Word: tensions
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Egypt is finally emerging from an unusually frosty winter, but the political indicators suggest that the country may be in for a long, hot summer. The presidential election scheduled for September is generating more interest and tension than ever, thanks to plans to amend the constitution to allow opposition candidates to run directly against President Hosni Mubarak. And even as Mubarak and his challengers wage what is certain to be a contentious political campaign, terrorists have struck in Cairo three times in less than a month...
...Egyptians take comfort in the belief that the perpetrators of the recent attacks appear to have been poorly-organized amateurs with a limited capacity for mayhem. The background and motives of the attackers remain fuzzy, and it is not known whether they were attempting to exploit the growing political tension in the country, or were simply imitating the anti-Western violence that has become endemic in countries such as Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Thus far, there is no sign that the sudden upsurge in terrorism will have anything like the disastrous impact on Egyptian tourism caused by the gunmen...
...Lien's handshake was beamed across the world, but talk of "closure" or an end to the tension in the Taiwan Strait was irrationally exuberant. From the Taiwan side, in fact, the event largely highlighted the deep political divisions on the island?and Beijing's adroit efforts to exploit them. Lien was received like a visiting head of state, which he isn't. Taiwan's President is Chen Shui-bian, and he and his supporters want to stand up to China, not cozy up. Chen actually endorsed Lien's trip at the last minute. But the phoniness of that rapprochement...
...tension between China and Japan comes at a time when the situation on the Korean peninsula is deteriorating and the need for multilateral diplomacy is mounting. North Korea has already declared itself a nuclear power, one that is entitled to formal disarmament talks like any other nation with nuclear arms. It is impossible to verify if Pyongyang really has the Bomb, but neighboring countries think it unwise to test whether Kim Jong Il is bluffing. So getting Pyongyang back to the negotiating table?the "six-party talks" that the North walked out of last June?becomes more urgent...
Malaysia is a land rich in farmers, civil servants and electronics assembly workers, but poor in novelists. That's an odd deficit, given the country's high levels of literacy, prosperity and anxiety, as well as an abundance of history, politics, ethnic tension and other delicate topics that can be used as material. All of which makes Tash Aw's debut novel worthy of close inspection...