I know how chefs feel about Ferran Adrià, musicians about Bruce Springsteen, economists about Amartya Sen. I felt that way about Anthony Shadid: total and utter awe. In an era blessed with more than its fair share of brilliant …
Must-Reads from Around the World: February 17, 2012
Did America Bond with China’s Heir Apparent, Vice President Xi Jinping?
He received a 19-gun salute at the Pentagon, toured the Port of Los Angeles and took tea in Muscatine, Iowa. On Friday, Feb. 17, Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping will wrap up his five-day trip to the U.S., his first visit since …
Iran’s Female Ninjas
Does the Islamic Republic really need nukes when it has the blades — and fists — of these women warriors?
Talks with the Taliban Are Inevitable, but Who Will Be at the Table?
The fact that Afghan President Hamid Karzai has told the Wall Street Journal he’s held three-way negotiations with the U.S. and the Taliban should come as no surprise: the U.S. has said that within two years it will end its …
The U.S. and the Philippines, a Century Ago: Dashed Dreams of Empire
A long time ago, and far away, the U.S. invaded and occupied the Philippines. There are parallels to recent U.S. military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq, down to torturing the enemy.
Journalist Gregg Jones has written Honor in the Dust: Theodore Roosevelt, War in the Philippines, and the Rise and Fall of America’s Imperial Dream, …
Kim Jong Un Gets Thumbs-Up from North Koreans in Japan
When Kim Jong Un was declared heir apparent of North Korea in December, Choe Kwan Ik was probably one of the few people in Tokyo who knew who the kid was. As Bill Powell writes in this week’s story “Meet Kim Jong Un,” (available …
Must-Reads from Around the World: February 16, 2012
Jobless Woes—Unemployment in the U.K. rose by 48,000 to 2.67 million in the three months to December, official figures show. The BBC reports that while this is the smallest increase in over a year, the country’s unemployment …
Honduras’ Horrific Prison Fire: Will Central America’s Elites Assume Their Responsibility?
Updated Feb. 16
A year ago this month, William Brownfield, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics & Law Enforcement, toured a police training site in Honduras and heard assurances from officials …
Entering French Presidential Race, Sarkozy Gets Lift From Unexpected Economic Growth
French President Nicolas Sarkozy made his long-anticipated re-election bid announcement Wednesday night and has some good news to jump-start his campaign. On Wednesday morning, figures for the fourth quarter of 2011 showed that …
How to Interpret Iran’s New Nuclear Advances
The nuclear advances announced Wednesday by Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are a prelude to an expected new round of talks between Tehran and Western powers — and also a moment of electioneering by a political faction …
Linsanity Strikes China, But Could Chinese Basketball Ever Produce a Jeremy Lin?
Just type the letters L and I on Baidu, and China’s top search engine sends out an automatic prompt: do you mean Lin Shuhao, the Taiwanese-American basketball breakout phenom whose English name is Jeremy Lin? (The California …
Prison Fire in Honduras Leaves Hundreds Dead
The death toll tops 350 in a fire at the National Prison of Comayagua, north of the country’s capital, with many inmates still missing.