A 6.0 magnitude temblor in the Bologna region killed four and damaged historic buildings.
Chen Guangcheng’s New York City Home: A Soviet-Style Complex in Greenwich Village
The saga of the blind Chinese legal activist Chen Guangcheng is one brimming with tragedy, drama and intrigue. But upon his sudden arrival in New York City this Saturday, it got introduced to a dose of irony.
Chen, whose …
Bound For America: After Seven Years of Abuse in China, Chen Guangcheng Arrives in the U.S.
UPDATE: Chen Guangcheng landed at Newark airport Saturday and was taken to New York University’s campus in Greenwich Village, where he held a brief press conference.
Throughout his 17 days of government-imposed isolation at a …
“The National Front surge has effectively set the political agenda for the coming months, and the party will influence the priorities of whatever government comes next.”
G-8 or G-Zero? Why the West No Longer Sets the Global Agenda
The spectacle of some of the most powerful leaders in the world gathering at Camp David on Friday for the G-8 summit and then for this weekend’s NATO anniversary in Chicago won’t disguise the fact that things seem to be gradually …
Must-Reads from Around the World, May 18, 2012
Family Business – The New York Times explores at length how China’s so-called ‘Princeling’ generation — the descendants of Communist Party leaders — use family ties to gain jobs, wealth and influence. “Evidence is mounting…[they] have also amassed vast wealth, often playing central roles in businesses closely entwined with the …
Three Years After War’s End, Sri Lanka Is Only Beginning to Make Peace
When war returned to the Vanni, the vast swath of land in Sri Lanka’s north, it came quickly and left just as fast. For over three decades as Tamil militants fought successive Sri Lankan governments seeking an independent Tamil …
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. …
Cover Story: Why Bibi Netanyahu Is King of Israel
TIME’s cover story this week, written by TIME managing editor Richard Stengel, profiles Israel’s controversial Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This past month has seen Netanyahu—referred to almost ubiquitously by his …
U.S. Insists Its Anti-Drug Agents Did Not Fire on Innocent Hondurans
Thanks to sensational atrocities like the 49 headless corpses dumped on a highway last weekend, Mexico tends to grab most of the world’s drug-war attention. But as we’ve reported, the western hemisphere’s most violent …
“Dalai should not overestimate his personal value. He is only a tool in the competition between major powers.”
How Many Innocent Civilians Did NATO Kill in Libya?
When the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) meets next week at a summit in Chicago, expect a lot of self-congratulatory rhetoric about the alliance’s bombing campaign in Libya last year. Backed by a U.N. Security Council …
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 …