With their governments locked in conflict over how to deal with around 25,000 of Tunisians fleeing the chaos of their homeland for stability in Europe, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his Italian opposite Silvio Berlusconi banded together Tuesday in the common cause of dumping their problem squarely in the European Union’s lap. …
More Whoa! in Haiti: Did the Ruling Party Manipulate Election Results?
If you’re wondering why only about a tenth of the more than $10 billion that international donors pledged to Haiti’s reconstruction has actually been disbursed so far, we likely got another reminder on Monday, April 25. Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) announced that it was delaying certification of results from 19 …
A Key Arrest in India’s Commonwealth Games Scandal — Big Change or Big Show?
Is India serious about getting rid of corruption? The government is certainly using a much heavier hand. Suresh Kalmadi, the chief of the scandal-ridden 2010 Commonwealth Games was arrested yesterday in New Delhi on charges of conspiracy. India’s Central Bureau of Investigation alleges that he manipulated the bidding process for the …
No End in Sight for China’s Food Safety Scandals
One of the most disheartening things about food safety problems in China, aside from the harm they do to human health, is the regularity with which they occur. That thought came to mind as news of the latest tainted food scandal emerged this week. Nearly 300 villagers in Hunan were hospitalized over the weekend after eating pork at a …
Global Briefing, April 26, 2011: Apocalypse Still
No return — Twenty five years after Chernobyl, TIME considers the disaster’s legacy and its lessons; Krista Mahr writes about what it’s like reporting in Japan’s nuclear zone.
America’s Shame — Amy Davidson’s sharp take on the Guantanamo files cuts to the dark heart of the matter: “We sacrificed our values and our moral standing …
World Bank to East Timor: We Messed Up
East Timor was supposed to be the poster child for nation-building. In 2002, after two centuries of Portuguese rule and two decades of Indonesian occupation, this tiny half-island became the century’s first country. Its path to nationhood was paved by a host of international organizations keen to make the fledgling state a model of …
In Syria, Chaos, Confusion and Death
A bloody crackdown on protests in Syria has taken place under an intense media blackout, with foreign journalists barred from the country and struggling to piece together unsubstantiated reports of mass arrests and shootings. The global think tank STRATFOR offers this “Raw Intelligence Report,” a dispatch presumably from a foreigner …
Has the U.S. Wasted Trillions of Dollars in the Persian Gulf?
Yes. Read why on Battleland.
Why Americans Care More Than Brits Do About the Royal Wedding
A quick glance at the news from the real world and it’s not hard to see why the media-consuming public of the United States appears willing to lose itself in the fantastic miasma created by saturation coverage of the Disney-for-adults spectacle of a British royal wedding.
There’s nothing new about the decline of the erstwhile empire …
An Ally in Gitmo: the Story of Sufian bin Qumu
On Battleland, Mark Thompson rightly says that the leaked tranche of documents detailing interrogations with detainees in Guantanamo Bay contains “no bombshells.” We’ve known for a while that methods of interrogation deployed there were suspect, if not in violation of international conventions, and that dozens of inmates were seized and …
Global Briefing, April 25, 2011: Love Letters and Wedding Hate
Guantanamo Files — The story of the day is the leak of 700 documents related to the notorious American prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The disturbing details are, frankly, too many to list. To get you started, the Guardian has a useful summary and the New York Times’ multimedia package is worth a look. See the original documents, …
The Good Life During Wartime: Israel ranks 7th in Global Happiness
Talk all you like about the “troubled Middle East” but yet another survey is out showing Israelis, at least, quite like their lives. Israel ranks 7th in the entire world in the new Gallup Global Wellbeing report, which covers more than 150 countries. Residents were asked questions based on the splendidly named Cantril Self-Anchoring …
Is Gaddafi Trying to Start a Tribal War?
After being pounded for weeks by mortar and rocket fire, the city of Misratah experienced a brief lull earlier this weekend as forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi allegedly withdrew from the war-ravaged port. The government’s deputy foreign minister, Khalid Kaim, claimed operations had been suspended so that tribal leaders could negotiate a …