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Jul 1 In Zimbabwe, reports of action by apparently intimidated opponents of President Mugabe have not reached the world press, and "African leaders" talk about Mugabe's recent fraudulent election. In Mongolia, people riot in response to what they believe are fraudulent elections in their country. In the capital, Ulan Bator, they set fire to the ruling party's headquarters. Another group attacks a police station and fails in an attempt to confiscate weapons. The melee leaves five dead. Thousands defy a 10 pm curfew, refuse to disperse and protest through the night. Police use tear gas, rubber bullets, water cannon and declare a four-day emergency.

Jul 2 An editor for Zimbabwe's official daily newspaper, the Herald, writes: "...let's face it, foreigners with hidden agendas are trying strenuously to magnify the differences between the ruling and opposition parties in Zimbabwe..." He states that "Now is the time for leaders of opposition and ruling parties to wave the olive branch across the narrow divide to flag off a meeting between them to find a homegrown solution of their political conflicts."

Jul 2 In Chad, another movement for the "true Islamic faith" meets a set back. Government troops kill its leader, Ahmat Israel Bichara, and "more than sixty" of his followers.

Jul 3 Attempts at a rational debate in the U.S. includes former NATO commander and scholar Wesley Clark on June 29 praising John McCain for his military service but also saying: "Well, I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president." A storm of words has followed this truism. Some charge Clark with trying to demean McCain's military service record. It remains unclear whether this is their disconnect or that they are arguing that any honorable military combat experience does indeed necessarily make one qualified to be president.

Jul 4 In China, an extensive government investigation of the death of the girl over whom a reported ten thousand people rioted on June 29, in Guizhou Province, has been conducted. The conclusion is that the girl, Li Shufen, died from drowning, that she had had no sexual intercourse before her death and that the last the three people who had contact with her had no connections to officials. The rioting appears to have been in response to rumor: that Li Shufen had been raped and killed by the son of a local official.

Jul 4 Airline flights begin that connect Taiwan with five major cities in mainland China - a mark of improving relations.

Jul 7 Mongolia's capital, Ulan Bator, has been calm since the one-day of rioting a week ago. There is no more government declared emergency. International observers have described the elections as fair, but the opposition party is asking for a partial recount. It is reported that of the 8,000 who protested a week ago many were young unemployed men.

Jul 7 While visiting the United Arab Emirates, Iraq's prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, speaks of establishing full sovereignty for Iraq and a timetable for a withdrawal of U.S. troops. To help Iraq's reconstruction, the United Arab Emirates has cancelled Iraq's $7 billion debt.

Jul 9 Russia threatens to react "with military-technical means" against a planned U.S. anti-missile shield near its borders. The U.S. has signed an agreement with the Czechs for the shield's creation and an agreement with the Poland is pending.

Jul 9 Figures for life expectancy at birth in the year 2008 for the average person in nations across the world have been posted by the CIA. They show most of world having made gains in the past year. For the average person in the entire world the figure is 66.12 years, up from 65.82 years in for 2007. That's a 3.6- month gain. The Japanese lead among the major nationalities at 82.07 years. Swaziland is at the bottom at 31.99 years. Iraq is around average, at 69.62 years, up from 67.46 in 2005. The few countries that have declined are Gabon, Gambia, Jamaica, Zambia and Panama.

Jul 9 In the Washington Post, Harold Meyerson writes about new labor laws in China the benefit workers but that some U.S. businessmen are less than enthusiastic about. He describes Canon, the printer-maker, and Hanes of underwear fame as building factories in Hanoi, where factory workers make about a quarter of what Chinese factory workers earn. He writes of capitalists increasing investments in Vietnam rather than Thailand, where wages are equivalent, because communist Vietnam offers greater stability.

Jul 10 Hurting from the high price of oil, airline executives call for limits on oil speculation.

Jul 10 Iran's ruling elite continues to talk of diplomacy, but they also want to discourage anyone who might attack their country to take seriously its military power. They have launched a number of missiles. In response, Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak says he favors diplomatic pressure and sanctions against Iran's nuclear program but that Israel is "not afraid to take action".

