April 2013 - Foreign Policy Public Health Blog

Former Maldives president: 'They have to finish me off for their coup to be successful'

Until last year, Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed was best known for his high-profile advocacy on behalf of small island nations in climate change talks, which included high-profile stunts like holding a cabinet meeting underwater and starring in an...

Published Wed, Apr 03 2013 12:40 PM by FP Passport

Report: Government forces responsible for majority of rapes in Syria

Rape has played a devastating role in Syria's two-year-long civil war, but data about how prevalent the practice is in the murky conflict have been hard to come by. In one of the most ambitious efforts yet to nail down statistics, a study released...

Published Wed, Apr 03 2013 12:20 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Middle East, Women, Syria

The Taliban have been great for falcons

There haven't been many feel-good stories coming out of the tribal regions of Pakistan, which for several years now have served as the front line in the American-led fight against the Taliban and the remnants of al Qaeda. The Pakistani army has launched...

Published Wed, Apr 03 2013 11:00 AM by FP Passport

Russia's Chelyabinsk region wants to trademark itself as world's 'meteorite capital'

The fervor may have died down a bit since Chelyabinsk, Russia was hit by a huge space rock in February, but the region is still working hard to turn that meteorite into money. As I noted in an earlier post , Chelyabinsk initially went the tourism route...

Published Wed, Apr 03 2013 10:30 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Russia, Eastern Europe, Fun Stuff

The corporations imperiled by North Korea's latest brinkmanship

North Korea's move to suspend access to the Kaesong industrial complex, one of the last remaining points of engagement between North and South, has jeopardized more than just diplomatic relations between the two countries -- it has also imperiled...

Published Wed, Apr 03 2013 9:50 AM by FP Passport

Will a member of David Cameron's cabinet agree to live on $11.42 per day?

After his appearance on a BBC radio program Monday, British Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith probably wishes he could eat his words -- because now he may not be eating much of anything for a year. Smith said in the interview that he could...

Published Wed, Apr 03 2013 8:30 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Europe, Economics, Labor

Morning Brief: North Korea blocks access to Kaesong

North Korea blocks access to Kaesong Top news: North Korean authorities blocked access on Wednesday to the jointly run Kaesong industrial zone. The plant had stood out as one of the few -- if not the only -- remaining symbols of North-South cooperation...

Published Wed, Apr 03 2013 5:36 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Morning Brief

Foreigners make up a tiny fraction of the Syrian opposition

Despite repeated Syrian government claims that opposition forces are predominantly " foreign terrorists ," a new comprehensive report by the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation finally puts numbers to the nagging question of...

Published Tue, Apr 02 2013 5:20 PM by FP Passport

East meets Westeros in Chinese 'Game of Thrones' commercial

With the much-anticipated third season of HBO's Game of Thrones just getting underway, lots of people are rushing to capitalize on the show's roaring success. One of the more bizarre attempts recently surfaced on China's CCTV, which aired...

Published Tue, Apr 02 2013 4:00 PM by FP Passport

The economics behind dead pig sales in China

In her article for FP today, Laurie Garrett wonders whether thousands of dead pigs washing up in Shanghai's rivers and two Chinese citizens dying of a new flu strain are early symptoms of the next big pandemic. What's more, she writes, the potentially...

Published Tue, Apr 02 2013 12:45 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: East Asia, China, Food/Agriculture

How fast can North Korea 'restart' its nuclear plant?

On Tuesday, North Korea vowed to restart a nuclear reactor capable of making one bomb's worth of plutonium per year in an act of brinksmanship even China called " regretful ." But the Yongbyon reactor, a Soviet-era relic that has been idle...

Published Tue, Apr 02 2013 12:30 PM by FP Passport

Iran gains upper hand in ice cream cold war with United States

Iran may have just scored a massive, albeit largely symbolic, victory in its cold war with the United States. And it is a very cold war -- because the battle being waged is over ice cream. On Monday, the Iranian ice cream company Choopan appeared to unseat...

Published Tue, Apr 02 2013 10:50 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Politics, Middle East, Food/Agriculture, Iran, Cool

Morning Brief: North Korea vows to restart nuclear reactor

North Korea vows to restart nuclear reactor Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE Top news: North Korea announced Tuesday that it plans to reopen the Soviet-era reactor at its Yongbyon nuclear facility, potentially allowing the isolated nuclear...

Published Tue, Apr 02 2013 5:44 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Morning Brief

Does America have a global sport?

The start of the new baseball season and Washington's never-ending debate about American decline offer an opportunity to address a perplexing question: Given America's sports obsession, why haven't its marquee sports had more success in establishing...

Published Mon, Apr 01 2013 5:30 PM by FP Passport

Are fake funerals the next big thing?

This past weekend, Zeng Jia prepared and participated in her own funeral -- except she was alive the whole time. The Chinese college student, whose grandfather's recent death inspired her to organize her own -- rather premature -- funeral, said that...

Published Mon, Apr 01 2013 4:50 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: East Asia, China