EDITORIAL:

A world of extremes

ELISSA JOBSON
By 2015, it is possible that an interface between brain and silicon will enable paralysed people to walk again. We can expect the most basic bionic eyes to be functional by 2020, with artificial livers suitable for human transplant available just a decade later. Organically-based prosthetic limbs and the holy...
GLOBAL INSIGHT: BIOMEDICINE

Winston – “Ethics are not written in stone”

LORD ROBERT WINSTON
Professor Robert Winston has spent much of his career working in gynaecological and reproductive medicine....

Medicine’s new horizons

JOHN BONNER
Stroke, cancer and heart disease pose the biggest challenges for medicine in the developed world....

Technology: driving health care costs – both up and down

IRA BRODSKY
Western medicine is sometimes criticised for its dependence on expensive equipment for the diagnosis and...

Joint venture

Economic issues are just as important as scientific advances in driving changes in medical techniques....
GLOBAL INSIGHT: EXTREMISM

The mind of the religious extremist

NEIL J. KRESSEL
Throughout history, people have perpetrated extreme violent acts in the name of religion – whether...

The extreme right’s new clothes

ELISABETH CARTER
Right-wing extremists have made electoral gains across Europe in recent years. A new-found professionalism, coupled...

Animal rights and wrongs

BIBI VAN DER ZEE
For more than 30 years, the United Kingdom was known as the global centre of...

The road to Damascus

MAAJID NAWAZ & TIMOTHY ZAAL
Two reformed extremists, Maajid Nawaz and Timothy Zaal, talk to Global about their journeys from...
SPOTLIGHT: NAMIBIA

A strategy for development

HIFIKEPUNYE POHAMBA
In 2011, Namibia celebrated 21 years as an independent nation. As a relatively young country,...

Namibia: Coming of age

GWEN LISTER
After 21 years of independence, Namibia has healthy democratic institutions, even if broad-based development is...

How to share the wealth

TOM MINNEY
Although investors are attracted by Namibia’s minerals and good economic management, the country is still...

Mining the hotspots

ROGER MURRAY
Foreign investors are lured by new projects in a wide range of minerals, while China...

Poachers turned gamekeepers

TOM MINNEY
A unique policy encouraging locals to help manage and conserve wildlife has produced good results,...

Rhythms of the city

DENVER ISAACS
The generation preceding the post-independence ‘born-frees’ is at last taking the entertainment industry seriously, giving...
GLOBAL ARENA: TALKING POINTS

“We are social democrats”

MICHAEL CHILUFYA SATA
Heading Zambia’s second major political change since its independence in 1964 – the first being...

Financial derivatives

GERALD ASHLEY
We are living through extraordinary times. The unfolding of the credit crunch has already lasted...

Books – recent titles reviewed

Global book reviews: Empire, al-Qaeda, Dag Hammarskjold, Malcolm X and tribal survivors. Trouble spots engendered...

Art: The long route home

Yiwarra Kuju: The Canning Stock Route is a vibrant multimedia exhibition. It tells the story...

A shared history

CURTIS TAYLOR
The Canning Stock Route is about connection. It’s about water, life and history. It’s my...

Economic crisis, not just in Gaza

The political morass in the Palestinian world is paralleled by a catastrophic economic situation, especially...

Blocks on progress in Palestine

GEORGE JOFFE
During a year of tumultuous change throughout the Middle East, the situation in Palestine seems...
IN FOCUS: PAKISTAN

Pakistan: An alliance in crisis

IRFAN HUSAIN
US-Pakistan relations are at an all-time low: the USA’s mistrust of its ally in the...

Islamic extremism: a home-grown problem

CYRIL ALMEIDA
A decades-old policy of supporting jihadists in Afghanistan and Kashmir has come back to haunt...

Questions of confidence

FARHAN BOKHARI
A failure to reform the tax system, losses in the public sector and the flight...

