Bahrain, Divided — A crackdown by the ruling Sunni government on Shi’ite protesters is eroding the social fabric of the island kingdom, finds Karen Leigh in Manama. “It’s like there’s an invisible shield between us,” one man says.
He’s No Chicken —China blogger ‘Peking Duck,’ also known as Richard Burger, blasts the Global …
The actor’s name is associated with many things—English charm (Hugh Grant can “twinkle for Britain,” the screenwriter and director Richard Curtis told me as I researched this piece about Grant’s on- and off-screen rival Colin Firth); a weakness for beautiful women including Elizabeth Hurley and Jemima Khan; and a weakness for less …
One Month On —Four weeks after disaster hit Japan’s northeast coast, the crisis continues and questions mount, reports Krista Mahr; In an essay for TIME, Hannah Beech reflects on the tug-of-war between the country’s technological heart and its natural soul.
Prisoners of Conscience — In the New Yorker, Henrik Hertzberg rebukes the …
The aftermath of the Egyptian revolution continues to offer Israel more comfort than many expected – but also, over the weekend, a warning.
The latest good news is a poll. Despite fears that the demise of President Hosni Mubarak would also spell the end of Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel, nearly two-thirds of Egyptians in a …
Now that an El Paso, Texas, jury has acquitted Cuban exile Luis Posada Carriles of perjury, the buzz back in Miami is that at least he got the fair trial that people in communist Cuba are usually denied. Now, say Cuban exile leaders, it’s time to put the whole ugly Posada drama to rest. But Friday’s verdict only throws into sharper …
On May 5, Britons are invited to vote in a referendum about voting. They will decide whether to abandon the U.K.’s current first-past-the-post elections (FPTP) in favor of an Alternative Vote (AV) system, which isn’t really much different from FPTP except that voters rank candidates in order of preference, and as candidates are …
Stalemate — Libya is deadlocked. TIME’s Tony Karo offers five reasons western intervention is unlikely to continue and mulls what come next.
On Language — The Economist parses the results of a massive (but not satistically controlled) study of English-language ability, linking fluency to factors like wealth and export …
That which has been obvious for some time now is finally being officially acknowledged: Libya’s power struggle is stalemated, and is likely to remain that way on the basis of the current level of NATO commitment. That was the grim assessment in congressional testimony Thursday by General Carter Ham, the U.S. commander who led the initial …
New Lineup — Obama’s is about to shake up his ‘war team,’ reports the New York Times. Find out who’s out (Gates) and who might be in (Patraeus? Panetta? Another dude with ‘p’ name?).
Hold Your Fire — Should Mexico call for a cease-fire with the drug cartels? asks Ioan Grillo. Watch our video on narco-rappers, here.
Imperial …
Judge Richard Goldstone’s Sunday op ed in the Washington Post reconsidering the allegation in his 2009 UN report that Israel had deliberately targeted Palestinian civilians in its 2008/9 Gaza war was greeted with premature euphoria in Israeli circles. Goldstone himself made clear, Wednesday, that he has no intention of withdrawing any …
About ten hours before a warplane roared down the Red Sea, crossed into Sudanese airspace and let fly a missile at a sedan, killing both of the people inside, Maj. Gen. (ret.) Amos Gilad offered a piece of advice about secret military actions to audience of diplomats and journalists in a Jerusalem hotel.
“Never boast,” Gilad said. “Be …
Missing Persons — A state-run newspapers blasted Ai Weiwei today, warning that he’ll “pay the price” for his choices. TIME’s Austin Ramzy explains why that’s definitely bad news for the missing Chinese artist.
Tough Guys — What’s French for ‘muscular’? Because that’s what the New York Times is calling France’s military posture. …
Veterinarians notice things walking around in this world that you and I do not. In December, I traveled to the far north of Burma with a team of disaster response vets who work for the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA). Two months earlier, the region around Sittwe, the capital of northern Rakhine State, had been hit hard …
