The June split in Palestine and the subsequent hostile take over that occurred in the Gaza strip was a predictable and expected outcome if you were following recent events in the region. It seems as though efforts to sabotage the nascent alliance between Fatah and Hamas were rearing their ugly head right from the get go.

The Sweden based, Folke Bernadotte Academy, named after Count Folke Bernadotte who was the first UN official mediator has been committed to international peace and security since its inception.

Pakistan has currently been taking up a lot of media space in the international arena. The publicity triggered by General Pervez Musharraf's sacking of the Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhary escalated to the Karachi riots and the everlasting Jamia Hafza issue, creating a tight spot for Musharraf and is threatening to unseat him from his self-proclaimed political throne.

The fact that I am writing this column on a website is a small example of how I and you the reader are both beneficiaries of globalisation. In fact, for someone who has made it far enough in life to use a browser to reach this website, it would be impossible to imagine a world without internet, international trade, travel, foreign direct investment and financial transfers.

In May 2007 I met with academicians, local experts and researchers in the UAE. I hoped to gain an informed insight into the efforts being made in the region that would facilitate an Arab renaissance Gitanjali Bakshi (Strategic Foresight Group)

In May 2007 I met with academicians, local experts and researchers in the UAE. I hoped to gain an informed insight into the efforts being made in the region that would facilitate an Arab renaissance Gitanjali Bakshi (Strategic Foresight Group)