November 2009 - Foreign Policy Public Health Blog

Morning Brief: Abbas announced retirement

Abbas announced retirement Top story: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says he will not seek reelection , adding a new element of uncertainty to the Middle East peace process. “I have told my brethren in the P.L.O. that I have no desire to run in the...

Published Fri, Nov 06 2009 5:58 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Morning Brief

12 dead in shooting at U.S. military base Fort Hood

There are breaking reports of a deadly massacre at a massive U.S. military base, Fort Hood, 60 miles north of Austin, Texas. One or three perpetrators -- reports differ -- killed at least 12 and injured dozens more inside the base. One alleged shooter...

Published Thu, Nov 05 2009 2:56 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: North America, Military

Baguette breaks Large Hadron Collider

It's almost as if God doesn't want the scientists at CERN to fire up the Large Hadron Collider. The world's largest particle-collider, which cost around £4 billion to construct and, by the way, might destroy the world , has run into another...

Published Thu, Nov 05 2009 12:32 PM by FP Passport

How Egypt thwarts USAID

The United States provides Egypt with an annual injection of around $200 million in development aid -- a vestige of the U.S. wheel-greasing that accompanied the 1979 peace deal between Israel and Egypt. It is the job of USAID to distribute a portion of...

Published Thu, Nov 05 2009 10:56 AM by FP Passport

Honduras political crisis apparently not over

Honduran politicians apparently didn't get the memo that last week's U.S.-mediated deal had ended their country's political deadlock: Zelaya's supporters say that failure to approve the deal in the next few days would kill the final opportunity...

Published Thu, Nov 05 2009 9:35 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Latin America

Kristof apologizes to Slovenia

At the end of his New York Times column today, Nick Kristof offers a, frankly, adorable apology to the country of Slovenia. In several columns, I've noted indignantly that we have worse health statistics than Slovenia. For example, I noted that an...

Published Thu, Nov 05 2009 8:52 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Europe, Media

Thaksin glides around the globe and flim-flams every nation

Thailand peripatetic former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has turned up in Cambodia, where he has been named a special economic advisor to the government. As Thailand's current government is seeking Thaksin extradition on corruption charges, they're...

Published Thu, Nov 05 2009 8:47 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Southeast Asia

Morning Brief: Saudi Arabia attacks rebels inside Yemen

Saudi Arabia attacks rebels inside Yemen Top Story: The Saudi air force has launched attacks on rebel bases inside Yemen in response to a cross-border raid by the rebels, according to local media reports. The Saudi government has confirmed only that the...

Published Thu, Nov 05 2009 5:58 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Morning Brief

Iraq's useless bomb detecting technology

The New York Times published an absolutely brilliant story today about the bomb detecting wands yielded by Iraqi security forces. Though the piece is written in the even-handed language you expect from the NYT , you can still practically hear the journalist...

Published Wed, Nov 04 2009 3:50 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Middle East

Hundreds of Ethiopian opposition party members jailed

According to opposition parties in Ethiopia, nearly 450 of their members have been jailed , as part of an effort by the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) to secure national elections being held this May. One opposition...

Published Wed, Nov 04 2009 3:12 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Africa, Corruption, Human Rights, Politics, Elections

Tehran protesters call to Obama

Andrew Sullivan posts the following video from Tehran today, showing opposition demonstrators chanting, "Obama, Obama, you're either with us or with them": Another features the chant (according to TehranBureau's translation ), "...

Published Wed, Nov 04 2009 11:43 AM by FP Passport

Italian court convicts CIA agents in absentia

Today, an Italian court convicted 23 U.S. citizens, 22 of them acknowledged as CIA agents, for the daylight abduction and "extraordinary rendition" of cleric Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, better known as Abu Omar. The CIA snatched Abu Omar off...

Published Wed, Nov 04 2009 10:42 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Terrorism, Europe

The Streisand effect and the Afghan election

Writing for Eurasianet, Aunohita Mojumda makes the case that Abdullah Abdullah is the real winner in the Afghan election debacle: Heading into the August 20 election, Abdullah, an ethnic Tajik, stood virtually no chance of winning the election -- whether...

Published Wed, Nov 04 2009 10:37 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Elections, Afghanistan

Boris Johnson: "Knight on a shining bicycle"

Does Boris Johnson have a superhero alter-ego? Buffoonish mayor of London by day, cycling vigilante by night? Environmentalist documentary maker Franny Armstrong would certainly argue that. Johnson swooped to her rescue yesterday, when she was pushed...

Published Wed, Nov 04 2009 9:11 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Europe, Security

Bush dispenses baseball wisdom in Japan

Taking a break from the self-help circuit , former President George W. Bush traveled to Japan to throw out the first pitch at the Japan Series. The one-time Texas Rangers owner also took the time to talk to university students about running a successful...

Published Wed, Nov 04 2009 8:45 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Bush's Legacy, Sports