One of the sayings trotted out when people try to explain Chinese politics is, “The mountains are high, and the emperor is far away.” It is meant to describe the limits on the power of the central government and the ability …
France’s Mali Mission: Has al-Qaeda Already Been Defeated?
Despite the French army’s rapid progress in pushing al-Qaeda-linked extremists to the nether regions of Mali, officials in Paris say full elimination of jihadi militias in the Sahel is more than unlikely
Must-Reads from Around the World
The Brazilian Congress picks leaders who are accused of corruption, the BRICS nations agree to fight drug-resistant tuberculosis together and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad makes an historic visit to Egypt
You Don’t Know the Ninja: 8 New Revelations About the Shadow Warrior
Ninja are everywhere in popular culture. But who were they, really? That’s what John Man, a British travel writer and historian, set out to explore in his new book
Retrograde Lessons: Learning from Afghanistan’s Logistical Nightmare
In dismantling and repatriating the U.S. presence in Afghanistan, guidelines for the next war – or humanitarian catastrophe
In a scene from the book Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Prof. Severus Snape describes …
Putin’s Commissar to Protect Russian Orphans — from Americans
An interview and profile of the official in charge of Moscow’s policy — and why he believes American adoptions could be a plot to depopulate Siberia
Mainland Chinese Traders Milking Hong Kong for All Its Worth
Tensions between Hong Kong people and their mainland Chinese compatriots have deteriorated further — and this time, it’s not over politics, clashing cultural attitudes or northern carpetbaggers driving up Hong Kong property …
Richard III’s Bones: Should One of History’s Losers Be Redeemed?
Archaeologists claim to have found a slain king’s body — but for centuries, Richard III has skulked in the shadows of the English imagination, a debased villain guilty of the worst crimes
Timbuktu’s Ancient Libraries: Saved by Locals, Endangered by a Government
One week after Islamic militants fled Timbuktu, preservationists are uncertain about how to protect the city’s ancient documents
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A growing number of people are converting to Islam in France, pawnshops in Macau bankroll mainland Chinese gamblers and Fidel Castro makes his longest public appearance since 2010
India’s New Rape Laws Draw Flak from Rights Groups
The debate over how to provide better legal protection to victims of sexual violence rages on in India, with rights groups vociferously objecting to a new antirape ordinance that the government enacted over the weekend. After …
The U.S. Embassy Bombing in Turkey: The Unusual Suspects
A Marxist group that sympathizes with Syria claims responsibility for the bombing of the U.S. embassy in Ankara
Groundhog Day in Cairo: A Brutal Video Raises the Political Stakes in Egypt
Anger and outrage grow after a man is videotaped stripped and beaten in front of the besieged presidential palace