Though the surprising success of extreme-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen may have made her the most attention-grabbing contestant in France’s recent elections, the 43 year-old National Front (FN) leader may soon find …
Democracy
Must-Reads From Around the World: June 1, 2012
Blame, Banks, and Bailouts – As it emerges that Spain’s foundering banks may soon need a bailout, the New York Times argues that the cost of this rescue would leave “little behind should investors turn on Italy next” and …
Despite the High Stakes, French Voters Yawn at Legislative Campaigns
No one ever expected France’s legislative elections to produce the sparks and passion that this year’s presidential contest did. But given the stakes involved for France—and Europe—in whether Socialist President François …
Hollande’s Justice: France’s Leftist Leaders Seek to Cut Public Sector CEO Salaries
Don’t call it the revenge of France’s 99% just yet. But some top French business moguls do look set to feel a painful pinch in their bank accounts as a result of Socialist President François Hollande’s efforts to close the …
Amid Charges of ‘Policy Paralysis,’ India’s Government Defends Its Record
Everyone wants their anniversary to be a victorious kind of affair. So yesterday — which marked the third year of India’s current government —Prime Minister Manmohan Singh probably did not relish having to spend time …
South Africa: Over-Exposing the President
Let’s get one thing clear. Is ‘The Spear,’ a picture by the South African artist Brett Murray representing South African President Jacob Zuma in heroic revolutionary pose — with his penis hanging out — good art? No. The pose …
Must-Reads from Around the World, May 22, 2012
Summit Struggle – Ahead of Wednesday’s crunch E.U. summit, Der Spiegel reports that new French President François Hollande will pressure German Chancellor Angela Merkel to agree to euro bonds, which she has so far strictly …
Must-Reads from Around the World, May 21, 2012
Spillover – Lebanon’s Daily Star reports on escalating violence inside the country after soldiers shot dead a prominent anti-Bashar al-Assad Muslim preacher Sunday. “The gravity of the incident… prompted leaders on both sides …
Must-Reads from Around the World, May 17, 2012
Suspicious Minds – Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reveals that elderly Communist Party members in the Chinese province of Yunnan have been questioned after they penned a letter calling for the sacking of Zhou Yongkang, the country’s top security official, amid rumors of continued infighting following the downfall of Bo Xilai. …
Must-Reads from Around the World, May 16, 2012
Arming Rebels – The Washington Post reveals Syrian rebels battling President Assad’s regime have begun receiving “significantly more and better weapons in recent weeks.” Opposition activists and foreign officials say the arms are paid for by Persian Gulf nations and coordinated in part by the U.S., according to the newspaper. But, “Obama …
“What is harder to explain is how the image fits into the larger picture of what has been happening in Russia in the past few days.”
Must-Reads from Around the World, May 14, 2012
Hunger Pains – The Guardian writes that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has warned Israel of “disaster that no one could control” as Palestinian hunger strikers near death. Tony Blair, the Middle East quartet representative, …
An American in Sudan’s Nuba Mountains Tells of Sudanese Bombing
I traveled with Ryan Boyette for a week last month in Sudan‘s Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan. Boyette is an American and former aid worker who has lived in the Nuba for nine years. He built his own house there and, last year,
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