Turbulent times for theatre

HAJRAH MUMTAZ
A basic lack of security and the impact of the global financial crisis have choked...

Freedom without responsibility

SHAHED SADULLAH
The liberalisation of Pakistan’s media in 2002 may have opened up the sector to a...
IN FOCUS: SOLOMON ISLANDS

Federalism, respect and identity

GORDON LEUA NANAU
Hopes are pinned on a new federal constitution that will acknowledge and respect tribal differences,...

Sustainable peace

JACK MAEBUTA AND REBECCA SPENCE
High-level nation-building efforts seem unlikely to bring durable peace at village level, at least until...

Hope for the gender agenda

RUTH RAMOIFUILA
Solomon Islands women are disadvantaged by their lack of access to education and status in...

Solomon Islands: A fragile calm

CHRIS PRITCHARD
Regional assistance keeps the Solomon Islands government in business while the economy is finally on...
IN FOCUS: VANUATU

The charms of island obscurity

CHRIS PRITCHARD
The peaceful Vanuatu archipelago may no longer be in the news, but its people are...

Culture clash

M. ANNE BROWN
Friction between traditional kastom practices and state governance is not uncommon, especially in the areas...

The cargo cults of Tanna

The island of Tanna is home to several of these mysterious cults – which nowadays...
COMMONWEALTH NETWORK: COMMONWEALTH IN ACTION

From the Commonwealth Secretary-General

KAMALESH SHARMA
At this time of continuing economic global stresses, the importance of trade is seen even...

“Support for democratic principles”

LORD DAVID HOWELL
Lord Howell was appointed minister of state at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in...

A missed opportunity?

ELISSA JOBSON
The failure of Commonwealth heads of government to take a bold stand and appoint a...

Interview: Sir Ronald Sanders

SIR RONALD SANDERS
Global: Were you happy with the decision taken by heads of government to further evaluate...

“The mortality rate for under-5s has declined by about one third right across the Commonwealth”

DR SYLVIA ANIE
Dr Sylvia Anie worked for the Ghana AIDS Commission before joining the Commonwealth Secretariat in...

Dialogue and debate

DAISY COOPER
The Commonwealth Advisory Bureau sees itself as a catalyst for debate, helping to facilitate discussion...

Unlocking skills training in Africa

KAREN SPEIRS
The Commonwealth of Learning and the Commonwealth Association of Polytechnics are working together to create...

Civil society finds its voice

MARCIE SHAOUL
The Commonwealth People’s Forum provides a unique opportunity for citizens to directly engage in discussions...

The Breakfast Club

NOELYN WAGAPU-TUZA
A new generation of Commonwealth leaders met with heads of government, on the sidelines of...

Questions & Answers

KIM SCOTT
Award-winning Australian author, Kim Scott, is proud of his Noongar heritage and draws on the...

Commonwealth means business

DR MOHAN KAUL
The 2011 Commonwealth Business Forum was the biggest and most vibrant ever, proving that trade...

Cultural exchanges

As part of the revitalisation of its cultural programme, the Commonwealth Foundation will also be...

The Commonwealth Advisory Bureau

Since 1999, the Commonwealth Advisory Bureau (CAB), formerly the Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit, has sought...

Key events and meetings

Health gets political World leaders gathered for a high-level meeting on the prevention and control...

Tanzania at 50

Fifty years after Tanganyika was granted independence, and 47 years since Tanganyika united with Zanzibar,...

Doing business in the Commonwealth

The World Bank Doing Business 2012 report reveals that, despite a fall in rankings of...

Political turmoil disturbs Nauru

Nauru, the smallest member state of the Commonwealth, experienced a week of intense political upheaval...

Scotland criminalises forced marriages

In November, Scotland took a bold step towards eradicating forced marriages. Under new legislation, anyone...

Election rundown

Seychelles held legislative elections in October 2011, in which President James Michel’s People’s Party won...
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