Nuclear North Korea — Based on newly released satellite images, the Washington-based Institute of Science and International Security says North Korea has made progress in building a light-water reactor to expand its nuclear program, The Guardian reports. (North Korea says the reactor is for electricity generation.) This information …
arab uprisings
Must-Reads from Around the World: March 6th, 2012
Fleeing Syria — Fearing for their lives, hundreds of Syrians are fleeing their country, crossing its western border into neighboring Lebanon, the Associated Press reports (via the Guardian). Urging the U.S. to intervene in the …
“We oppose anyone interfering in Syria’s internal affairs under the pretext of ‘humanitarian’ issues.”
Hamas Signals Break with Iran, But Is That Good for Israel?
A popular Washington illusion once held that the right combination of incentives and punishments might “peel off” Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad from Iran’s “Axis of Resistance,” but nobody would have predicted that the weak …
Must-Reads from Around the World: February 29, 2012
Weight of History – Following a backbench revolt in the German parliament Monday over the Greek bailout that’s left Angela Merkel’s coalition government weakened, Der Spiegel reports former Chancellor Helmut Kohl has stepped into …
Must-Reads from Around the World: February 27, 2012
Syrian Support – After Sunday’s draft constitution vote in Syria, President Bashar Assad’s international allies seem emboldened. On Monday, the Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece Global Times said in an editorial: “What the West …
“If the second largest recipient of U.S. military aid can attack pro-democracy organizations with no real consequences, authoritarian governments worldwide will be emboldened to follow suit.”
Must-Reads From Around the World: February 22, 2012
Tribute to a Legend – Intense shelling Wednesday claimed the lives of American journalist Marie Colvin and French photojournalist Remi Ochlik. Colvin, 56, a long-time correspondent for the Sunday Times of London, was the only …
Can Senegal, and Youssou N’Dour, Turn the Tide on Africa’s Big Men?
The dynamic of Senegal’s Feb. 26 election is a familiar-sounding one: an aging, increasingly autocratic African President trying to cling to power, sending in the security services to beat up – and occasionally kill – young …
Must-Reads from Around the World: February 21, 2012
Ballot for One – Yemen heads to the polls on Tuesday to replace long-time ruler Ali Abdullah Saleh. Interestingly, the only candidate on the ballot is Vice President Abd-Rabbua Mansour Hadi, who took power after Saleh stepped …
Must-Reads from Around the World: February 17, 2012
Poets, Peaceniks and Protesters: Meet China’s Leading Dissidents
As Xi Jinping, the man widely touted to be China’s next President, embarks on a trip to the U.S., Beijing’s desire for political stability remains paramount. The past year has seen numerous crackdowns on dissent and arrests of …
Could Arming the Rebels Bring an End to Syria’s Suffering?
All Western interventions in messy civil wars on distant shores seem impossible until they become inevitable. Yet, not even the horrors being visited on an effectively defenseless civilian population by the Syrian regime’s …