The prominence of Anwar al-Awlaki in al-Qaeda had been a symptom of the organization’s degradation under the relentless attack of U.S. and allied intelligence services over the past decade. For the U.S.-born Yemeni Youtube preacher was not exactly your battle-hardened field commander who’d made his name as a leader of men in battle; …
Yemeni Officials: Anwar Al-Awlaki Is Dead
U.S. Officials confirmed that Yemeni government news agency reports that Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born radical cleric has been killed, along with his bodyguards, in a military strike. He was 40-years-old. The English-speaking al Awlaki who is the best known face of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, is a particularly potent …
In a Rare Reversal, Burma’s Government Listens to Its People and Suspends a Dam
The Irrawaddy River is the lifeblood of Burma. Its waters spring from the Myitsone confluence of two rivers in the country’s northern Kachin state, a largely Christian ethnic minority territory whose rebel militia has over the decades battled the Burmese military. A few years ago when Burma’s ruling junta agreed to a $3.6 …
Will We Really Let 750,000 People Starve to Death?
Are we really about to let three-quarters of a million people starve to death? The U.N. thinks we might. Figures describing the famine in Somalia from the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) paint a consistent, horrifying picture. As of late September, hunger is besieging 12.4 million East Africans, with …
Al-Qaeda Slaps Ahmadinejad as Things Get Testy in the Dustbin of History
U.S. and other Western diplomats quietly gathered up their papers and walked out of the U.N. General Assembly chamber when Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reiterated his claim that the 9/11 terror attacks were orchestrated by the U.S. itself. But if the diplomats were irked, the remnants of al-Qaeda — at least the chapter in …
TIME Meets Embattled Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh
Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh doesn’t act like a man with his back to the wall. Despite an eight-month-long popular uprising, major military defections, international pressure to step down and an assassination attempt that nearly took his life in June, he has made it clear that he will relinquish power only on his own terms. His …
Turkish P.M. Erdogan: We Cannot Deny Our Ottoman Past
Our interview with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, published earlier this week on Global Spin, dwelled mostly on the growing shadow cast by the charismatic premier across the face of Mideast geo-politics. One question edited out of the earlier transcript raised the legacy of the Ottoman Empire, whose dominion once …
From Wall Street to Tahrir Square, a New Distrust of Leaders’ Promises
Outrage at a status quo that serves powerful elites at the expense of the majority has, over the past year, drawn millions of (mostly) young people onto the streets of Madrid, Athens, Santiago, New Delhi, Tripoli, Cairo and now even New York City. But their anger is not confined to the status quo; it is also directed at the …
Real Political Scandals Top France’s Autumn Entertainment Ratings
When a real life saga or news event involving a teeming cast of elite characters spins out of control in improbable directions—and with dramatic consequences–the French have a special expression to describe the situation: C’est du Dallas. That’s as in JR, Sue Ellen, Bobby, and the surprising twists and turns of the …
With Latest Launch, China Plots Course for Space Station
Many countries set off fireworks to mark their national days, but few go as big as China. Sometime between 9:16 p.m. and 9:31 p.m. tonight (Thursday morning U.S. time) the country’s space program will launch Tiangong 1, an unmanned, 8-ton space lab module, into orbit, according to a statement by the China Manned Space Engineering …
Two Steps Back: Saudi Woman Sentenced to 10 Lashes for Driving
Update: Al-Jazeera reports that the Saudi King Abdullah has overturned the lashing verdict.
Just days after King Abdullah granted Saudi women the right to vote and run in municipal elections scheduled for 2015, a court convicted a woman of driving without permission and sentenced her to lashing. It is the harshest sentence yet and …
Love Actually: Labour Hearts Hugh Grant But Feels Little Passion For Its Own Leader
It’s a problem unlikely to trouble U.S. politicians any time soon: there’s so much common ground between Britain’s three largest political parties that they struggle to define themselves against their rivals. Yes, their histories and traditional values are quite different. But since Tony Blair led Labour to the center and …
Don’t Dare Call French Feminists “Mademoiselle”
Though it isn’t a direct result of the gender debate that arose from the attempted rape charges lodged against Dominique Strauss-Kahn, a new campaign by French feminists does indicate they’re more determined than ever to remedy the habitual injustices France’s male-dominated society imposes upon them. As part of that, an …