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	<title>WorldCategory: Qatar &#124; World &#124; TIME.com</title>
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		<title>WorldCategory: Qatar &#124; World &#124; TIME.com</title>
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		<title>France May Aid Syrian Rebels Unilaterally If EU Doesn&#8217;t Lift Arms Embargo</title>
		<link>http://world.time.com/2013/03/14/france-may-aid-syrian-rebels-unilaterally-if-eu-doesnt-lift-arms-embargo/</link>
		<comments>http://world.time.com/2013/03/14/france-may-aid-syrian-rebels-unilaterally-if-eu-doesnt-lift-arms-embargo/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 14 Mar 2013 17:32:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bruce Crumley</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[arab uprisings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Conflict]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[E.U.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Europe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[France]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gaddafi]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Germany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iran]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Libya]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Qatar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[religion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Saudi Arabia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Syria]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Terrorism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Turkey]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[U.K.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[arms]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bashar al-Assad]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Britain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[civil war]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Damascus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Embargo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[European Union]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[François Hollande]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[London]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Military]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[paris]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[terrorism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UK]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://world.time.com/?p=75356</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[France has significantly upped its efforts to unblock Western military support for rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad by calling for the European Union to lift its arms embargo in the conflict. In the most emphatic sign yet that Paris intends to get weapons and ammunition flowing to anti-Assad fighters, French Foreign Affairs Minister Laurent Fabius said March 14 that if the E.U. and other international partners fail to heed that call, France may act on its own to bolster rebel fighting capacity. “The position we’ve taken, with [President] François Hollande, is to demand a lifting the arms embargo… [as] one of the only ways to get the situation moving politically,” Fabius told France Info radio Thursday morning. Asked what France would do if its partners refused that request, Fabius indicated Paris would act unilaterally, reminding listeners that “France is a sovereign nation”. (MORE: Syria’s Many Militias: Inside the Chaos of the Anti-Assad Rebellion) That push isn’t the first time France has sought to extend aid to Syrian civilians and anti-Assad militias beyond the medical and humanitarian assistance it now provides. During a Jan. 28 conference on Syria in Paris, Fabius warned that continuing to withhold armaments to democratic forces within the Syrian resistance risked seeing large and powerful Islamist members of the anti-government coalition seize control of the country once the conflict ended. Fabius more recently escalated the tone of that message in a March 13 editorial in the daily Libération by describing what he called a Franco-British initiative. That consisted, Fabius said of seeking to bring a swifter end to the escalating massacre of the civil war by offering military as well as political and moral support to rebel forces. &#8220;More than 70,000 dead and a million refugees, the systematic destruction of a country: the second anniversary of the launch of the Syrian revolution is an anniversary of blood and tears,” Fabius wrote Wednesday. “We must convince our partners, particularly in Europe, that we no longer have any other choice than to lift the embargo on arms to<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&#038;blog=19871253&#038;post=75356&#038;subd=timeglobalspin&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>Syria</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://world.time.com/category/middle-east/syria/</primary_category_link>
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			<media:title type="html">girondins33</media:title>
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		<title>Behind the Story: TIME&#8217;s Aryn Baker Discusses Qatar&#8217;s Outsize Influence</title>
		<link>http://world.time.com/2012/12/14/behind-the-story-times-aryn-baker-discusses-qatars-outsize-influence/</link>
		<comments>http://world.time.com/2012/12/14/behind-the-story-times-aryn-baker-discusses-qatars-outsize-influence/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 14 Dec 2012 13:51:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kharunya Paramaguru</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Qatar]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://world.time.com/?p=59794</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Qatar, a tiny desert nation no larger than Connecticut, is emerging as one of the most influential countries in the Arab world. Showcasing its enviable oil and gas wealth, Qatar’s government has engaged in a global shopping spree, buying up everything from skyscrapers in London to paintings by modern masters. It will host the 2022 football World Cup and has recently built some world-class museums. It is the gulf nation’s foreign policy ambitions, however, that have attracted the most attention. Qatar has positioned itself at the heart of politics in the Middle East, acting as both a mediator and military supporter of opposition forces from Libya to Syria. Most recently its Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani, paid a visit to Gaza, reaffirming his country’s support of the Palestinian militant group Hamas. TIME’s Middle East bureau chief Aryn Baker reported this week on Qatar’s disproportionate influence in Arab politics, its foreign policy goals and what problems it faces internally for the magazine. TIME spoke with Baker to get the story behind the story. Qatar has the highest ratio of migrants to citizens in the world. How has that affected its internal politics? In addition to the labor class you have an elite, educated migrant population who have come for good, interesting and well-paid jobs. No one wants to jeopardize that; they don’t want to bite the hand that feeds them. So people are loath to speak negatively about the government. Many people I spoke to didn’t want to talk on the record, and there’s a fear of offending either the government of their employer. That’s why I say there is not much in the way of a political class, as few of the expatriates want to rock the boat as it is their job at stake. With the labor class, their treatment in Qatar is marginally better than elsewhere in the Gulf, but that is not to say they are treated well. There is another big problem that no one really discusses, which is the lack of political and<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&#038;blog=19871253&#038;post=59794&#038;subd=timeglobalspin&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Qatar</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://world.time.com/category/middle-east/qatar/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timeglobalspin.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/1500_int_zbqatar_1224.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">Image: A real estate sales office for Pearl-Qatar, a man-made-island project</media:title>
		</media:content>

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			<media:title type="html">kparamaguru</media:title>
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		<title>The Circumstance of Pomp: Hamas Makes a Stately Move</title>
		<link>http://world.time.com/2012/11/04/the-circumstance-of-pomp-hamas-makes-a-stately-move/</link>
		<comments>http://world.time.com/2012/11/04/the-circumstance-of-pomp-hamas-makes-a-stately-move/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 04 Nov 2012 20:29:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Karl Vick</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Palestine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Qatar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://world.time.com/?p=52185</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The pomp in the Gaza Strip last month was significant. Hamas, the militant Palestinian group long known for parading in the streets wearing black ski masks and suicide belts, had turned out an honor guard in dress uniforms. They stood smartly alongside the red carpet rolled out for a portly man in flowing robes, the Emir of Qatar, who had arrived for a few hours on Oct. 23 in what was made very much to look like a state visit. The sultan arrived carrying $400 million to invest in the Palestinian coastal enclave, a sizeable sum even for a government that doesn’t lug suitcases of dollars into its jurisdiction through tunnels, as Hamas does. But if money was all that mattered, Mahmoud Abbas would still rule Gaza. His Palestinian Authority (PA), based in the West Bank, sends money each year into Gaza at least four times the amount from the Emir. The PA is still paying the salaries of the 70,000 teachers and other bureaucrats who stopped going to work when Hamas kicked Abbas&#8217; Fatah party out of the place five years ago. Gaza’s skeletal economy would collapse without that money, but it’s not the currency that matters most. Hamas craves legitimacy. A few months ago, Hamas&#8217; Foreign Ministry announced it was going to begin training diplomats. This was an act either poignantly hopeful or nakedly deluded, because no one has diplomatic relations with Hamas. “We met with the Swiss!” an official once told me over lunch. “Europe is talking to us.” He had a limo waiting outside. But until Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani showed up, the wish remained unfulfilled. (MORE: The Qatar Conundrum: The Emirate That Arms Syria’s Rebels Also Embraces Hamas) &#8220;The visit of the Emir announces officially the breaching of the political and economical siege imposed on Gaza for more than five years,&#8221; Ismail Haniyeh said in receiving the honored guest. Haniyeh holds the title of Prime Minister in Gaza. In the West Bank, the same title is held by Salam Fayyad. They could scarcely be more different.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&#038;blog=19871253&#038;post=52185&#038;subd=timeglobalspin&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://world.time.com/2012/11/04/the-circumstance-of-pomp-hamas-makes-a-stately-move/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Palestine</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://world.time.com/category/middle-east/palestine-middle-east/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timeglobalspin.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/1500_int_hamas.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
