Why did an Australian end up in one of the most infamous prison cells in Israel?
The European Slump: France Gives Up Lowering Its Budget Deficit
France’s ruling leftists concede they won’t meet 3% budget-deficit-reduction targets amid 2012 fourth-quarter growth numbers from across Europe indicating things getting worse, rather than better
Hugo Chávez’s Absence Deepens Venezuela’s Sense of Crisis
When Venezuelan authorities announced a long-overdue devaluation of their currency last week, ministers insisted that the command had come directly from President Hugo Chávez. “We have taken this as a presidential order,” …
Must-Reads from Around the World
Mexico adopts a multifaceted strategy to fight crime, South Korea accepts immigrant workers as a solution to its aging workforce and Turkey takes a step towards greater freedom of expression
Road KingdomsEurope
Nomanomics: How One Restaurant Is Changing Denmark’s Economy
“Do you know anything about getting a table at Noma?” It’s a question I hear all the time—from colleagues and friends and chefs in foreign countries—looking to score the most coveted reservation in the restaurant …
How Many Self-Immolating Tibetans Does It Take to Make a Difference?
Answer: Keep counting
World War I Centenary To Be Marked by Recreation of Christmas Day Soccer Match
The historic Christmas Day soccer match between British and German troops in 1914 is set to be recreated next year for the centenary of World War I.
Pony Burgers? Europe Gags on a Horsemeat Scandal
What started as concern over horsemeat in burgers in Ireland and the U.K. has now blown up into a Europe-wide scandal and stoked cross-border tension throughout the Continent. The scandal started small, when earlier this year in …
Must-Reads from Around the World
Burma’s opposition leader is willing to mediate peace talks between the government and ethnic minority groups, an energy company is looking at gas reserves at a World Heritage Site in Peru and Iranian president Mahmoud …
The Art of War: Syria’s Artists Find Pain and Fame on the Front Lines
Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss projected onto a bullet-pocked wall in Damascus. Goya’s iconic execution squad from Third of May 1808 superimposed onto a bombed-out alley. Matisse’s nudes from The Dance skipping over rubble. When …
Spy Fail: Why Iran Is Losing Its Covert War with Israel
Slumped in a Nairobi courtroom, suit coats rumpled and reading glasses dangling from librarian chains, the defendants made a poor showing for the notorious Quds Force of the elite Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. Ahmad …
Brazil’s Epic Carnival: Scenes from Rio’s Sambadrome
The revelers and costumes were out in full force during Rio de Janeiro’s annual carnaval.
France’s Lower House Pushes Through Gay-Marriage Legalization — Now What?
France’s leftist-controlled Parliament passes bill legalizing same-sex marriage and adoption over stiff opposition from conservative detractors, sending the text to probable upper-house approval into law in March