Underfunding enforcement may be preferable to reversing the law for a Socialist Party that needs the support of a left-leaning entertainment industry
Why Syria and the World Will Miss Kofi Annan’s Peace Plan
The former U.N. Secretary-General embarked on a mission that was bound to fail. But its end is unlikely to help Syria avert a chaotic bloodbath
Cover Story: Jerusalem’s Real Divide
With the Mideast peace process in a state of collapse, a new existential clash looms over Israel — and Palestinians aren’t involved.
Must-Reads from Around the World, August 2, 2012
Thursday’s selections include Hamas Holocaust-deniers and a Somali constitution.
Syrian Paradox: The Regime Gets Stronger, Even as It Loses Its Grip
As the regime’s ability to govern Syria declines, it is being transformed into a powerful militia that has little incentive to compromise
After the Blackout: How India’s Planners Failed Its People
This week’s epic power outage is a bleak reminder that India’s power sector has remained frozen in time while neighbors like China have surged ahead
Documenting the Dissident: A Q&A with Alison Klayman, Director of Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry
TIME speaks with Alison Klayman, the young American director of a recently released documentary about Ai Weiwei, China’s high-profile dissident artist
Yasser Arafat’s Wife Requests an Investigation into His Mysterious Death
Late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s wife files a legal case in France requesting a new inquiry into the cause of her husband’s death, after high levels of radiocative polomium were discovered on his clothes.
Ultra-Orthodox Jews Mark Talmudic Rites
Tens of thousands of Ultra Orthodox Jews attend Siyum HaShas, a celebration marking completion of a seven-and-a-half year study-cycle of the entire Babylonian Talmud. Each of the 2711 pages of the Talmud is studied in sequence, …
New Sanctions, Old Postures as U.S.-Israel-Iran Stalemate Drags On
Did Mitt Romney’s hawkish posture in Israel last weekend increase the likelihood of an Israeli attack on Iran? Unlikely. Will Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s visit to Israel to discuss “various contingencies and how we would …
Must-Reads from Around the World, August 1, 2012
Today’s picks include a regional dispute and the whaling industry.