		<media:thumbnail url="http://timeglobalspin.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/1500_int_hamas.jpg?w=240" />
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			<media:title type="html">HAMAS GUARDS</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://2.gravatar.com/avatar/b74ab0d3e6c7bca9513f7534bf977be9?s=96&#38;d=http%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">karlvick</media:title>
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		<title>The Qatar Conundrum: The Emirate That Arms Syria&#8217;s Rebels Also Embraces Hamas</title>
		<link>http://world.time.com/2012/10/24/the-qatar-conundrum-the-emirate-that-arms-syrias-rebels-also-embraces-hamas/</link>
		<comments>http://world.time.com/2012/10/24/the-qatar-conundrum-the-emirate-that-arms-syrias-rebels-also-embraces-hamas/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 25 Oct 2012 03:19:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Tony Karon</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Middle East]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Qatar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Abbas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Egypt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fatah]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gaza]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hamas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iran]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islamist]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Muslim Brotherhood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Obama]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rebel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Romney]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sheikh Hamad]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Syria]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tunisia]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://world.time.com/?p=51222</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Mindful of its declining appetite for projecting power in the Middle East, the U.S. is relying on more activist partners in the region such Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey to arm the Syrian rebellion. But Tuesday&#8217;s visit to Gaza by Qatar&#8217;s Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani &#8212; to the delight of the territory&#8217;s Hamas rulers and Egypt&#8217;s Muslim Brotherhood, while Israel and Fatah fumed &#8212; was a reminder that U.S. allies in the region often pursue goals quite different from those of Washington, despite many shared objectives and common enemies. And the relative decline of U.S. influence in the Middle East has seen some of those independently-minded allies grow more assertive in pressing their agendas. In Monday&#8217;s presidential campaign foreign policy debate, Gov. Mitt Romney rejected U.S. military intervention in Syria, noting instead that &#8220;The Saudis and the Qataris and the Turks are &#8230; willing to work with us. We need to have a very effective leadership effort in Syria, making sure that the insurgents there are armed, and that the insurgents that become armed are people who will be the responsible parties.&#8221; President Obama also talked up cooperation with regional allies, but warned that &#8220;we have to [make] absolutely certain that we know who we are helping; that we&#8217;re not putting arms in the hands of folks who eventually could turn them against us or allies in the region.&#8221; (MORE: The Mainstreaming of Hamas Continues as Palestinian Unity Gains Steam) But the Emir&#8217;s visit to Gaza makes clear that Qatar, the tiny Emirate whose massive natural gas reserves give it the world&#8217;s highest per capita income as well as geopolitical punching power way above its weight, has sharply different ideas from Washington&#8217;s about just who the  &#8221;responsible parties&#8221; will be in a changing Middle East. Hamas, after all, is formally shunned by the U.S. and European powers as a terrorist organization, and Washington has shown little enthusiasm for efforts by Arab governments, including Qatar, to promote reconciliation between the Islamists and the Fatah movement of President Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas was<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&#038;blog=19871253&#038;post=51222&#038;subd=timeglobalspin&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Qatar</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://world.time.com/category/middle-east/qatar/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timeglobalspin.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/qatar_emir_1024.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
		<media:thumbnail url="http://timeglobalspin.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/qatar_emir_1024.jpg?w=240" />
		<media:content url="http://timeglobalspin.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/qatar_emir_1024.jpg?w=240" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">Emir of Qatar</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/9bd886fea2e4b000cf3c42ddaa6be6e4?s=96&#38;d=http%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">tkaron2010</media:title>
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	</item>
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		<title>After November: 5 Middle East Headaches That Await the U.S.</title>
		<link>http://world.time.com/2012/10/01/after-november-five-mideast-headaches-looming-for-the-u-s/</link>
		<comments>http://world.time.com/2012/10/01/after-november-five-mideast-headaches-looming-for-the-u-s/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 01 Oct 2012 09:45:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Tony Karon</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Afghanistan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Egypt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iran]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[israel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Middle East]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Muslim Brotherhood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Palestine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Qatar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Saudi Arabia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Syria]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Abbas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[assad]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[intervention]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Israel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Khamenei]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MEK]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Morsi]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Netanyahu]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nuclear]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Palestinian]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[peace process]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[refugee]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Romney]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Taliban]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Turkey]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[two state]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[withdrawal]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://world.time.com/?p=47201</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[1. Despite Netanyahu&#8217;s Retreat, Avoiding War with Iran Will Get Harder For all of his summer saber rattling and efforts to pressure the Obama Administration into stating imminent red lines for war with Iran, Israel&#8217;s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu effectively retreated at the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday. Despite the familiar apocalyptic rhetoric, Netanyahu took care to signal Israel&#8217;s cooperation with the Obama Administration on the issue. More important, he drew his own red line &#8212; somewhat confusingly, given the much lampooned graphic on which he relied &#8212; at Iran possessing a sufficient stockpile of 20% enriched uranium to reprocess into one bomb&#8217;s worth of highly enriched uranium. At present rates of enrichment, he claimed, that point would be reached next spring or summer. Leave aside the considerable body of expert opinion that holds that the U.S. would have a lot more time than Netanyahu suggests to respond to an overt move by Iran to build nuclear weapons, the Israeli leader nonetheless once again wound forward his doomsday alarm clock, setting it to ring sometime early next year. That seemed to take off the table the threat of an Israeli strike over U.S. objections before November&#8217;s election. But the occupant of the Oval Office early next year may face a more acute crisis: sanctions have not so far changed Iran&#8217;s nuclear calculations, and such concessions as Iran has offered by way of capping its nuclear work are not ones that the Obama Administration has been ready to accept as a basis for easing sanctions. Iran doesn&#8217;t trust the U.S. any more than the U.S. trusts Iran, and Tehran believes the real purpose of the sanctions is to create economic chaos in the hope of provoking an uprising against the regime. Such suspicions will have been heightened by Friday&#8217;s U.S. decision to remove the Mujahedin-e-Khalq, an exile armed group that fought for Saddam Hussein against Iran in the 1980s and which is widely reviled even among leaders of the opposition Green Movement, from the U.S. list of terrorist organizations. (MORE: Apocalyptic Talk Aside, Israel<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&#038;blog=19871253&#038;post=47201&#038;subd=timeglobalspin&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Syria</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://world.time.com/category/middle-east/syria/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timeglobalspin.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/aleppo.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">aleppo</media:title>
