Michael Binyon

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MundoÁfricaInternacionalOrden Mundial

The fall of the Berlin Wall and the release of Nelson Mandela are two of the most joyous and momentous events of the past half century. The collapse of communism changed Europe for ever. The dismantling of apartheid spared South Africa a bloodbath and set the world an extraordinary example of reconciliation and racial harmony. Who could have imagined the two events were so closely linked?

Twenty years after the Wall was breached and almost two decades since Mr Mandela was freed, the architects of these astonishing events met in Berlin this week to celebrate what they unleashed and their consequent Nobel Peace Prizes.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoCáucasoEuropa

The cartoon images have shown Russia as an angry bear, stretching out a claw to maul Georgia. Russia is certainly angry, and, like a beast provoked, has bared its teeth. But it is the wrong stereotype. What the world has seen last week is a brilliant and brutal display of Russia's national game, chess. And Moscow has just declared checkmate.

Chess is a slow game. One has to be ready to ignore provocations, lose a few pawns and turn the hubris of others into their own entrapment. For years there has been rising resentment within Russia. Some of this is inevitable: the loss of empire, a burning sense of grievance and the fear that in the 1990s, amid domestic chaos and economic collapse, Russia's views no longer mattered.…  Seguir leyendo »

ReflexionesIslam y Mundo ÁrabeInternacionalTerrorismo InternacionalEuropaUnión Europea,

Medicine and engineering have long been the two most prestigious professions for Muslims. Some of the Arab world’s most famous writers and politicians have studied these disciplines. But so too have its most notorious extremists, including Osama bin Laden, who trained as an engineer, and Ayman al-Zawahiri, his deputy, who qualified as a doctor.

In Egypt, the top echelons of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood have long been full of doctors, engineers and geologists, while Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist party, is also dominated by such professionals, many of whom studied in Egypt. Recruiting such pillars of the community – who are often driven by strong ambition and convictions and may also be easily swayed by political extremism – has therefore been a prime aim of al-Qaeda.…  Seguir leyendo »

Europa

There is a nasty smell of Weimar in Russia nowadays. All the talk is of Russia’s need to reassert itself and show the world it is still a great power. On the streets, skinheads and racists beat up foreigners and attack dark-skinned Caucasians. Gays are attacked, liberals jeered and opposition protests forcibly disbanded. At home there is growing intolerance of anything except the government line, while abroad President Putin picks quarrels with his neighbours and threatens his erstwhile Western allies.

Is Putin leading Russia into fascism? That is now the accusation of Western critics. Is it not time, they say, to drop pretences of partnership, stand up to Russian bullying of its neighbourhood, denounce the clampdown on basic freedoms and chuck Russia out of the G8?…  Seguir leyendo »