiscing about her holiday in Mexico.

She made a comment along the lines of “I never tipped in Mexico. They should be happy; it’s awesome they get to spend all day at a resort.” While I understand the desire to vacation in such a...

CRIMEA, UKRAINE Feb. 19 marked the anniversary of the USSR’s most generous gift – Crimea. Soviet leader Khrushchev officially handed over the republic in 1954. Ever since, pro-Russia activists have begged the question, “Nikita, what have you done?”

DORSET, BRITAIN Bad drivers of Britain beware: a “No Excuses” campaign to counter driver inattention is in effect. The New York Times reported that, considering human error is behind nearly 90 per cent of car crashes, “There’s no such thing as...

This Feb. 11 will mark 20 years since Nelson Mandela’s “march to freedom” out of Robben Island’s Victor Verster prison where he spent the better part of 27 years incarcerated.

Mandela walked through Cape Town, addressing a crowd of 50,000 from the balcony of city hall in 1990. He called the march to freedom “irreversible,” but two decades after Mandela’s promises, South Africa still struggles with his vision of the “rainbow nation,” a vision which though not reversible, progresses at...

People in China might reconsider next time they decide to engage in “sexting.”

According to the government-owned newspaper China Daily, authorities will now be monitoring text messages.

Mobile phone companies such as China Mobile and China Unicom have been ordered by Beijing to be on the lookout for “unhealthy” words and phrases.

Although there is no official statement on what language is deemed unhealthy, China Mobile stated that it is required to flag any inferences to pornography, violence, fraud, terrorism,...

Omar al-Bashir, Sudan’s longstanding field marshal, resigned as head of the army on Jan. 11 to accept his party’s presidential nomination for the upcoming April election.

Bashir’s primary opposition, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), is preparing to announce their own presidential candidate. While onlookers may be optimistic, the prospects of a serious running-mate seem dismal. Some have suggested that the SPLM have no intentions of proposing a candidate at all.

Regardless of SPLM efforts, Bashir is favoured to win...