		</media:content>

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			<media:title type="html">tkaron2010</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Must-Reads from Around the World</title>
		<link>http://world.time.com/2012/08/28/must-reads-from-around-the-world-13/</link>
		<comments>http://world.time.com/2012/08/28/must-reads-from-around-the-world-13/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 28 Aug 2012 11:23:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>TIME Staff</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[arab uprisings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Asia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Borders]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[China]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Colombia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Conflict]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Democracy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dictatorships]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Diplomacy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Egypt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Foreign Investment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Geo-political tensions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Geo-politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hamas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[History]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hizballah]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Human rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iran]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Latin America]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Middle East]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Military]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Minorities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Protests]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://world.time.com/?p=42344</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Pushback &#8211; Syria&#8217;s Foreign Minister Walid Muallem gives his first Western interview since the uprising began against Bashar Assad &#8212; and uses it to lampoon the U.S. &#8220;We believe that the USA is the major player against Syria and the rest are its instruments,&#8221; he tells the Independent. &#8220;You must read well what you did in Afghanistan and Somalia. I don&#8217;t understand your slogan of fighting international terrorism when you are supporting this terrorism in Syria.&#8221; Morsy Moves &#8211; Reuters interviews Egyptian president Mohamed Morsy ahead of trips to China and Iran &#8211; the first by a leader of Egypt in three decades. State-run Global Times barely contains its glee at Morsy choosing Beijing before D.C.: &#8220;Li Guofu, a researcher with the China Institute of International Studies, [said] the trip signifies a major shift in Egypt&#8217;s foreign policy, which used to be firmly in Washington&#8217;s camp.&#8221; The Washington Post also weighs up the visits. Peace Talks &#8211; The Los Angeles Times reports on Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos&#8217; announcement of &#8220;exploratory discussions&#8221; with the country&#8217;s largest rebel group &#8212; the FARC &#8212; to end decades of conflict. His guiding principles: &#8220;We will learn from the errors of the past so as not to repeat them&#8230;the process has to bring an end to the conflict, not its prolongation [and] we will maintain military presence and operations over every centimeter of national territory.&#8221; Regaining Power &#8211; The BBC shadows the Mali military as it attempts to wrest control of the north of the country from Islamist insurgents. When asked how his men could &#8220;successfully take on the well armed and, in some cases, battle-hardened al-Qaeda-linked Islamists,&#8221; considering that, &#8220;earlier this year, they did run away from them, with scarcely a shot fired,&#8221; Colonel Didier Dako told the BBC&#8217;s Mike Thomson: &#8221;We were beaten by the Islamists not because of their strength but because of our weakness. We are working on that and are quite sure we can conquer these areas.&#8221; Maritime Rivalries &#8211; The Washington Post considers &#8220;deep divisions created by China&#8217;s increasingly assertive territorial claims in<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&#038;blog=19871253&#038;post=42344&#038;subd=timeglobalspin&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>Daily Briefing</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://world.time.com/category/daily-briefing/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timeglobalspin.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/walid_muallem_0828.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">timeassociatedpress</media:title>
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		<title>Must-Reads from Around the World, August 8, 2012</title>
		<link>http://world.time.com/2012/08/08/must-reads-from-around-the-world-august-8-2012/</link>
		<comments>http://world.time.com/2012/08/08/must-reads-from-around-the-world-august-8-2012/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 08 Aug 2012 11:31:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>TIME.com</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://world.time.com/?p=39230</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Internal Affairs &#8211; Reuters reports that Chinese President Hu Jintao is poised to promote close ally Hu Chunhua — the party boss of Inner Mongolia — to the Communist Party&#8217;s highest levels &#8220;in a bid to retain clout and preserve his legacy after retiring as party chief&#8221; early next year. The New York Times says the party is pushing back against a more outspoken military seeking greater influence over politics with &#8220;a highly visible campaign against disloyalty and corruption &#8230;&#8221; Intervention &#8211; The Guardian reports on Iranian moves to influence events in Syria and the broader region. &#8220;Iran has launched a new campaign to intervene in the Syrian crisis, sending its top officials across the Middle East, blasting U.S. &#8216;warmongering&#8217; and publicly backing a defiant Bashar Assad &#8230;&#8221; it wrote. Meanwhile, the New Yorker examines where Syria&#8217;s war may lead: &#8220;&#8230; We may well be speaking openly about a new Cold War &#8230; with new proxy conflicts yet to come.&#8221; Landmark &#8211; Burmese media in exile The Irrawaddy looks back at August 8, 1988, &#8220;when hundreds of thousands of Burmese from all walks of life joined a popular protest in the former capital Rangoon to topple the dictator Ne Win’s single party rule that had oppressed them for 26 years.&#8221; Its enduring significance: &#8220;&#8230; The day still stands as an important milestone in modern Burmese history — a day that marked the emergence of a full-fledged democracy movement &#8230;&#8221; Contemplating the Future &#8211; The illness and withdrawal from public view of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, &#8220;the rebel-turned-technocrat&#8221; who has ruled Ethiopia since 1991, has &#8220;given Ethiopians cause to contemplate what their nation — now enjoying one of the longest sustained periods of economic development in its history — might look like without him,&#8221; the Washington Post writes. Tola Benti, a young businessman who welcomes a change of leadership, said: &#8220;He&#8217;s like other leaders in Africa; some are better and some are worse, but all of them are addicted to power.&#8221; Mixed Messages &#8211; Germany&#8217;s Der Spiegel observes that while the West has largely been<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&#038;blog=19871253&#038;post=39230&#038;subd=timeglobalspin&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>Daily Briefing</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://world.time.com/category/daily-briefing/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timeglobalspin.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/aaaa2011-10-11t094153z_36986214.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">China&#039;s President Hu and Vietnam&#039;s Communist Party General Secretary Trong walk past guard of honour during welcoming ceremony at Great Hall of the People in Beijing</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">TIME.com</media:title>
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		<title>Must-Reads from Around the World, July 12, 2012</title>
		<link>http://world.time.com/2012/07/12/must-reads-from-around-the-world-july-12-2012/</link>