Jul 10 According to offshoot faction from Fatah, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Hamas arrests three Palestinians who fired rockets into Israel. Last month, Hamas and Israel agreed to a cease-fire.

Jul 11 In Nepal, agriculture provides the livelihood of 76 percent of the people, but plots are small and provide food for only around two months. Births in Nepal have been more than three times deaths. Food prices have risen at least 50 percent in a year. The UN believes that 2.5 million Nepalis need immediate food assistance.

Jul 12 In the U.S. there has been a decades-old claim that "regulation is the problem and deregulation is the solution." Today we are hearing that "we are in a worldwide crisis now because of excessive deregulation." A somewhat conservative political analyst, d**k Morris, adds his voice to this point of view, complaining that bankers are able to escape regulation by running to Britain are responsible for some of recent rise in oil prices - easily remedied, he says, by a small measure of regulation. Of course there are those who reduce the rise in oil prices to its present level to an oversimplification: purely supply and demand.

Jul 14 Deforestation currently accounts for about 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. A major report coming out of Britain by the Rights and Resources Initiative speaks of a new demand from land to grow food and fuel crops. The report's co-author says, "Arguably, we are on the verge of a last great global land grab."

Jul 15 Phil Gramm, the former Republican senator from Texas and a former presidential candidate, has spoken of a "nation of whiners." Whining has also been an issue in Norway, Norwegians accusing each other of never being satisfied, calling it en kulture of sutring (a culture of whining.) Foreigners, on the other hand, have said that Norwegians don't complain enough. And now a study in Norway describes 80 percent of Norwegians not complaining when they are dissatisfied. The study suggests that they should complain more for the sake of making things function better.

Jul 15 In the U.S. are those on one side of a lot of talk who want a president who does not flip flop - or change his mind. Some would say there are those who are looking for a president whose mind is set in stone. And there are those on the another side looking for a president who can absorb a ton of complex information fast and change his mind if appropriate. Some of them realize too that politics is an art of the possible, and they are not looking for someone who refuses to compromise. Unbending purists in high political office have never existed or have never functioned well - take your pick.

Jul 16 Kings Juan Carlos of Spain and Abdullah of Saudi Arabia open a conference which brings together Muslims (Sunni and Shi'a), Christians, Jews and Muslims. King Abdullah calls for tolerance and reconciliation. Al Qaeda denounces the gathering.

Jul 17 Thousands gather to commemorate to mourn and commemorate the death of Tsar Nicholas II and his family, killed ninety years ago while being held captive by the communists. The Romanov family has been canonized as saints by the Orthodox Church.

Jul 17 On Public Television's Nightly Business Report, Barack Obama's economic policy director, Jason Furman, regarding oil says, "It is hard to explain how supply and demand have changed so much in the last six months to give us the prices we have today, and the problem is that top McCain economic adviser Phil Gramm inserted a provision in a bill in 2000 which basically took the regulators off the beat."

Jul 18 In Cuba, state owned farming has been a disappointment. To improve food production, the Cuban government is set to give more farm land to private enterprise. Farmers doing well will be able to increase their holdings by as many as 99 acres (40 hectares).

Jul 19 The interfaith conference of several hundred delegates, launched by Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, ends. It stands counter to the idea of a "Clash of Civilizations." Former prime minister of Britain, Tony Blair, describes the conference as a "strong signal, from the top, that the true faith of Islam is about peaceful co-existence."

Jul 19 Iraq's Prime Minister Maliki speaks with candidate Barack Obama. And Maliki says, "Whoever is thinking about the shorter term [for withdrawal] is closer to reality. Artificially extending the stay of U.S. troops would cause problems... As soon as possible, as far as we're concerned... Those who operate on the premise of short time periods in Iraq today are being more realistic."

Jul 22 Candidate McCain complains about candidate Obama: "He said he still doesn't agree that surge has succeeded now that everybody knows that it has succeeded." Candidate Obama says of the surge: "There is no doubt that the extraordinary work of our U.S. forces has contributed to a lessening of the violence, just as making sure that the Sadr militia stood down or the fact that the Sunni tribes decided to flip and work with us instead of with al-Qaeda - something that we hadn't anticipated happening."

