March 2010 - Foreign Policy Public Health Blog

Is Britain trying to take over EU foreign policy?

Yet another Catherine Ashton controversy : A confidential German foreign ministry document analysing the creation of the EU's new diplomatic service, seen by the Guardian, has concluded that Britain has grabbed an "excessive" and "over...

Published Tue, Mar 02 2010 10:10 AM by FP Passport

The soft diplomacy of low expectations

The secretary of state's Latin America trip continues : While in Montevideo, Mrs. Clinton met with President Fernando Lugo of Paraguay and President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia, congratulating him for accepting a Constitutional Court ruling that denied...

Published Tue, Mar 02 2010 9:30 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Latin America, U.S. Foreign Policy

Morning Brief: Chile asks for international aid

Chile asks for international aid Top story: Chile's government is now asking for aid after initially declining outside help in the wake of Saturday's massive earthquake. The country's government has reportedly asked the United Nations for...

Published Tue, Mar 02 2010 6:07 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Morning Brief

Are the Winter Olympics getting more diverse?

When the Olympics first started, I directed this blog's readers to "White Snow, Brown Rage," Reihan Salam's Slate opus on diversity and the Winter Olympics. At the time, I wondered how globalization has impacted the winter games -- are...

Published Mon, Mar 01 2010 4:36 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Olympics

This will not end well

Dubai's police chief, Lt. Gen. Dahi Khalfan Tamim, probably had most of the world on his side when he first announced that he possessed evidence that a Mossad hit squad had killed Mahmoud al-Mabhouh. Mabhouh was a Hamas military commander, Israel...

Published Mon, Mar 01 2010 4:05 PM by FP Passport

Turkey to U.S.: you wouldn't like us when we're angry

On Thursday, the House Foreign Affairs Committee will debate a resolution to recognize the 1915 killing of Armenian civilians by Turkish troops as a genocide. A similar resolution failed in 2007. The Obama administration has not taken a stand on the resolution...

Published Mon, Mar 01 2010 4:02 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Middle East, History

Oh no, Ug99

The newest Wired magazine has a great, terrifying article on Ug99, a fungus that is imperiling wheat crops, auguring possible famines and rising food prices. The story focuses on the damage Ug99 has already caused from southern Africa north to Iran, the...

Published Mon, Mar 01 2010 3:18 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Afghanistan, Central Asia, Food/Agriculture

The lame duck earthquake

Watching the quick response from the Chilean government these last couple of days, you would easily be forgiven for not noticing that the disaster came at any administration's most vulnerable point: that lame duck period between when elections are...

Published Mon, Mar 01 2010 2:49 PM by FP Passport

Chile's Twitter response

I know you're not supposed to read your news on Twitter (I know!), but I've gotta say: compared to the news coverage of Chile's earthquake by much of the U.S. media the last several days, the tweetosphere on Chile (including subjects #Chile...

Published Mon, Mar 01 2010 2:29 PM by FP Passport

Zimbabwe's terrible new business law

Today, in Zimbabwe, a highly controversial new law requiring businesses to be majority-owned by indigenous Zimbabwean citizens comes into effect. Within the next 45 days, every company with an asset value over $500,000 needs to submit paperwork detailing...

Published Mon, Mar 01 2010 2:07 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Africa, Business

Both British candidates hire Obama advisors for TV debate prep

Both sides in Britain's national elections are looking to capture a little bit of the Obama magic in a series of upcoming televised debates: David Cameron has hired two of President Obama’s former advisers to help him to prepare for the televised...

Published Mon, Mar 01 2010 10:21 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Britain, Elections, Media

Morning Brief: Aftershocks hit Chile as death toll tops 700

Aftershocks hit Chile as death toll tops 700 Top story: Three aftershocks hit Chile today, compounding the damage done by a massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake that hit the country on Saturday. More than two million people have been displaced from their...

Published Mon, Mar 01 2010 5:37 AM by FP Passport