		<comments>http://world.time.com/2012/07/12/must-reads-from-around-the-world-july-12-2012/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 12 Jul 2012 11:18:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>TIME.com</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://world.time.com/?p=35339</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Major Defect &#8211; Al Jazeera English hosts an exclusive statement from Nawaf al-Fares, the Syrian ambassador to Iraq, following his defection in protest at &#8220;what he described as the horrible massacre committed against the Syrian people&#8221; by Bashar Assad&#8217;s regime. &#8220;I urge all honest members of this party to follow my path because the regime has turned it [the party] to an instrument to kill people and their aspiration to freedom,&#8221; he said. In a statement reported by Syria’s state news agency Thursday, the ministry said he&#8217;d been &#8220;relieved of his duties&#8221; and faces &#8220;legal and disciplinary accountability.&#8221; Choppy Waters &#8211; Reuters reports U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton waded into the storm over disputed islands in the South China Sea at the start of a regional summit Thursday, urging &#8220;rival claimants &#8230; not to resort to threats and intimidation&#8221; &#8212; a indirect but clear reference to China &#8212; and calling for multilateral talks opposed by Beijing. Dynastic Decline &#8211; The Guardian reports on the fall from grace of the Tetra Pak dynasty following the death of Eva Rausing. &#8220;The discovery of Eva Rausing&#8217;s dead body at her home in Chelsea, west London this week, and her husband&#8217;s arrest for drug possession, are just the latest episodes in a grim family saga,&#8221; it wrote. It&#8217;s final conclusion: &#8220;Opinions rush into the vacuum left by the Rausing family&#8217;s reticence, most of them cheap, all worth resisting.&#8221; Aid Appeal &#8211;  Eight aid agencies operating in Dadaab, the world’s largest refugee camp, have come together to issue a plea for greater funding, saying their limited resources are “putting tens of thousands of lives at risk,” the BBC writes. The organizations, which include Oxfam and Save the Children, claim that Dadaab faces a $25 million shortfall, while its population has risen by a third in the past year alone, and it now houses nearly half a million people. Environment vs. Profit &#8211; Reuters investigates an Indonesian palm oil firm who, six years ago, brought the “promise of jobs and roads to impoverished villages,” when it received<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&#038;blog=19871253&#038;post=35339&#038;subd=timeglobalspin&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>Daily Briefing</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://world.time.com/category/daily-briefing/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timeglobalspin.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/fares_0712.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">TIME.com</media:title>
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		<title>Must-Reads from Around the World, June 11, 2012</title>
		<link>http://world.time.com/2012/06/11/must-reads-from-around-the-world-june-11-2012/</link>
		<comments>http://world.time.com/2012/06/11/must-reads-from-around-the-world-june-11-2012/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 11 Jun 2012 11:10:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Joe Jackson</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://world.time.com/?p=29780</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Rising Anger &#8211; The South China Morning Post reports on protests Sunday in Hong Kong demanding Chinese authorities investigate last week&#8217;s suspicious death of Tiananmen dissident Li Wangyang. The demonstration came as officials in the activist&#8217;s Hunan province hometown claimed Li died &#8220;an accidental death&#8221; and his body was cremated at the request of relatives. &#8220;According to reports, Li&#8217;s family did not consent to an autopsy or his cremation,&#8221; it says. Too Close For Comfort – A week of high-profile defendants at the Leveson Inquiry kicks off today with former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Chancellor George Osborne appearing on the stand. The Daily Telegraph, which is live-blogging the day of testimony, reports that Brown admitted the Labour party “accepted too easily” a closed media culture and established that there is a line to be drawn over the relationship between politicians and the media: “You can serve up dinner, but you can’t serve up BSkyB as part of that dinner.” Counter-Revolution &#8211; Global Post examines Saudi Arabia&#8217;s efforts to stymie the Arab Spring in the region, but notes not all has gone to plan. &#8220;Riyadh is pushing a bold agenda to strengthen the long-standing union between its fellow Gulf monarchies, apparently to prevent the Arab world’s revolutionary fervor from spreading,&#8221; it writes. &#8220;The move was met with skepticism and outright hostility from neighboring states, which are reluctant to cede their growing autonomy.&#8221; Bailout Blues – After Spain’s banks were granted a bailout from the euro zone, The New York Times says the repeated pattern of rescuing banks around Europe is “like a comedy routine” and condemns the fact that it’s “only the banks that get rescued, not the unemployed.” It describes as “striking” the idea that European leaders “have no intention of changing the policies that have left almost a quarter of Spain’s workers … jobless.” New Tack &#8211; Ahead of Mexico&#8217;s July 1 presidential election, The New York Times analyzes the three leading candidates&#8217; strategies for the country&#8217;s deadly drug war, noting a major re-emphasis on reducing the violence in Mexico over blocking the flow of drugs to the U.S.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&#038;blog=19871253&#038;post=29780&#038;subd=timeglobalspin&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>Daily Briefing</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://world.time.com/category/daily-briefing/</primary_category_link>
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			<media:title type="html">joejackson2011</media:title>
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		<title>Must-Reads from Around the World, May 16, 2012</title>
		<link>http://world.time.com/2012/05/16/must-reads-from-around-the-world-may-16-2012/</link>
		<comments>http://world.time.com/2012/05/16/must-reads-from-around-the-world-may-16-2012/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 11:33:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Joe Jackson</dc:creator>
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		<category><![CDATA[weapons]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wes Anderson]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/?p=26495</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Arming Rebels - The Washington Post reveals Syrian rebels battling President Assad&#8217;s regime have begun receiving &#8220;significantly more and better weapons in recent weeks.&#8221; Opposition activists and foreign officials say the arms are paid for by Persian Gulf nations and coordinated in part by the U.S., according to the newspaper. But, &#8220;Obama administration officials emphasized that the United States is neither supplying nor funding the lethal material,&#8221; it notes. Sunni Axis - Foreign Affairs writes about the growing improvement in relations between Turkey and Saudi Arabia. &#8220;As an important regional power, a member of NATO, and predominantly Sunni, Saudi Arabia saw Ankara as a valuable bulwark against Iran,&#8221; it says. &#8220;Riyadh would normally be worried about a non-Arab power&#8217;s presence in the region undermining its own position, but it considered Turkey a lesser evil compared to Iran.&#8221; Free Press - Burma&#8217;s exiled Irrawaddy publication reports that media censorship will be abolished in the country &#8220;once the new Myanmar Press Council is formed in June.&#8221; However, the Thailand-based outlet cautions that: &#8220;veteran Burmese journalists who have read a draft of proposed press council regulations said they doubt that Burma will enjoy true freedom of press.&#8221; Yes We Cannes – As the prestigious Cannes film festival kicks off, The Guardian will be live-blogging about the 12-day festival daily, beginning today with a look at the film Moonlight Kingdom, directed by Wes Anderson and starring Bruce Willis, which it calls the “only one game in town.” The paper’s film critics have concluded the festival is to be a “banquet of art and trash.&#8221; Bosnia’s Trial – As Bosnian Serb army commander Ratko Mladic, nicknamed the “Butcher of Bosnia,” is put on trial for war crimes in The Hague 20 years after the Bosnian conflict began, The Daily Telegraph reports that the defendant “gave a thumbs-up” to his family in the courtroom, and later “made throat-cutting gestures” to a woman in the public gallery who lost 22 relatives to Bosnian Serb military forces. Advertising Adversaries – With Facebook on the brink of becoming a public company with a market offering of<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&#038;blog=19871253&#038;post=26495&#038;subd=timeglobalspin&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Daily Briefing</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://world.time.com/category/daily-briefing/</primary_category_link>
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			<media:title type="html">joejackson2011</media:title>
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		<title>Must-Reads from Around the World: March 20, 2012</title>
		<link>http://world.time.com/2012/03/20/must-reads-from-around-the-world-march-20-2012/</link>
		<comments>http://world.time.com/2012/03/20/must-reads-from-around-the-world-march-20-2012/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 20 Mar 2012 13:00:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>TIME.com</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Af-Pak]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[African Union]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Al Jazeera English]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Aleppo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[all-party Parliamentary Committee on National Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Arab League]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Arab League summit]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dawn]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[land developments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Phuket]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poland]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[President Assad]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[The Nation]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/?p=21820</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[More Syria Leaks &#8211; Al Jazeera reveals details from confidential Syrian intelligence and security documents handed over by one of the government’s most trusted officials who recently fled to Turkey. The trove shows President Bashar Assad’s strategy to suppress anti-government protests, including orders to stop protesters from getting into Damascus and detailed security plans for crushing protests in the cities of Aleppo and Idlib, as well as warnings about countries