The U.K. is, like the U.S., a union. And as with many unions, political and otherwise, one party in the U.K. wants out. In this case, it’s the Scottish National Party (SNP), which helped launch a campaign on May 25 titled Yes …
Eurovision 2012: Sweden’s Loreen Wins in Politically Charged Azerbaijan
On May 26, when Sweden’s Loreen Talhaoui took to the stage at the 57th annual Eurovision Song Contest in Baku, the lights fell and eventually the faux snow followed. Performing “Euphoria,” a clubby meditation on the power …
Leveson Inquiry: Will British MP Jeremy Hunt Be Another Casualty of the Hacking Scandal?
British Conservative MP Jeremy Hunt has been caught in the rip tide of the phone-hacking scandal, as his former advisor Adam Smith and a News Corp. lobbyist Frederic Michel testify at the Leveson inquiry. How did the once rising …
Must-Reads from Around the World, May 25, 2012
Bo Fallout – Reuters reports (exclusively) that Chinese President Hu Jintao has demanded senior Communist Party officials stifle tensions over the ousting of ambitious politician Bo Xilai and show unity as they prepare for a …
Why South Africa’s Decision to Rebrand Some Israeli Imports Packs a Punch
The international effort to boycott products made in Israeli settlements got a boost recently from a formidable quarter. South Africa announced it would label imports from the West Bank not “Made in Israel” but perhaps …
India’s Petrol Hike: Gas Goes Up, and a City Melts Down
Traffic in New Delhi is bad at the best of times. During a run on fuel, it devolves into an unholy mess. On Wednesday evening, the wide arteries of India’s capital became a gnarled tangle of SUVs, Ambassadors, motorcycles and …
Islamists Set the Pace, But Egypt’s Presidential Race Looks Set to Go to a Runoff
Farmers and laborers have waited for hours in a long line outside the polling station in the impoverished village of Kirdasah, on Cairo’s western outskirts, but their spirits are high.
Most are here to vote for the same …
Brother of Chen Guangcheng Escapes Village Ringed by Security
The brother of blind Chinese legal activist Chen Guangcheng has escaped strict security in their home village and traveled to Beijing to meet with a lawyer on Thursday. Chen Guangfu follows in the footsteps of his youngest …
Must-Reads from Around the World, May 24, 2012
Eyes on Iran – As talks between Tehran and six world powers got underway in Baghdad on Wednesday, the Jerusalem Post provides coverage of the reaction in Israel. “Israel watched the meeting in Baghdad that began on Wednesday …
Detention of Chinese Fishermen Fuels Anger with North Korea, but Rift Unlikely
As maritime tensions with neighbors including Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines continue to simmer, China has a fresh grievance with a somewhat unexpected antagonist: North Korea. On May 8, the isolated authoritarian regime …
In Nuclear Talks, Iran and the West Agree to Disagree – and Keep Talking
A breakthrough proved predictably elusive in the two days of nuclear negotiations between Iran and world powers that ended late Thursday in Baghdad, but it took strenuous diplomacy — and an unscheduled second day of talks — to …
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 …
After Chicago, How Long Can NATO Stay Relevant?
An essay I wrote in the international magazine last week sets out NATO’s existential quandary. The organization wrapped up its biggest summit ever in Chicago on Monday, but it was drowned out in part by the din of both …