Economic sanctions, oil price fluctuations and employment: new empirical evidence from Libya.
INTRODUCTION Libya is a small oil-producing developing economy in North Africa and its economy is heavily dependent on oil revenue. Libya plays an important role as a member of OPEC in the supply of oil to the world market. Conditions in the Libyan economy worsened...

Human trafficking in Australia: the challenge of responding to suspicious activities.
Introduction Human trafficking' (hereinafter referred to as trafficking) is a human rights issue of grave concern that has, befittingly, received increasing global attention over recent years. In saying this, trafficking is not a new phenomenon, but rather one that 'has been part of civilization since the beginning...

Cyber warfare between Estonia and Russia.
IT seemed innocuous enough. The grim bronze statue of a Soviet soldier in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, an already uncomfortable presence at the centre of a city no longer under Soviet 'occupation', was relocated last April to the tranquil setting of a war cemetery. The remains of Soviet...

Speaking for Australia: cross-cultural dialogue and international education.
In their interactions with international students, either at home or abroad, teachers often find themselves speaking on behalf of the nation. Overseas students arrive with expectations created in the international education marketplace, expectations that depend more on a nationalist than on an internationalist outlook. Students also have ideas of...

From Franco to freedom: reflections on getting reacquainted with Spain.
IN THIS YEAR'S northern spring, I indulged myself in the pleasure of returning for a while to Spain, where I had squandered many marvellous months of my youth in the early 1960s. That was when Franco Spain had emerged from the traumas of the Civil War (1936-39), the isolation...

Soviet takeovers: the role of advisers in Mongolia in the 1920s and in Eastern Europe after World War II.
The Soviet Union's post-war takeover of Eastern Europe has been the subject of articles and books sufficient in number to fill a small library. Thus, it is puzzling that the role of Moscow's advisers in the USSR's newly acquired "sphere of influence" has been a neglected topic. Virtually no...

A Dialogue on Foreign Policy, 2003: Project Ploughshares Foreign Policy Brief.
I. Introduction The Canadian government's Dialogue on Foreign Policy is a welcome opportunity to communicate a broad range of concerns and recommendations to the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT). In addition to preparing a response to the Questions for Discussion posted on the DFAIT...

IRAQ - Oct 29 - On Iraq Security Lists 310 Contractors.
At least 310 private security companies from around the world have received contracts from US agencies to protect American and Iraqi officials, installations, convoys and other entities in Iraq since 2003, according to the most comprehensive accounting yet of the secretive and weakly regulated role that private firms have...

IRAQ - Oct 21 - Disagreement On US Troop Pullout Agreement In Iraq.
Statements by Iraqi politicians that a security agreement with the US will be reached soon are merely attempts to weaken the opposition's demands, according to an Iraqi parliamentarian who spoke to Gulf News on condition of anonymity. His statements come as Iraqi leaders held further talks on Oct 21...

LEBANON - Oct 21 - Sleiman Stresses Dialogue As Only Way For Lebanon Jumblatt Wants Syrian Help On Shebaa.
President Michel Sleiman says that reconciliation and dialogue among rival Lebanese factions were a national duty rather than a political option. Sleiman told representatives of the Lebanese community in Montreal, Canada, that a number of reconciliations have been already achieved, while others were still in the making. The president...