The political history of the flora and fauna exposes that around 95.13% of the 248 dependent territories and independent states have been colonised by the Western countries, mostly in Britain, which invaded more than 90% of the world countries, although not fully colonised. Britain conquered 223 territories, but officially colonised more than 80 countries…

* Four of the dead were UNICEF staff * Top U.N. envoy for Somalia brands attack “despicable” * Al Shabaab militants have stepped up attacks this year (Updates death toll, U.N. officials, president’s comments) By Abdiqani Hassan BOSASSO, April 20 (Reuters) – Somali militant group al Shabaab bombed a minivan carrying staff to a United…

NAIROBI (Reuters) – Somalia’s corruption watchdog will soon publish a report showing financial irregularities in most government ministries, the auditor general said, findings likely to strain relations with donors helping to rebuild the east African country. Western and other donors have poured billions of dollars into Somalia, funding the army’s battle against Islamist insurgents and…

London 15 April 2015 (SDN/QJ) If the United States is the colossus that bestrides the world, its command to history is simple: Stop. The problem with America’s imperative is, as distinguished Yale historian Paul Kennedy remarked in 2010, “history, unfortunately, has a habit of wandering off all on its own.” A recent diplomatic episode shows…

Washington 15 April 2015 (SDN/QJ) Eighteen months, hundreds of thousands of travel miles, and countless cups of hotel coffee later, the world’s top powers strode up to the stage with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif on April 2 and declared “mission accomplished” – at least for the next three months. The central tenets of…

London 15 April 2015 (SDN/QJ) – European states have come under renewed pressure from human rights and refugee organisations to mount large-scale search-and-rescue operations in the Mediterranean after the latest migrant boat disasterl led to the drowning of an estimated 400 people. Critics say that the cancellation last year of an Italian-run sea rescue mission, Mare…

David Cameron has rarely come unstuck on the campaign trail so far, batting away questions with his usual smooth, predictable and dull responses. And when he faced an audience of schoolchildren in Bolton for BBC’s Newsround show, he must have been predicting an easy ride. But he ended up being asked the toughest question of…

President Barack Obama and President Raúl Castro of Cuba met on Saturday for a historic summit between the leaders of two countries that for the last half century have viewed one another with deep suspicion, as ideological rivals and often outright enemies. The meeting at the Summit of the Americas in Panama comes as Castro…

  Russia announced Monday that it will allow the sale of advanced S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to Iran, which would significantly improve the Islamic Republic’s air defense systems. In recent years, the United States and Israel have lobbied Moscow not to supply Tehran with such weapons, but with world powers racing toward a June 30 agreement…