trying to influence Syrian diplomats to defect and indications the government spied on last year&#8217;s Arab League monitoring mission in Syria. Environmental Fallout &#8211; Thailand&#8217;s the Nation exposes the costs of the country&#8217;s development on fragile ecosystems. &#8220;More than a third of all coral reefs near coastal areas around the country have been destroyed by sediment from land developments to build hotels, resorts and private homes,&#8221; it writes. The worst-hit Andaman coast, home to resorts like Phuket, has seen half its reefs degraded. Eyes on Islamabad &#8211; Pakistan&#8217;s Dawn reports on the start of a three-day joint sitting of the National Assembly and Senate, summoned by President Zardari after last year&#8217;s U.S. helicopter raid killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, to debate future American ties. It includes the presentation of a key all-party Parliamentary Committee on National Security report with recommendations for the strained relationship. Deadly Anniversary &#8211; A series of coordinated attacks across Iraq marked the ninth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion and raisef concerns as Baghdad prepared to host the Arab League summit next week, the BBC reports. At least 46 were killed and hundreds wounded in Tuesday&#8217;s violence. Euro No - The Washington Post explores Poland&#8217;s acceptance of all things E.U. &#8211; except the euro. The Polish economy &#8211; supported by the zloty &#8211; is now the fastest growing of the 27 member countries. In the face of euro zone troubles, newer members such as Poland and the Czech Republic are no longer racing to accept the euro. “The attraction is somewhat less; the risks are somewhat more,” Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told the newspaper. African Investment - Foreign Policy examines China&#8217;s African building<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&#038;blog=19871253&#038;post=21820&#038;subd=timeglobalspin&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Daily Briefing</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://world.time.com/category/daily-briefing/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timeglobalspin.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/assad.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">Syrian President Assad speaks during Iftar banquet</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">TIME.com</media:title>
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		<title>Must-Reads from Around the World: March 15, 2012</title>
		<link>http://world.time.com/2012/03/15/must-reads-from-around-the-world-march-15-2012/</link>
		<comments>http://world.time.com/2012/03/15/must-reads-from-around-the-world-march-15-2012/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 15 Mar 2012 12:39:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>TIME.com</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Af-Pak]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Afghanistan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[arab uprisings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Asia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Borders]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Central Asia]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Hizballah]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[iran]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Terrorism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[U.K.]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[U.S.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Asma Assad]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Baba Amr]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[civil war]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Croatia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dawn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[emails]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[homs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ISI]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[London School of Economics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Serbia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[supply route]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Syrian President Bashar Assad]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the guardian]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/?p=21474</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Assad Emails — The Guardian exclusively releases a cache of correspondence purportedly between Syrian President Bashar Assad, his wife Asma and a small inner circle. They show the leader took advice from Iran on how to handle the country&#8217;s uprising, that he was briefed in detail about the presence of western journalists in the Baba Amr district of Homs and how he made light of promised reforms. AfPak Supplies — Pakistani daily Dawn reports how the heads of ruling coalition parties and the chiefs of the army, air force and ISI agreed Wednesday that a joint session of parliament, likely held March 19, would decide on military supplies to NATO forces through Pakistan. &#8220;It is learnt that the committee would recommend to the government to secure ‘better’ terms for reopening the supply routes,&#8221; it says. E.U. Blues — As Croatia and now Serbia continue to line up at Europe&#8217;s enlargement door, Foreign Policy bluntly asks the question: Why would anyone want to join the E.U.? &#8220;The European Union is flailing, feckless, and fundamentally undemocratic,&#8221; argues Alan Sked, a professor of international history and a former convener of European studies at the London School of Economics. Understanding Afghanistan — The New York Times questions if, after 10 years of conflict, Americans have learned anything about the nation&#8217;s people. Comparing the reactions to February&#8217;s Koran burning incident and the recent mass killing of Afghan civilians by, allegedly, a U.S. solider, the author cites the key disconnect, &#8220;Americans still fail to grasp the Afghans’ basic values. Faith is paramount and a death can be compensated with blood money.&#8221; Fallen Star — Former political darling Bo Xilai was removed from his post as the Communist Party chief of the Chongqing municipality Thursday. Party mouthpiece China Daily reports Bo has been stripped of all his posts including secretary and municipal committee member. The ousting poses succession problems as China will experience its largest political transition in years with President Hu Jintao and other elders handing over power, Reuters explains. Defining DNA — The Atlantic tackles Israeli identity politics, wondering if genetics answer the question of what makes someone<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&#038;blog=19871253&#038;post=21474&#038;subd=timeglobalspin&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Daily Briefing</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://world.time.com/category/daily-briefing/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timeglobalspin.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/assad.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
		<media:thumbnail url="http://timeglobalspin.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/assad.jpg?w=240" />
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			<media:title type="html">Syrian President Assad speaks during Iftar banquet</media:title>
		</media:content>

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			<media:title type="html">TIME.com</media:title>
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		<title>Must-Reads from Around the World: March 14, 2012</title>
		<link>http://world.time.com/2012/03/14/must-reads-from-around-the-world-march-14-2012/</link>
		<comments>http://world.time.com/2012/03/14/must-reads-from-around-the-world-march-14-2012/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 14 Mar 2012 12:40:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>TIME.com</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[arab uprisings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Asia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bahrain]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[China]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Egypt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Elections]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[France]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[iran]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Libya]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Middle East]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Migration]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Saudi Arabia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Spain]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Ismail Serageldin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Suzanne Mubarak]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[youth unemployment]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[crude oil production]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Nanto]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/?p=21375</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Beware the Librarians — Newish online-only outfit Global Mail writes about the revolt against the director of the revived ancient Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Egypt amid corruption claims. Ismail Serageldin faces calls for his resignation and staff in revolt in a story that revolves around former first lady Suzanne Mubarak &#8211; and shines a light on the continued fallout from the country&#8217;s revolution. Pain in Spain — El Pais documents the plight of Spain&#8217;s mileuristas: foreign language-fluent graduates aged between 25 and 34 who once decried earning just over 1,000 euros a month. With youth unemployment near 50%, the Spanish daily concludes &#8220;the picture that emerges is of a generation that can only dream of a time when 1,000 euros a month could be considered exploitative.&#8221; Oil Prices — Abu Dhabi&#8217;s the National reports on this week&#8217;s OPEC meeting in Kuwait, where fears heightened that the group, which accounts for about 40% of global crude oil production, may not be able to keep prices under control. &#8220;The price rise stems from geopolitical concerns rather than a supply crunch,&#8221; Sadad Al Husseini, founder of the consultancy Husseini Energy, told the newspaper. Election 2012 — Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is playing a large role in the current presidential race. Some 450 people have registered to run for the top office, including Mohamed Hosni Mubarak, a cousin with the same name as the former leader. CNN claims the younger Mubarak has had limited contact with the ailing 83-year-old. Links to the ousted leader, or the &#8220;Mubarak test,&#8221; is one measure used to vet candidates in the crowded field, The Jerusalem Post reports. Campaigning begins April 30 and elections are scheduled for May 23. Internet Enemies — Media watchdog group Reporters Without Borders released their list of &#8220;Enemies of Internet&#8221; on Monday. Along with the usual suspects of China, Myanmar and North Korea, new to the list this year are Belarus and Bahrain. The BBC details Bahrain&#8217;s addition to the list following the death of website moderator Zakariya Rashid Hassan. Bahrain&#8217;s government rejected the report Wednesday saying it does not &#8220;present the<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&#038;blog=19871253&#038;post=21375&#038;subd=timeglobalspin&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>Daily Briefing</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://world.time.com/category/daily-briefing/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timeglobalspin.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/serageldin_0314.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">TIME.com</media:title>
