Week 64: Iran Offline
Posted on 03. Sep, 2010 by admin in Around the Planet
If you were in Iran this past week and wanted to use the internet, most likely you had some problems. In the run-up to al-Quds day, the Iranian government slowed internet speeds, making sights like Yahoo, Facebook and Goggle virtually inaccessible. Learn about this and other issues in the latest episode of The Week in Review, an ongoing series from Iran comprised largely of footage shot on cell phones and small cameras and smuggled out of the country.
Is the UN out of Nepal?
Posted on 02. Sep, 2010 by admin in Around the Planet
The UN mission in Nepal is drawing to a close, but the Maoist military may not want them to leave too soon. Film@11 correspondent Rajneesh Bhandari reports from Kathmandu in the latest episode of “Around the Planet.”
Week 63: Arms and Energy in Iran
Posted on 30. Aug, 2010 by admin in Around the Planet
From initiating the Bushehr nuclear power plant to unveiling a new surface-to-surface missile, Iran has been defiantly flexing its muscles in the face of international sanctions. Meanwhile, the government has continued cracking down on political dissidents and even introduced tougher laws on advertisements about house pets. Learn more about these and other issues in The Week in Review, an ongoing series about Iran’s Green Movement, comprised largely of footage shot on cell phones and small cameras and smuggled out of the country.
The Race to Win Pakistani Hearts
Posted on 25. Aug, 2010 by admin in Around the Planet
Pakistan is still reeling from the torrential rains that have displaced millions of its citizens. International aid – and international media attention – have neen slow on the pickup, and there are fears that extremist terror groups will win over Pakistanis’ hearts due to their quick response.
Ali Siddiqui’s Mahvash & Jahangir Siddiqui Foundation is one moderate group trying to help. Siddiqui discusses what’s happening on the ground and the threat of extremism. (You can make flood relief donations through the Mahvash & Jahangir Siddiqui Foundation here.)
The Never-Ending Election
Posted on 24. Aug, 2010 by admin in Around the Planet
It has been more than seven weeks that Nepal is without a prime minister.
For the fifth consecutive time, none of the candidates received enough votes to claim the majority. Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal got only 246 votes in his. Nepali Congress’s Parliamentary Leader Ram Chandra Paudel garnered only 124 votes.
The inability to elect the New Prime Minister has affected the peace process and writing for new constitution. It has also affected the working atmosphere in government offices.
Critics claim that the Maoist Supremo Prachanda’s failure to win the election has affected his image in Public. The next election will be held on September 5, 2010. But it is still not clear whether Nepal will get a new prime minister on that date, with the growing indifference among political parties.
CPN UML and Madhes-based parties who have got winning votes have remained neutral in the voting that took place five times.
–Rajneesh Bhandari
Pakistan Under Water
Posted on 23. Aug, 2010 by admin in Around the Planet
Torrential flooding has left giant swaths of Pakistan under water and driven millions of people from their homes. Ali Siddiqui, director of the Mahvash & Jahangir Siddiqui Foundation, discusses the catastrophe and its possible consequences. (You can make flood relief donations through the Mahvash & Jahangir Siddiqui Foundation here.)
Week 62: Iran’s Shaky Politics
Posted on 20. Aug, 2010 by admin in Around the Planet
In the past week, there have been signs of rifts among Iran’s ruling elite. In particular, Iran’s Supreme Ruler Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Ayatollah Komeini said Iran will not sit down for talks with the US until sanctions are lifted, directly contradicting President Ahmadinejad. Learn more about this and other Green Movement issues in this episode of “The Week in Green.”
http://blip.tv/file/4026909
The Man Who Would Be King – Redux
Posted on 17. Aug, 2010 by admin in Around the Planet
Ever wonder what it’s like to be caught in the middle of the Afghan war? Bob Shepherd can tell you. He spent time there as a security adviser and wrote about his experiences in The Circuit.
Now in his new novel The Infidel he tells the story of two British soldiers caught up in deadly political intrigues. A modern-day retelling of Rudyard Kipling’s The Man Who Would Be King, it takes place, like its 19th-century predecessor, in Afghanistan’s remote Nuristan province where Shepherd spent time.
In this interview, Shepherd discusses The Infidel as well as the realities of the war in Afghanistan in 2010.
http://blip.tv/file/4002570
Week 61: Dollars Out, Rials In
Posted on 16. Aug, 2010 by admin in Around the Planet
With international sanctions mounting and oil sales falling, Iran plans to switch its reserve currencies from dollars and Euros to the Iranian Rial. Iran’s first vice president said the country would no longer trade oil in these “filthy” currencies. Along with a hunger strike, religious persecution and more evidence about 2009′s rigs presidential election, this episode of “The Week in Green” charts Iran’s political unrest.
Nepal Terrorism Threat
Posted on 11. Aug, 2010 by admin in Around the Planet
Even though Nepal is not a safe haven for international terrorists, the United States has cautioned India that Nepal could pose a threat.
A report from the US State Department was made public last week warning India that members of extremist groups could transit from Nepal. The report claimed that Muhammad Omar Madni, a member of the terrorist group Lashkar-e Tayyiba (LT), traveled through Nepal en route to New Delhi in June of last year.
“The large ungoverned space along the Nepal/Indian border exacerbates this vulnerability, as do security shortfalls at Tribhuvan Airport, Nepal’s international airport,” the report says.
However, the report has given Nepal a clean sheet on international money laundering, saying, “There were no indications that the country was used as an international money laundering center. There were no prosecutions or arrests for money laundering in 2009.”
Regarding the bombing of a Catholic Church in May, the report said that it was conducted by the Nepalese Defense Army (NDA), a Hindu extremist group that was responsible for shooting a Catholic priest and bombing a mosque in 2008. The leader of this group has since been arrested and their activities appear to have ceased, the report said.
- Rajneesh Bhandari