Politics

By Ismail Serageldin* Egypt is once more doing things its own unique way. After millions of people went into the streets and in 18 days that shook the world succeeded in toppling the regime of Hosny Mubarak after 30 years…

Freedom and democracy. How I have come to loathe this phrase. Two-lofty-words-and-a-conjunction bandied around by handmaidens of Empire: verbal grenades that can gut entire nations. When I hear “freedom and democracy” I instinctively look for cover – just as “Allahu…

Success in free elections held after the “Arab Spring” protests in Tunisia and Egypt has brought Islamists to power through democratic means, and Islamist influence is on the rise throughout the Arab world. Much of the debate about liberal democracy’s…

Over 100,000 demonstrators filed along the streets of Hong Kong 1 July this year in the annual protest march that is on every activist’s agenda in this vibrant city. The march marks the handover of the British colony to Beijing…

Follow Democracy Now! Live Updates “The head of Egypt’s armed forces has announced the ouster of President Mohamed Morsi and the suspension of the constitution. Backers of Morsi have described the move as a “military coup.” For minute-by-minute coverage of…

When Muhammad Yunus won a Nobel Prize in 2006, in conjunction with the now renown micro-credit organisation Grameen, it was a great day of jubilation in Bangladesh. Since that day, the organisation has continually got better and its methods were…

One day after a vote to exclude, Beji Caied Sebsi, the leader of the new political party, “Nida’a Tounes”, his supporters gather to protest. “It represents the beginning of dictatorship,” Beji Caied Sebsi said.  Under the new law all former…

Hundreds of Tunisian protesters have taken to the streets in the capital Tunis to voice their opposition to a draft law that is expected to ban the former regime’s officials from running in elections. Demonstrators gathered outside the country’s National…

Foto: Andes Ecuador has irrevocably and unilaterally renounced its trade preference relationship with the USA, Fernando Alvarado, the Communication Minister reported in a press conference. “In the face of threats, insolence and heavy-handedness of certain political sectors, media groups and…

“On the streets of Santiago, Chile, there was a massive day of protest 28 June 2013 centred around education but with other demand also highlighted,” says humanist member Sergio Bastías. “The Humanist Party presidential candidate Marcel Claude led the pack,…