Through an Islamist website, al-Qaeda apparently released a 12-minute audio tape recorded by Osama bin Laden shortly before his May 2 death at the hands of Navy SEALs. In it, the deceased terrorist mastermind lavishes praise upon the protest movements of the Arab Spring, insisting that “the winds of change will envelope the entire Muslim …
South Africa: A Loss for the ANC, a Win for Democracy
Early results in South Africa’s local elections suggest gains for the opposition, indicating a gradual but profound shift of power in Africa’s economic and political powerhouse. The ruling African National Congress (ANC), the party that defeated apartheid in 1990 under Nelson Mandela, will remain the ruling force in South Africa. But a …
Angela Merkel Backs a European for the IMF Job. But Which European Can She Have in Mind?
This morning Angela Merkel made clear that she wishes to see a European replace Dominique Strauss-Kahn at the helm of the IMF. “It is of course of great importance that we find a quick solution,” she added.
The German Chancellor carefully avoided any hints as to which of the various Europeans mooted for the IMF candidacy might receive …
Global Briefing: Hollow Rhetoric and Bad Ideas
Obama’s Cairo II: At 11:45am EST, President Obama will deliver his latest speech on the Mideast from the State Department. TIME and Global Spin’s Tony Karon writes that the Washington venue is important: “Obama’s Mideast ‘reset’ speech is not aimed primarily at the newly empowered Arab public; its primary audience is Washington, where the …
Could the Chinese Profit from the Strauss-Kahn Scandal?
As jailed Frenchman Dominique Strauss-Kahn submitted his resignation as managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), China quickly positioned itself as a possible beneficiary. On Thursday, Chinese state media wondered aloud whether the next IMF leader should be Chinese. One candidate bandied about by the official Chinese …
In Kazakhstan, The World’s First Ever “Mafia” Suicide Bombing?
Vast, resource-rich Kazakhstan prides itself on being the most stable and tranquil of the Central Asian states — which are to varying degrees all burdened by corrupt elites, ethnic hatreds and the specter of Islamist militancy. But at 9:30 am local time Tuesday a suicide bomber detonated explosives outside the offices of the country’s …
Why Obama’s Mideast Speech is For Domestic, Not Arab Consumption
The question among Middle East watchers over Thursday’s planned speech on the Arab Spring by President Obama has been this: Why would he address the Arab world at a moment when his policies have little hope of reversing diminished U.S. standing? After all, the Arab consensus views Obama has having failed miserably to deliver on the …
Amid U.S. Doubts, Pakistan Finds Old Friends in China
The visit to China by Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has been widely described as an effort to seek support from an old friend at a time when Pakistan’s government and military are facing difficult questions over the degree of official complicity in sheltering Osama bin Laden. But even as China has defended Pakistan’s …
Al-Qaeda’s Alleged New Leader: Who Is Saif al-Adel?
Terrorism expert Peter Bergen reports on CNN International that the Egyptian Saif al-Adel has been appointed as a “caretaker” leader of al-Qaeda, following the death of its emir Osama bin Laden. A Pakistani newspaper article datelined from Rawalpindi, the bustling city near Islamabad that’s home to Pakistan’s army headquarters, …
To Be Young, Rich, Chinese — and Hated
Deng Xiaoping, the architect of China’s economic reforms, is reported to have exclaimed: “To get rich is glorious.” But an annual report naming China’s richest people has in recent years been noteworthy more for the strenuous effort tycoons and property magnates seem to make to ensure their names don’t appear on the list. As …
McQueen Elizabeth, Barack O’Bama and the Luck of the Irish
The last time I was in Ireland, the country teetered on the brink of bankruptcy. Its political leaders had already been written off as dead men walking (a little unfair to zombies, who are at least capable of inspiring fear if not respect), and its populace was mired in despair. Many Irish expressed the fear that their nation was heading …
The Saudi-Iranian Cold War: Is This the Future of the Middle East?
It’s easy to overlook the killing of a single person in violence-plagued Pakistan, not least in Karachi, a seaside metropolis ever in danger of boiling over into sectarian bloodshed. But the murder of a Saudi diplomat by unknown assailants ought to raise eyebrows. Saudi Arabia’s tangled, pervasive influence in Pakistan has been well …
Mandela: Is This Any Way To Treat an Icon?
South Africa’s local elections has given the world its first glimpse of Nelson Mandela since he was hospitalized in January. It is not a pretty picture. In this short video released by the South African government, a mass of election officials and other staff crowd an all but inert Mandela at his home in Johannesburg and explain – …