Jul 23 The third annual film festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, opens. It's to screem 70 movies, 44 of them Saudi productions.

Jul 24 National unity talks begin in Zimbabwe

Jul 24 Farmers in Norway demonstrated against possible cuts in Norway’s high protective tariffs.

Jul 25 Legislation to increase regulation on energy futures speculation fails in the U.S. Senate. Republicans opposed the bill because it did not include lifting prohibitions against offshore drilling for oil and shale oil development.

Jul 29 Seven-year-old World Trade Organization talks collapse - talks begun at Qatar's capital, Doha, in 2001. The talks are about more than agriculture but broke down regarding agriculture. The United States wanted access to markets in India and China for their agricultural produducts, and India and China wanted to protect their farmers with tariffs higher than is pleasing to the United States.

Jul 30 Norwegian farmers are cheer the collapse of World Trade Organization talks. Norwegian industrial and fishing interests are not cheering.

Jul 31 People who believe they are wise in their knowledge of supply and demand believe that Democrats are stupid for not supporting increased oil drilling as a solution for the high cost of energy. People opposed to the oil drilling proposed by President Bush and presidential candidate John McCain say that it would be ten years before new oil would be produced by new drilling and that between now and then adequate alternatives to more oil producing should be created. They add that the greater amount of oil consumption that would accompany a greater oil supply would be harmful to the environment.

Aug 1 An e-mail to the BBC: "I am from Serbia and I am glad to see this criminal [Radovan Karadzic] sent to The Hague. The protests here showed that the support for the war criminals comes from the worst corners of Serbian society... Patriots are not those who burn other people's houses. I am proud of Serbian history but not what Serbs did in the 1990s."

Aug 1 Conservatives, most of whom we can presume voted for President Bush, are attacking candidate Obama for lacking in political accomplishment. The conservative columnist David Brooks is among them. Intellect is not an issue they are addressing, with some success, as many voters see intellect as mere pretense. A McCain ad dismisses whatever qualifications Obama has in intellect by associating him with celebrities such as Britney Spears and Paris Hilton.

Aug 1 Japanese worry about dwindling schools of tuna. They temporarily suspend of tuna fishing and plan for periodic suspensions.

Aug 3 On Meet the Press, Senator John Kerry says of Wesley Clark's comment about John McCain getting shot down not being a qualification for president: "I think it was entirely inappropriate. I have nothing but enormous respect for John McCain's service." Clark had prefaced his remark with the same praise for McCain. Some people believe that Kerry's military service did not make him qualified to be president and that he overplayed his military service when he ran for president in 2004.

Aug 4 British counter-intelligence officials speak of al Qaeda overcoming its disorganization of recent years. They speak of it being based in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region and describe it as successfully recruiting, training, possessing organizational communications channels and building dispersed cells.

Aug 6 In Iraq, Kurds want a referendum in Kirkuk on whether it will be governed by the Kurd's regional government. Kirkuk is historically Kurdish. Arabs and Turkmen live there and these ethnicities don't want to give the oil-rich region back to the Kurds. The conflict threatens the provincial elections for later this year that are seen as necessary for political reconciliation.

Aug 6 In the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi is overthrown by a military coup. He was elected in March 2007 in the country's only multi-candidate election for the presidency since the country's independence from France in 1960. Abdallahi had just moved to replace senior army officers.

Aug 7 USA Today and others report that scientists confirm the link between global warming and more powerful rainstorms.

Aug 8 FactCheck.org has criticized both Obama and McCain. Today its lead "Recent Postings" article headlines "More Tax Deceptions" and says "McCain misrepresents Obama's tax proposals again. And again, and again."

Aug 8 In Burma, the military arrest people demonstrating on the 20th anniversay of the crushing of democracy in their country. A Buddhist monk complains to ABC News about a lack of support from the international community. ABC News protects his identity.

