VICTORY OF HOLLANDE A CAUSE FOR HOPE IN EUROPE

I have known French president-elect Francois Hollande since the days of his predecessor and my friend Francois Mitterand. A man of broad vision, he is what France needs to pull itself out of the current crisis and put in place a policy for economic and social recovery. But his victory at the run-off election on May 6 goes far beyond this: it is a resounding confirmation of numerous signs that Europe has recognised the failure of neoliberal ideology and is changing course.

Improving Tense U.S.-Pakistan-Afghanistan relations

Five long-term trends form the backdrop for this subject: the fall of the U.S. empire; the de-development of the West; the decline of the state system in favour of nationalisms from below and regionalisms from above; the rise of the rest of the world; and the rise of China.

“Crowdfunding” 2.0?

The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS) signed by President Barack Obama on April 4th, 2012, had been loaded with provisions pushed by Wall Street lobbyists to include "small" companies capitalised at up to one billion dollars and perverted by relaxing both requirements of Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) reporting and compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley financial regulations passed in response to the 2008 crisis.

Renewed Mandate for UNCTAD After North-South Wrangling

After often bruising negotiations along North-South lines, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has obtained a renewed and broad mandate for its future work, including on global economic issues.

Hedging on Hunger

On the evening of Apr. 24, following a daylong rally against large-scale land investment deals in poor nations, the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Manhattan became the venue for a 30-minute light show against land grabs in Africa.

Threat of “Nuclear Terror” Diverts Abolition Efforts

President Barack Obama indicated in Prague in 2009 that he was interested in achieving a "world without nuclear weapons." Since that bold statement (which was one of the reasons for his Nobel peace prize) he has been persuaded by his foreign policy advisors and pressured by the Nuclear Weapons Laboratories to put nuclear abolition on hold and to focus instead on issues such as nuclear safety and nuclear security.

Solutions to the Economic Crisis

One of the hidden faces of the economic crisis lies in the famous Black-Scholes equation to find the "correct price" for financial derivatives, a complicated equation adapted from thermodynamics, for which Myron Scholes and Robert C. Merton received the 1997 Swedish State Bank's prize in honour of Alfred Nobel. Fischer Black had died in 1995 and was no longer eligible.

Iran/Israel: What the West can and should do

The overall picture has turned much worse over the last few months. In particular, the Western demands to Iran made public prior to the Istanbul consultations on April 14, bodes ill for the next round of talks in Baghdad. Everyone has stated views, used rhetoric and taken concrete steps that bring us all closer to the abyss called ‘War on Iran’. While it is easy and dangerous to escalate a conflict, it is difficult ­without losing face­ to de-escalate and make peace.

EPA with Europe: What’s in it for Africa?

We live now in a fast-changing world. The paradigm of globalisation and free trade is being questioned. It is now being asked whether state capitalism might be the next model of the day: capitalism guided by the strong hand of the state. As this debate continues, the reality is that the markets of Africa’s major trading partners –the U.S. and EU– are stagnant or even shrinking. On the other hand, our markets are growing, as are the markets of the emerging developing economies.

Stop Threatening, Start Talking

We are currently witnessing the worst features of the state system: trading insults and threats, sanctions, readiness to use extreme violence, forward deployment of U.S. troops in Israel as hostages to guarantee U.S. involvement in a possible war, disregard for common people and the effects of warfare in the Middle East and the world.

France at the Polls – Adieu Sarkozy

In France, presidential elections are "the mother of all elections" and the fiery core of political debate. They are held every five years, in two rounds. In principle any French citizen can run in the first round, which will take place on April 22. If no candidate wins an absolute majority (over 50 percent of votes), a runoff election will be held two weeks later.

Ocampo as World Bank Candidate: A Reason for Regional Pride

The nomination of José Antonio Ocampo for the Presidency of the World Bank is a source of pride and hope for all those working for economic and social development, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean.

From the Bicycle Theory to a Snowball Approach to Get the WTO Moving

Trade diplomats and trade officials face several uncertainties in 2012. Many of these have their source in the continuing serious global financial crisis and its deadening hand on the real economy. This, and the reality of the major role played by corporate finance capital in the electoral process of countries, ensures nothing will be done, at least not this year, to tackle the root causes of the financial crisis, with criminal fraudulence at its heart.

The Fourth BRICS Summit: Chinese Flavours in an Indian Curry

The Delhi Declaration and Action Plan adopted at the 4th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on March 29, 2012, would have quickly laid to rest any residual anxiety in Western capitals that a serious rival focus of power and influence was beginning to take shape in the Indian capital.

Norwegians Rebuked for Straying from Nobel Founder’s Peace Vision

A public authority in Sweden recently issued orders that the Stockholm-based Nobel Foundation must rein in and discipline the Norwegian Nobel Prize Committee, which is tasked with selecting the Nobel peace laureates. This announcement followed a four-year-old dispute over Norwegian misuse of the peace prize, established by the 1895 will of Swedish inventor and industrialist Alfred Nobel, for those who “confer the greatest benefit to mankind.”

What the Pope Left the Cubans

What will the Pope's visit bring Cuba? This is the question that tenaciously preceded Benedict XVI on his way to this perennially polemical critical island, which remained apparently intact by the time he ended his intense three-day visit on March 28.

What to do about Syria?

We all feel desperate watching the horrible killings, the suffering of the bereaved and the whole population. But what can be done?

Give Palestinian Nonviolent Resistance a Chance

We are two women and mothers ­one Irish and one American­ who have experienced the loss of children in our families to the senseless violence of war. We hope that none of you will experience such pain.

The Paradox of the Nuclear Age

Climate change and nuclear war are the two most serious threats to human security and planetary survival. Governments are addressing the causes of climate change and the prevention of nuclear war, but political will to reduce greenhouse gases and eradicate nuclear weapons needs to be further strengthened.

For a Denuclearised Middle East

In recent months, the dispute over the nature and intent of the Iranian nuclear development programme has generated increasing tensions throughout the Middle East region. When I consider all that is at stake here, I am reminded of the words of the British historian Arnold Toynbee, who warned that the perils of the nuclear age constituted a "Gordian knot that has to be untied by patient fingers instead of being cut by the sword."

Cuba: Is the Pope Coming?

Festooned with lights and brightly painted, the sweet shop "La Caridad" just opened on the outskirts of Havana. One of the new breed of private businesses, the store is in the back of a modest home. A single glance at its appearance and offerings is enough to show that it has lofty aspirations.