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		<title>Hamas Signals Break with Iran, But Is That Good for Israel?</title>
		<link>http://world.time.com/2012/02/29/hamas-signals-a-break-with-iran-but-is-that-good-for-israel/</link>
		<comments>http://world.time.com/2012/02/29/hamas-signals-a-break-with-iran-but-is-that-good-for-israel/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 29 Feb 2012 15:00:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Tony Karon</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[arab uprisings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hamas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[israel]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Muslim Brotherhood]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[U.S.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Abbas]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Meshal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Netanyahu]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tehran]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Turkey]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/?p=19666</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A popular Washington illusion once held that the right combination of incentives and punishments might &#8220;peel off&#8221; Syria&#8217;s President Bashar al-Assad from Iran&#8217;s &#8220;Axis of Resistance,&#8221; but nobody would have predicted that the weak link in Iran&#8217;s alliance of radicals would turn out to be the Palestinian Islamists of Hamas. Yet, Tuesday&#8217;s announcement that the Hamas leadership has officially relocated from Damascus, and its public declarations of support for the Syrian rebels, suggest a dramatic political break with Iran — and with it the end of any illusion Tehran might have harbored of exerting influence in the new revolutionary Arab mainstream.  Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal is now ensconced in Qatar&#8217;s capital, Doha, while deputy leader Moussa Abu Marzouk has set up shop in Cairo. And Hamas leaders used last Friday&#8217;s midday prayers to publicly salute what Gaza Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh called &#8220;the heroic people of Syria who are striving for freedom, democracy and reform.&#8221; Iran, Hamas knows, is not amused. But that appears to be a diminishing concern for the movement. Hamas&#8217; relationship with Assad, Tehran&#8217;s key Arab ally, began to sour last year when the Palestinian group resisted pressure to stage pro-regime events in refugee camps in Syria. &#8220;Our position on Syria is that we are not with the regime in its security solution, and we respect the will of the people,&#8221; Marzouk told The Associated Press. He also acknowledged that &#8220;The Iranians are not happy with our position on Syria, and when they are not happy, they don&#8217;t deal with you in the same old way.&#8221; (MORE: The Mainstreaming of Hamas Continues as Palestinian Unity Gains Steam) The &#8220;same old way&#8221; would be financial: While Israeli p.r. likes to portray Hamas as a satellite of Tehran, a glance at the organization&#8217;s history, ideology, social base and political DNA offers a reminder that Iran&#8217;s relatively recent emergence as Hamas&#8217; key regional supporter was a marriage of convenience for Hamas amid desperate circumstances some six years ago. Although Iran had supported Hamas&#8217; rejection of the Oslo peace process in the<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&#038;blog=19871253&#038;post=19666&#038;subd=timeglobalspin&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>Hamas</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://world.time.com/category/hamas/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timeglobalspin.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/a03115208.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">Demonstration against Syrian government in Gaza</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">tkaron2010</media:title>
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		<title>Can Syria&#8217;s Assad Fight His Way to Political Survival?</title>
		<link>http://world.time.com/2012/02/28/syria-can-assad-fight-his-way-to-political-survival/</link>
		<comments>http://world.time.com/2012/02/28/syria-can-assad-fight-his-way-to-political-survival/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 28 Feb 2012 14:31:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Tony Karon</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Dictatorships]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Diplomacy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[E.U.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iran]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[assad]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Damascus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Free Syrian Army]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Friends of]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Patriotic Group]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Qaeda]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[referendum]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/?p=19414</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Despite the death and destruction his security forces are raining down on opposition-held neighborhoods in Syria, President Bashar Assad is unlikely to succeed in crushing a year-old rebellion. International revulsion at the crackdown and the breadth of an uprising that has seen Syrians take up arms in a fight to the death also make it increasingly unlikely that Assad will manage to re-establish the status quo ante through military force. But even if he can&#8217;t win, Assad may have reason to believe, as he surveys the national and international battlefield he has created, that he can nonetheless fight to a messy draw. The difference between a draw and a defeat, for Assad, now amounts to this: Will he be at the table when a political solution to the conflict is negotiated? The European Union on Monday announced new sanctions against Assad&#8217;s regime in support of demands that he end his assault on opposition strongholds and accept an Arab League plan that requires him to surrender power. But the E.U. measures amounted largely to an incremental tightening of those previously imposed. The meeting in Tunis last Friday of the Friends of Syria ad hoc forum also confirmed that while Western and Arab powers concur on the need for Assad to step down — and before that, to halt his assaults on rebel-held areas and allow in humanitarian relief supplies — there is limited agreement on new strategies to pursue those goals. Western powers have no appetite for direct military involvement in Syria, not only because of post-Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya intervention fatigue, but also because the sectarian and regional political stakes in Syria&#8217;s conflict threaten regionwide chaos. Support for direct military intervention appears to be lacking even if those doing the fighting are not Western troops: Qatar failed in its efforts to persuade the Friends of Syria to back intervention by an Arab force that would invade Syria to open humanitarian corridors to besieged cities. (PHOTOS: Free Syrian Army Joins Anti-Assad Protests) Qatar has since defaulted to the Saudi view that arming Syria&#8217;s rebels is,<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&#038;blog=19871253&#038;post=19414&#038;subd=timeglobalspin&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://world.time.com/2012/02/28/syria-can-assad-fight-his-way-to-political-survival/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Syria</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://world.time.com/category/middle-east/syria/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timeglobalspin.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/amideast-syria4.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">Mideast Syria</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">tkaron2010</media:title>
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		<title>Must-Reads from Around the World: February 17, 2012</title>
		<link>http://world.time.com/2012/02/17/must-reads-from-around-the-world-february-17-2012/</link>