Aug 9 In the second day of all-out war between Russia and Georgia, Russian jets bomb several towns, including Gori in central Georgia. The conflict centers on South Ossetia, which has claimed independence but is claimed by Georgia. Russia has been supporting the de facto government in South Ossetia, and a lot of Russians live there. Georgia initiated military action that killed Russian "peacekeepers" and civilians in South Ossetia. Russia wants Georgian forces to withdraw to the positions they held outside South Ossetia before yesterday.

Aug 11 Robert Kagan is of the famous family of scholars whose views the Bush administration generally shares, and he is a foreign policy advisor to John McCain. In a Washington Post article entitled "Putin Makes His Move" he writes of the war still going on between Russia and Georgia. He writes: "It is a war that Moscow has been attempting to provoke for some time," and he describes Putin as involved in a big geopolitical power play not unlike the old Soviet Union. "Russia's attack on sovereign Georgian territory" he adds, "marked the official return of history." "The next president," he concludes, "had better be ready."

Aug 11 Vladimir Putin complains about the inability of "Russia's western partners" to adequately assess what has happened in South Ossetia. Quoted by Russia Today, he says, “I’m amazed by their skills at seeing black as white, of portraying aggressors as victims and of blaming the real victims for the consequences of the conflict. Putin complains about a double standard, saying, “As we all know, Saddam Hussein was hanged for burning down several Shiite villages. But now suddenly the situation is different. The Georgian leaders who in a matter of hours wiped out ten Ossetian villages, who ran over children and the elderly with tanks, who burned civilians alive, those people have to be protected.”

Aug 13 Many are finding fault with Georgian President Saakashvili regarding the war that just ended. Mikail Gorbachev, who has been critical and no friend of Vladimir Putin, finds fault with Saakashvili. So too do Anne Gearan, Fred Kaplin and Dimitri Simes, founding president of the Nixon Center in Washington. Simes says "This is not black-and-white. There are no good guys in this situation," and he speaks of "considerable responsibility" by the Bush administration.

Aug 13 In Saudi Arabia the Arab News reports a man using the Interior Ministery anti-terrorist hotline telephone number, 990, to seek "help and guidance before his thoughts turned into violent actions." The report adds: "The man has reportedly been referred to religious scholars and therapists and his family has been brought into the rehabilitation process." People have been responding to the anti-terrorist program by reporting family members.

Aug 14 According to the BBC, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov tells reporters that any peace deal making reference to Georgian territorial sovereignty would be taken by the Abkhazians and South Ossetians as "a deep human insult." The U.S. recognizes Abkhazia and South Ossetia as ruled by Georgia. In Abkhazia de facto independence from Georgia was declared in 1992. In South Ossetia de facto independence apparently began with the breakup of the Soviet Union and the independence of Georgia in 1991.

Aug 14 On the News Hour, quest scholar Anna Vassilieva says, "The conflict between South Ossetians and Georgians is decades old. It's 80 years old at least. South Ossetians never felt themselves to be Georgians or a part of Georgia, and that feeling of resentment of Georgia was enforced very strongly in 1991 and 1992, when both sides committed extraordinary atrocities against each other in that war that brought - that Russian peacekeepers brought to an end ..."

Aug 15 Presidential candidate John McCain assesses the Russia's military movement into Georgia: “My friends, we have reached a crisis, the first probably serious crisis internationally since the end of the Cold War. This is an act of aggression.”

Aug 18 Nepal's president swears in the communist former guerrilla chief, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, alias Prachanda, as prime minister. Prachanda was elected prime minister last week.

Aug 18 The government of Hugo Chavez announces the nationalization of the cement industry in Venezuela owned by the Mexican cement giant Cemex.

Aug 19 In Pakistan there has been dancing in the street with yesterday's announcement by President Musharraf that he is resigning. One Pakistani says "the entire nation is happy." Another worries about a lack of direction.

Aug 19 The Bush administration and others are urging that Georgia and Ukraine join NATO as a way of standing up to the Russians. Richard Cohen, Washington Post columnist asks whether NATO membership for Georgia and Ukraine will keep Russia in its place. And if it doesn't will we fight for Georgia?

