Where were we when we last discussed the soap opera that is soccer’s governing body (and veritable global behemoth), FIFA? Ah yes, President Sepp Blatter — who, given the power of his position and the popularity of the sport, is arguably as influential as the Pope — claimed he was going to clean up the sport for good if re-elected on …
Democracy
Signs of Fatigue and Unease as Europe Struggles with Libyan and Syrian Crises
Despite intensified NATO bombings and important gains made by the rebels who are fighting loyalists of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on Tuesday, it seems increasingly clear that the clock is ticking on the international community’s involvement in Libya’s civil war — and that doubts about the outcomes of other Arab Spring uprisings …
Conservative France Celebrates a Socialist President
If it’s May 10 in France, it must be François Mitterrand Day. Not officially, of course (while the nation has named a library, an embankment of the Seine, and other venues after the late president, it hasn’t gone so far as to honor him with an actual public holiday. Yet…). But anyone passing through France or perusing its national …
Writing on the Wall: Hong Kong Artists Campaign for Ai Weiwei
My neighborhood has changed. The street’s sole piece of graffiti — a spray-painted picture of Hello Kitty defecating — has vanished. In its place: a portrait of missing Chinese artist, Ai Weiwei.
It’s been more than a month since Ai was seen in mainland China. But, suddenly, he’s everywhere in Hong Kong. I’ve seen his face …
Tightening the Leash on China’s Internet—And a Bubbly Chinese Tech IPO
May 4 is known in Chinese history as the day in 1919 when university students in Beijing began nationalist protests that eventually led to an intellectual movement championing, among other things, democratic reform. So it was rather ironic that Chinese officials chose that day in 2011 to announce the creation of a new agency called the …
In the Country Where the War on Terror Began, bin Laden’s Death offers Cold Comfort
On the corner of Moi and Haile Selassie Avenues in downtown Nairobi, a small, grassy garden favored by office workers on a lunch break, where a takeaway stand sells quarter chickens for 120 Kenyan shillings ($1.40), marks the start of the war on terror. It was here, at 10.30am on August 7, 1998, that Osama bin Laden first made good on …
Rights Group Says Thailand Murdered Civilians, Urges Investigation
A year after a violent crackdown on anti-government protesters in Bangkok that killed at least 90 people, not a single official has been charged. Now, Human Rights Watch, an influential American NGO, says they’ve collected evidence that government snipers targeted civilians, including unarmed medical personnel. Their claims are laid out …
Wael Ghonim at the TIME 100 Gala
Wael Ghonim, the Egyptian Google exec turned revolutionary, spoke at last night’s TIME 100 Gala, beginning with a moment of silence to mark those killed in protests around the Arab world. Watch his full speech here:
Official Statistics Mock The Sarkozy-Berlusconi Offensive Against Schengen
As noted yesterday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi created headlines in responding to their bilateral Tunisian dilemma with their call Tuesday for revision and restriction of the entire Schengen treaty. Reworking that 26 year-old text, they made clear, will allow member nations to once again throw up …
Sarkozy and Berlusconi Want to Scrap Europe’s Open Borders
With their governments locked in conflict over how to deal with around 25,000 of Tunisians fleeing the chaos of their homeland for stability in Europe, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his Italian opposite Silvio Berlusconi banded together Tuesday in the common cause of dumping their problem squarely in the European Union’s lap. …
More Whoa! in Haiti: Did the Ruling Party Manipulate Election Results?
If you’re wondering why only about a tenth of the more than $10 billion that international donors pledged to Haiti’s reconstruction has actually been disbursed so far, we likely got another reminder on Monday, April 25. Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) announced that it was delaying certification of results from 19 …
World Bank to East Timor: We Messed Up
East Timor was supposed to be the poster child for nation-building. In 2002, after two centuries of Portuguese rule and two decades of Indonesian occupation, this tiny half-island became the century’s first country. Its path to nationhood was paved by a host of international organizations keen to make the fledgling state a model of …
There He Goes Again: Threatening To Suspend Schengen Accords, Sarkozy Drifts To the Extreme Right
It would be tempting to give French President Nicolas Sarkozy points for being consistent, except his incessant efforts to approximate the positions of surging extreme-right leader Marine Le Pen have proven so catastrophic it’s difficult not to wonder if the Elysée isn’t suffering from a deep and dysfunctional learning disability. …