		<comments>http://world.time.com/2012/02/17/must-reads-from-around-the-world-february-17-2012/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:00:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dennis Wong</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[arab uprisings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[corruption]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Daily Briefing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[E.U.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Egypt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Geo-political tensions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Germany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Humanitarian aid]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Libya]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Middle East]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Qatar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tourism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[U.S.]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/?p=19049</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[President Resigns &#8211; German President Christian Wulff resigned Friday morning amid a home loan scandal. In a unprecedented move, prosecutors asked parliament to remove Wulff&#8217;s immunity to better investigate the allegations, AFP reports. German Chancellor Angela Merkel may be the most affected: she had hand-selected Wulff for the largely ceremonial role, and his unceremonious departure &#8211; the second president during her time in office &#8211; damages her political authority, the Daily Telegraph reports. Libyan Anniversary - February 17 marks the one-year anniversary of the Libyan uprising. While no official celebrations have been announced, spontaneous events began Thursday night as locals marked the momentous occasion. Revolutionary militias have rendered the interim government impotent according to the Washington Post. And TIME&#8217;s Vivienne Walt contends that Libya is more dangerous after the fall of Gaddafi. Cutting Aid   - The Atlantic explores the consequences of cutting aid to Egypt. Several U.S. congressmen have called for the removal of funds after the indictment of 16 aid workers. Cutting aid to Egypt will directly affect the peace treaty between the nation and Israel. U.S. aid to Egypt is seen as one of the key incentives of the 1979 treaty that ended decades of fighting between the nations. Defining Doha &#8211;  &#8221;Arabian Rivera&#8221; or traditional society? The Pearl, an exclusive enclave of Qatari city of Doha, is struggling to blend the ultra-conservative and the ultra-modern. Since the sale of alcohol was banned in December 2011, restaurants and stores complain of a 50% drop in traffic, Le Monde reports. One Step Back &#8211; In a symbolic vote, 99.7% of Serbs in northern Kosovo rejected the Albanian-led state government, the Wall Street Journal reports. The vote, while non-binding, reveals serious levels of mistrust among the nation&#8217;s ethnic groups and presents another hurdle in Serbia&#8217;s desire to join the European Union.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&#038;blog=19871253&#038;post=19049&#038;subd=timeglobalspin&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Daily Briefing</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://world.time.com/category/daily-briefing/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timeglobalspin.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/wulff_gs_0217.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">TIME.com</media:title>
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		<title>Global Briefing, Jan. 24, 2012: POTUS, Problems and Progressive Politics</title>
		<link>http://world.time.com/2012/01/24/global-briefing-jan-24-2012-potus-problems-and-progressive-politics/</link>
		<comments>http://world.time.com/2012/01/24/global-briefing-jan-24-2012-potus-problems-and-progressive-politics/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:06:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dennis Wong</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Asia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[China]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Daily Briefing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[E.U.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iran]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[nuclear weapons]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Obama]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Russia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sanctions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[U.S.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Damien Ma]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Deng Xiaoping]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eurasia Group.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fareed zakaria]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Foreign Policy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[national security policy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Obama doctrine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[oil prices]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rosa Brooks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the Atlantic]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/?p=15751</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[POTUS Probs &#8212; Hot on the heels of Fareed Zakaria&#8217;s TIME cover analysis of the U.S. president&#8217;s international agenda, Foreign Policy&#8216;s Rosa Brooks delves into whether there&#8217;s an emerging Obama doctrine. The conclusion: &#8220;President Obama makes intelligent and persuasive speeches, but judged impartially, U.S. foreign and national security policy over the last three years frequently looks ad hoc, reactive, and inconsistent.&#8221; From Bad to Worse &#8212; Niger struggles to feed its people during the best of times, says the Guardian&#8216;s Mark Tran, but with unreliable rainfall and conflict over aid, the starving country is facing the worst of times. How Do You Solve A Problem Like Rapid Growth? &#8212; The Atlantic takes a timely look at the political context evolving from the social consequences of China&#8217;s extraordinary growth. Two decades after Deng Xiaoping embarked on his historic &#8220;southern tour,&#8221; the costs of development &#8211; from unrest over land seizures to environmental degradation &#8211; are a force in the internal battles ahead of this year&#8217;s leadership transition. &#8220;The entire edifice of the reform agenda appears to be called into question,&#8221; notes the writer Damien Ma, a China analyst at Eurasia Group. Great Scots &#8211; Alex Salmond, Scotland&#8217;s first minister and the leader of the Scotland independence movement, writes in the Guardian that through succession from the U.K., his country will finally be able to embrace the progressive politics and innovative reforms that will in turn help England. Oil Outcome &#8211; The Los Angeles Times reports on Russian reaction to the E.U.&#8217;s new package of sanctions against Iran approved Monday &#8211; a move the Russian Foreign Ministry branded &#8220;deeply erroneous.&#8221; Tehran&#8217;s response was no milder, accusing the bloc of &#8220;psychological warfare&#8221; and renewing threats to block the Strait of Hormuz. Mark Urban, a BBC diplomatic editor, highlights the more likely Iranian intent: to force up oil prices &#8211; and thereby the pressure on President Obama and the Europeans. On cue, brent crude rose to above $110 Tuesday. Creeping Towards Justice? &#8212; Former military dictator, Efraín Ríos Montt, is accused of being the leader<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&#038;blog=19871253&#038;post=15751&#038;subd=timeglobalspin&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Daily Briefing</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://world.time.com/category/daily-briefing/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timeglobalspin.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/gs_obama_iran.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">TIME.com</media:title>
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		<title>Global Briefing, Jan. 23 2012: Syria, Sendai and Sarkozy</title>
		<link>http://world.time.com/2012/01/23/global-briefing-jan-23-2012-syria-sendai-and-sarkozy/</link>
		<comments>http://world.time.com/2012/01/23/global-briefing-jan-23-2012-syria-sendai-and-sarkozy/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 23 Jan 2012 11:11:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>TIME.com</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Af-Pak]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Arab League]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Bashar al-Assad]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Gulbuddin Hekmatyar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the guardian]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The New York Times]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[U.S. Marine Gen. John Allen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Washington Post]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/?p=15678</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Juvenile Injustice — The Guardian examines accusations that Israel&#8217;s military justice system mistreats Palestinian children. The special report, based on interviews and affidavits given by minors to an international human rights organization, claims Israeli soldiers arrest between 500 and 700 Palestinian minors each year, mostly for throwing stones. &#8220;Their statements show a pattern of night-time arrests, hands bound with plastic ties, blindfolding, physical and verbal abuse, and threats,&#8221; the newspaper writes. Split on Syria —The Arab League&#8217;s latest peace plan for Syria, which calls on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down within two weeks, dominates the dailies. The Washington Post says the move reflects &#8220;growing Arab frustration with Assad’s failure to implement the terms of a peace plan.&#8221; The New York Times’ take: &#8220;&#8230;the proposal reflected divisions within the Arab League over how to confront the Syrian crisis, as well as the league’s mounting sense of helplessness as the death toll mounts.&#8221; And TIME&#8217;s Rania Abouzeid notes that, &#8220;the plan is bold but there is one clear catch: Assad must agree to it.&#8221; Syria rejected the plan on Monday. Boom Town —  Tokyo correspondent Krista Mahr re-visits the town of Sendai in Japan&#8217;s rural northeast. Almost a year after the devastating earthquake and tsunami, the city is being revitalized by billions of yen earmarked for reconstruction. &#8220;Everyone is running on loans,&#8221; one man says.  Which raises a tough, but important, question: What happens when the money runs out? Time to Talk —The Associated Press exclusively reveals that the U.S. has started talking to an insurgent group in Afghanistan. Top-level officials have allegedly held meetings with a representative of former Afghan prime minister and longtime warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, branded a terrorist by Washington. Dr. Ghairat Baheer, his son-in-law, told the AP that he had met separately with David Petraeus, former commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan who is now CIA director, and had face-to-face discussions with U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and U.S. Marine Gen. John Allen, currently the top commander in the country. Nigerian Nightmare &#8212; After decades of corruption<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&#038;blog=19871253&#038;post=15678&#038;subd=timeglobalspin&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>Syria</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://world.time.com/category/middle-east/syria/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timeglobalspin.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/assad.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
