Non-cooperation – The Jerusalem Post reveals Israel will not cooperate with an international probe into the effects of settlements on Palestinian human rights, after a 36 to 1 U.N. Rights Council vote in favor of the fact-finding mission Thursday. The U.S. was the only country to vote against it. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu labeled …
At Nuclear Summit, Obama Faces Prospect of a North Korean Deal Gone Bad
Last month, North Korea’s new leader Kim Jong Un showed he has his father’s ability to cut a deal. Does he also have Kim Jong Il’s habit of breaking them? That is one of the many questions President Obama will face as he visits …
Burma Elections: On the Campaign Trail with Aung San Suu Kyi
They waited for hours in the merciless Burmese sun for their Lady to arrive. On March 22, Burmese democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi traveled in an unlikely convoy of shiny Land Rovers, ancient Jeeps, tractors, motorcycles, trishaws …
Must-Reads from Around the World: March 22, 2012
War Crimes – The Global Mail details more damning evidence of Sri Lankan army atrocities at the 2009 end of the civil war, highlighting the murder of a Tamil Tigers colonel. “Of the mass of available evidence, the most compelling trail is that of Colonel Ramesh. His death provides a crack of light that illuminates the deaths of thousands …
A Killing Spree in France Ends with a Barrage of Gunfire
Nearly two weeks of terror in France came to an end Thursday, when an assault by elite police forces left self-declared al-Qaeda member and avowed serial killer Mohammed Merah dead in the southwest city Toulouse. The raid was …
Japan’s Cooperation Pays Off with Exemption from U.S. Sanctions
Tokyo’s close ties with the U.S. paid off this week when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced Japan will be one of 11 nations exempt from sanctions on countries that buy oil from Iran. Aimed at pressuring Tehran to stop …
Siege in Toulouse Wears On as Details of Suspect’s Jihadist Past Emerge
The fear and tension wore on in France as elite police officers continued their standoff with a self-declared al-Qaeda militant who claimed responsibility for the slayings of seven people in three attacks since March 11. Security …
Civilian Massacres and Koran Burnings: A Tale of Two Misdeeds in Afghanistan
When mullah Abdul Rahim Shah Ghaa thinks back to the day in February when a couple of Afghan employees at a U.S.-run detention center outside Kabul yanked five partly burned Korans out of a trash incinerator, he shudders with …
Mali Unrest: On the Scene as Soldiers Target the Government
In one direction sped a tan-colored ambulance, red crescent glistening on its side as it wailed north across the Bamako’s Bridge of Martyrs toward the sound of gunfire. In the other came people. Hundreds, if not thousands of …
Why a U.N. Syria Peace Plan Poses a Challenge to Rebels
The Kofi Annan peace plan unanimously endorsed Wednesday by the U.N. Security Council may pose an even greater dilemma for the Syrian opposition than it does for the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. That’s because while it …
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“Yet if history tells us one thing, it is that forecasting the demise of NATO has been a popular yet unsuccessful pastime for academics, journalists and politicians for more than two decades.”
Must-Reads from Around the World: March 21, 2012
Suspect Cornered – An hours-long stand-off between French police and the 24-year-old man suspected of Monday’s shootings at a Jewish school in Toulouse continues. Reuters reports that police tracked the suspect to an apartment …