Aug 19 Russia’s envoy to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, says, “NATO is still an organization of the past. The best phrase to describe the [NATO] alliance is ‘born in the Cold War’. Unfortunately, all NATO’s attempts to find its role in the new world and maintain collective security in partnership with Russia have failed.”

Aug 20 Russia cancels all military cooperation with NATO. The United States and Poland sign an agreement to put a missile defense base into Poland that is untested and will not be ready to operate for several years, to defend Poland from an unlikely attack in years to come from North Korea or Iran. The timing of the agreement, the Russians believe, is to demonstrate against Russia's recent move into Georgia. The Russians see the agreement as a threat although the missiles do not have a range that can strike at Russia's missile defense system.

Aug 22 In Somalia, Islamists win control in the port city of Kismayu. Elsewhere are rival militias, occupying Ethiopian troops, rival clans, chaos, fighting, lawlessness, drought and people on the run. Mass starvation is expected.

Aug 23 Bernard Lewis, Professor Emeritus of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University, has told Foreign Policy magazine that Islam "can, and I think will, develop their own brand of democracy, by which I mean limited, civilized, responsible government. And there are signs of that."

Aug 25 The Beijing Olympics end. Muslims did not make much of a showing, especially the sheltered half of their number: women. We didn't see any Saudi women at volleyball. There were 340 "Arab" participants at the game, thirty more than the British. The British won 47 medals. A man from Bahrain won gold. Algerians won a silver and bronze. A Moroccan finished second in the men's marathon, in record time. A Moroccan, Afghani and Egyptian won a bronze. The country with the best showing was Jamaica: one medal for every 254,939 in population. Iceland had a medal for every 304,367, Cuba one for every 486,231, Mongolia 749,020, Georgia 771,806, the Dutch won a medal for every 1.0 million in population, Britain and Finland 1.3 million, Sweden 1.8, Germany 2.0, South Korea 2.7, Israel 7.1 million, Kenya and the U.S. one for every 7.6 million, China one for every 13.3 million. India won three medals: one for every 383 million in population. Unfortunately in this calculation gold equals bronze and the hoola hoop and splashing around in water equals long distance running. Okay, grace is glorious, but special congratulations from here go to Constantina Tomescu and Samuel Wansiru for winning their marathon races.

Aug 25 An Iraqi Health Ministry official announces that in the last two months some 650 doctors have returned to their jobs from abroad. The return is attributed to improved personal safety in the country. Around 8,000 Iraqi doctors fled the country since 2003.

Aug 26 Arab News reports that in England a gang of youths beat to death a 16-year-old Qatari student studying English at a language school. According to his roommate, who survived the terrorist attack, the gang chanted racist abuse and "called me Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden."

Aug 27 The Democratic Party nominates Barack Obama as their candidate for U.S. President.

Aug 28 Accused by Republicans of giving "feel good" speeches of soaring oratory and turning people with empty words as would a rock star, Barack Obama instead delivers an acceptance speech that is essentially a pragmatic campaign speech. His supporters appear to like it because he said "all the right things" and confronted his opponent, McCain.

Aug 28 Civilian deaths from air strikes results in Afghanistan's government calling for an end to NATO's use of air strikes in their country. Accusations are made that a recent air raid killed 90 civilians. The United Nations joins the call. NATO forces operate in Afghanistan under UN authorization. Airpower has been described as a cheaper way of conducting war than using instead more ground forces with their more precise and more discriminate use of weapons.

Aug 29 Russia is the largest export market for the U.S. poultry industry. Russia announces that it is banning imports from nineteen U.S. poultry suppliers because of their failure to provide test results measuring levels of antibiotics and arsenic in their products.

Aug 31 Russia has been suffering from unrest among the Ingush people (in the province of Ingushetria) as well as people in the neighboring province of Chechnya. (Both provinces border with Geogia.) Russian police are accused of murdering a popular website owner in Ingushetria, Magomed Yevloyev, soon after having arrested him. Yevloyev was a critic Russian government policies.