Now that Palestine has been voted into UNESCO, the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, officials are preparing applications for the organization’s marquee designation: a World Heritage Site. …
This Is What a Captured Drone Looks Like
Iranian state media showed off images of what is reportedly a captured RQ-170 U.S. stealth drone that had been operating deep in Iranian territory. According to reports, Russia, China and other nations have requested to inspect the craft.
As Obama Overrules the FDA on Plan B One-Step, Access to Emergency Contraception in Asia Grows
The first time that I asked my general practitioner in Hong Kong for a prescription for birth control pills, she stopped scribbling down her notes in my file and looked up at me. “You don’t need a prescription for that,” …
Euro Treaty Takes Shape, But Without Britain
Despite their much-anticipated announcement early Friday of a crucial pact to confront Europe’s surging debt crisis, the leaders who agreed to the deal might want to consider re-naming their mutual club the European Disunion all the same. Because while the main focus of the accord was supposed to be the sweeping debt-reduction rules to …
Indian Police Charge a Tibetan Spiritual Leader with Financial Conspiracy
The waiting room in the Tibetan Buddhist monastery in northern India is unremarkable, save for the small signs pasted on the wall: “Kindly do not make any offerings in foreign currency.” Many of the pilgrims who have come to …
Armed Camps: Where Militaries Meddle with Democracy
The Egyptian military’s latest attempt to circumvent the results of national elections has stoked scrutiny of the top brass in Cairo. Global Spin looks at countries where the army is currently meddling in politics.
Will Hizballah’s Support for Syria Lead To Its Downfall?
World leaders are often obliged to walk a thin line between national interest and the projection of a state’s moral values. The Arab Spring effectively put an end to the West’s balancing act as Europe and the U.S. were forced …
A New Iron Lady: Why Dilma Is Brazil’s Best Bet to Revive Its Economy
Brazil is widely regarded as the first Latin American country to win membership to the club of developed nations, or at least to get its foot in the door. For that, it can thank leadership. In the past two decades, from former …
Retail Wars: India Plays an Economic Double Game
In 1991, Manmohan Singh was finance minister of a struggling, fractious government that was running out of money and ideas. Under pressure from international lenders, he championed a sweeping program of economic reform that took …
Why Is Donald Rumsfeld on This Package of Spicy Peanuts?
There are, in this salty tale of frolics, politics and peanuts, a number of what Donald Rumsfeld, might call known knowns. These are things we know that we know — like how a photograph of a young Rumsfeld, a chopstick balanced …
Did a Gaddafi Scion Try to Enter Mexico?
TIME’S Dolly Mascareñas reports out of Mexico that Saadi Gaddafi, one of the sons of the late Libyan dictator, attempted to enter Mexico on Sept. 6 under the name Daniel Bejar. The Mexican government said Saadi Gaddafi’s wife and two daughters would have accompanied him. Mexican intelligence sources said they prevented them from using …
Chasing the Dragon: In Burma, All Conversations Seem to Lead to China
I went to Burma to see whether the reforms I’d heard about were truly transforming one of the most isolated nations on earth. Yet what many of my Burmese friends wanted to talk instead about was my place of residence: …
Hillary Clinton Vows to Support Global Fight for Gay Rights
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday vowed that the United States would help fight discrimination against gays and lesbians around the world. In what’s being hailed as a ‘landmark‘ speech, she marked Human Rights Day by announcing that the U.S. will use diplomacy and $3 million in foreign aid to help expand the rights of gay, …