TOKYO — In February 1946 the U.S. forces occupying Japan drew up a new constitution for a country that had been left shattered by the Pacific War. Many Japanese cities were left in ruins, with vast swathes of them reduced to ash by intensive American firebombing. Fast-forward six decades to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit last week to Washington, and Japan presents a very different picture. Despite a more than decade-long slump, Japan’s economy remains the second largest in the world. It is a respected member of the international community and was found in a BBC poll in March [...]
Nigerian President-elect Alhaji Umar Musa Yar’Adua has pledged to secure the insurgent-riddled Niger Delta in an apparent bid to solidify his contested victory in last month’s election and prove his commitment to the country’s resource and revenue base. “If government must succeed in its bid to secure the country, it must secure the Niger Delta region,” said Yar’Adua Friday in one of his first official appeals as the troubled West African nation’s next elected leader. “I have given my pledge that the Niger Delta is a strategic part of this nation and will be treated as such. We will take [...]
CARACAS, Venezuela — Known for military strongmen, Latin America has mostly embraced peace since the end of the 1980s era of right-wing dictatorships. Now flush with profits from a commodities boom, however, many Latin American countries are beefing up their military capabilities as they seek to ascend the ranks of regional power players. Brazil, Chile and especially Venezuela have invested heavily in arms purchases. With $4.3 billion in purchases since 2005, according to the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency, Venezuela’s recent spending surpasses even Pakistan, at $3 billion, and Iran, at $1.7 billion — major military powers in their own regions. [...]
