Two days ago, Boris Johnson was appointed as the new prime minister of the United Kingdom after Theresa May stood down over her failure to lead Britain out of the European Union.
Below is an international press review of events leading to this British political change of scenery by Helmut Sorge, former Foreign editor, and Middle East expert for Germany's leading newsmagazine "Der Spiegel", and columnist at the Policy Center for the New South.
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Poker is a game for real men, cowboys, for example, ocean divers, stunt men, gambling away their meager pay. Poker is America, as oversized as trucks, egos and steaks. A gambler’s paradise. 24/24. Drinks on the house, a discount for the bridal suite. Poker made its way from quaint southern New Orleans to the rough west, where gold diggers gambled away fortunes, and settlers risked their wagons and horses for a game of cards. Decades ago, I met a descendent of this wild bunch in Las Vegas, Johnny Moss, the greatest poker player of our time, as his biographer Don Jenkins wrote in his “Champion of Champions” (1981). Moss was as pale as a hospital sheet, because most of his time he worked under neon lights. The gambler had a room upstairs in “Binion’ s Horseshoe Saloon”, which Moss only ever left when he was challenged for a golf game - 50 000 dollar for one hole. Or 100 000. He played with his professional poker rivals, who were buddies as well, Pug Pearson for example, or Doyle Brunson.
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In Turkey, Republican People’s Party (CHP) candidate Ekrem Imamoglu decisively won the rerun of the mayoral election in Istanbul last weekend. The new elections were called after pressure from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose Justice and Development Party (AKP) lost the original vote in March by a narrow margin.
Below is an international press review of events leading to the elections' results, by Helmut Sorge, former Foreign editor, and Middle East expert for Germany's leading newsmagazine "Der Spiegel", and columnist at the Policy Center for the New South.
"German chancellor Angela Merkel may be forced to cede her power earlier than expected after episodes of violent and controllable shaking in public has led party officials to fear for her health." Announcements we have been reading in the press these past days. Below is an international press review of events leading to these times of uncertainty, by Helmut Sorge, former Foreign editor, and Middle East expert for Germany's leading newsmagazine "Der Spiegel", and columnist at the Policy Center for the New South.
Awad Ibrahim, chairman of the Lybian Organisation of Policies and Strategies (LOPS), one of the few think tanks in this violence-torn country, has escaped to establish contacts with his African colleagues at the African Think Tank Summit held in Rabat from May 9th to 11th. For a few years he was Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy in his country, and later appointed Deputy Prime minister. At times Awad Ibrahim fears for his life, but he believes a political solution between the two competing power centers in Lybia is still possible, even through elections. When ? He remains silent… No one knows. Dr Awad Ibrahim, educated in electrical engineering, was in his world when he discussed the role of think tanks in advocating for green energy in Africa, a session chaired by Aziz Mekouar, the ambassador to multilateral negotiations of COP 22 and future representative of Morocco in China.