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			<media:title type="html">Syrian President Assad speaks during Iftar banquet</media:title>
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		<media:content url="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/44310a1af940f994952d1e4db73096cd?s=96&#38;d=http%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">TIME.com</media:title>
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		<title>Why Qatari Owners of Paris&#8217; Soccer Team Hanker For Aging Englishman Beckham</title>
		<link>http://world.time.com/2011/12/21/why-qatari-owners-of-paris-soccer-team-hanker-for-aging-englishman-beckham/</link>
		<comments>http://world.time.com/2011/12/21/why-qatari-owners-of-paris-soccer-team-hanker-for-aging-englishman-beckham/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 21 Dec 2011 16:11:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bruce Crumley</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[E.U.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[football]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Qatar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[soccer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[U.K.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[U.S.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[al-Jazeera Sports]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Arsenal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Barcelona]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bayern Muich]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Liverpool]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Manchester United]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nicolas Sarkozy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[paris]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Paris Saint-Germain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Real Madrid]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[television]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[world cup]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/?p=14159</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Why does perennially under-performing Paris Saint-Germain of France’s anemic professional soccer league see hiring a fading star at over $1 million per month as vital to assuring its future? Because the aging player in question is David Beckham, whose marketing and financial allure is considered as important as his footballing skill by PSG’s Qatari owners. And even if Beckham’s representatives are denying reports that the Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder has come to an unofficial agreement with PSG, there are reasons to suspect the resurgent rumors may yet come to fruition. After all, the Paris club is only one part of a mix with which Qatari VIPs are looking to boost the Emirate’s prestige through the world’s most popular sport. And despite his advancing age and slowing gait, Beckham remains not only one of the biggest global draws in the game—but just the kind of meta-star capable of mesmerizing celebrity-crazed, sports-fickle inhabitants of Paris. French media was again abuzz Wednesday with reports that the 36-year-old Beckham has agreed to sign an 18-month contract with PSG once his Galaxy deal expires Dec. 31. According to dailies le Parisien and l’Equipe, Beckham has accepted a league-topping $1.05 million monthly salary whose total value could be nearly doubled by $22.3 million in performance bonuses—most of those based on Beckham’s merchandizing potential, rather than footballing potency. Indeed, in addition to Beckham’s iconic and hunk status that’s expected to broaden PSG’s appeal to a far wider base of Parisians (a population infamous as fair weather fans who demand big matches, lots of glitz, and the likelihood of victory to even start caring much about sports), the association with the former England hero might well allow Paris Saint-German to finally establish a true brand identity abroad. And that, it’s hoped, could mean millions in new income from PSG jerseys selling alongside the likes of Liverpool, Bayern Munich, and Barcelona merchandize in foreign markets&#8211;particularly in Beckham-mad Asia. Meanwhile, while the so-called Spice Boy may not have all the physical reserves and technical skills that made him one of<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&#038;blog=19871253&#038;post=14159&#038;subd=timeglobalspin&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<primary_category>football</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://world.time.com/category/football/</primary_category_link><featured_image>http://timeglobalspin.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/a2011-12-03t155850z_88017813.jpg?w=240</featured_image>
		<media:thumbnail url="http://timeglobalspin.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/a2011-12-03t155850z_88017813.jpg?w=240" />
		<media:content url="http://timeglobalspin.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/a2011-12-03t155850z_88017813.jpg?w=240" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">David Beckham</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/67f00307c3e683663920b007dcd7b736?s=96&#38;d=http%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">girondins33</media:title>
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		<title>The Syria Game of Thrones: Turkey vs. Iran vs. the Saudis in Battle to Shape a Rebellion&#8217;s Outcome</title>
		<link>http://world.time.com/2011/11/16/the-syria-game-of-thrones-turkey-vs-iran-vs-the-saudis-in-battle-to-shape-a-rebellions-outcome/</link>
		<comments>http://world.time.com/2011/11/16/the-syria-game-of-thrones-turkey-vs-iran-vs-the-saudis-in-battle-to-shape-a-rebellions-outcome/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 17 Nov 2011 04:49:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Tony Karon</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[arab uprisings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dictatorships]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Egypt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hamas]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[iran]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Islam]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/?p=12216</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Arab League called Wednesday for &#8220;urgent measures&#8221;  to protect Syrian civilians in the face of violent repression by the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. But lest anyone take that as an echo of the  call that legitimized the NATO-led military operation in Libya, the League&#8217;s statement also rejected  &#8221;all foreign intervention&#8221; in Syria. Still, signs are growing that Syria&#8217;s escalating power struggle is more likely to be be settled  by outside forces than by the Syrians themselves. Through more than nine months of escalating repression that has killed as many as 3,500 people, the regime has not been able to suppress the uprising. Weekly protests continue; the scale of regime assaults on the city of Homs suggests it remains an opposition stronghold; and a dramatic series of overnight attacks Wednesday by soldiers who&#8217;ve crossed over to the insurgent Free Syrian Army &#8211; including a brazen guerrilla assault on a Syrian intelligence base on the edge of Damascus &#8212; suggested that civil war is already a reality. But if the regime is unable to crush the uprising, the opposition still appears to lack the power to topple the regime. The core of Assad&#8217;s military remains intact, and willing to carry out the regime&#8217;s plan to shoot its way out of the crisis. In the major cities, much of the Sunni urban middle class has remained on the sidelines, while Assad maintains a substantial support base primarily among Syria&#8217;s Allawite and Christian minorities, many of whom accept the regime&#8217;s portrayal of the opposition as a sectarian Sunni lynch mob.  To the extent that Assad&#8217;s repression has pushed the opposition towards an increasingly militarized response, that actually reinforces the regime&#8217;s narrative that Syria is in the throes of a sectarian civil war, with Assad casting himself as the protector of Allawites and Christians. On that basis, the regime also appears to have divided the region, with Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen &#8212; countries with significant Shi&#8217;ite populations, and in the case of Iraq, substantial Iranian influence &#8212; having declined  to back the original Arab League suspension of Syria.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&#038;blog=19871253&#038;post=12216&#038;subd=timeglobalspin&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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	<primary_category>Turkey</primary_category><primary_category_link>http://world.time.com/category/europe/turkey/</primary_category_link>
		<media:content url="http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/9bd886fea2e4b000cf3c42ddaa6be6e4?s=96&#38;d=http%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fmu.gif&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">tkaron2010</media:title>
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		<media:content url="http://timeglobalspin.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/ah_turkey_syria_refugees_4_0.jpg" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">Syrian refugees watch a Syrian opposition television station in their tent at camp run by the Turkish Red Crescent, in Boynuyogun, Turkey.</media:title>
		</media:content>
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