Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Thursday 28 January 2016


28 January 2016
Le Monde diplomatique

February 2016

... Iran's very modern women; Burundi's near civil war; China's rebalancing act; EU forgets democracy; India report Hindu far right's hold on tribes, in the name of the cow; how the USSR backed Israel's creation; Afghanistan, when jihadists were friends; Germany and Netherlands, prisoners' tales; Argentina, trans are legal...

  • A time of angry strongmen - Serge Halimi

    The exchange of compliments was unexpected. Last December, Russia's president Vladimir Putin indicated a preference for Donald Trump, one of the leading candidates in the US Republican Party presidential primaries, calling him "really brilliant and talented" and "the absolute leader in the presidential race". Trump, far from rejecting this homage, responded in kind, though it could harm him in a party whose many neoconservative members can't decide whether they loathe Russia or Iran more. He said (...)
    Translated by Charles Goulden
  • 'Get back to your washing machine'

    Iran's ambitious women* - Florence Beaugé

    Sanctions have been lifted, and there are elections this month. Thirty-six years after the Islamic revolution, women have a major role and 60% of university students are female. But for all their drive, they are constantly checked.
    Translated by George Miller

  • Life after sanctions* - Florence Beaugé

  • Regional attempts to capitalise on still fragile situations

    Burundi isn't Rwanda* - Gérard Prunier

    Tutsi-Hutu relations in Burundi are far less volatile than in Rwanda, but the country, already struggling to feed its population, is descending into low-level civil war.
    Translated by George Miller

  • The myth of the Hutus and Tutsis* - Gérard Prunier

  • Great Lakes timeline*

  • National decisions made by Brussels technocrats

    Demonstration model for the 'democratic deficit'* - Anne-Cécile Robert

    A stalled proposal to extend minimum maternity leave across Europe exposes the technocrat-led EU bureaucracy that coordinates Union policies and advises national representatives.
    Translated by Charles Goulden
  • 'A historic transition that will unfold over decades'

    China rewrites the global rules - Philip S Golub

    Despite worries over the end of the Chinese economic miracle and harder times because of the aftershocks of the 2008 financial crisis, global rebalancing is happening - and quickly.
    LMD English edition exclusive
  • Hindu takeover of tribal religion

    Unholy politics of India's far right - Clea Chakraverty

    Ultra-nationalist Hindu organisations are taking a close interest in indigenous religion in the mountains of northeast India.
    Translated by Charles Goulden

  • Killing people to save cows* - Naïké Desquesnes

    The status of cows in India is a political tool, started in colonial times and used by nationalists - then and now.
    Translated by Molly Ashby
  • 'Tactical considerations' that shaped the new middle east

    Why Moscow championed the creation of Israel - Gabriel Gorodetsky

    The Soviet ambassador to Britain, Ivan Maisky, wrote in his diary about an unexpected meeting in 1941 that led to Soviet recognition of the state of Israel. The Russians had envisioned a binational state but at the last moment opted for Zionism.
    Original text in English
  • 'That turbanned horseman riding through the snow'

    France's Afghan fundamentalist heroes* - Denis Souchon

    There was a time when the French press lauded the mujahideen who fought the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and romanticised their land and traditions.
    Translated by Charles Goulden
  • 'Aim is to cut justice system costs'

    Dutch prisons keep an eye on the money* - Léa Ducré and Margot Hemmerich

    Dutch prisons are so under-occupied that they are housing inmates from other European states. This has more to do with economics than a drop in crime rates.
    Translated by George Miller

  • Sentenced to below minimum wages* - Gilles Bouvaist

    A German prisoners' union wants the same rights to negotiate working pay and conditions for inmates as any other trade union. No one is quite sure of the legal position.
    Translated by Molly Ashby
  • 'Victory meant getting home alive'

    Argentina's liberal gender law* - Angeline Montoya

    Three years ago Argentina made it legal for all its citizens to choose to reassign their official gender. How much has that changed things?
    Translated by George Miller

Diplomatic channels

Posted by Roberto Abraham Scaruffi at 16:04