May 2013 - Foreign Policy Public Health Blog

The looming cyclone ahead of Thein Sein's historic U.S. visit

As Burmese President Thein Sein prepares to travel to the United States next week -- the first visit to the country by a Burmese leader in 47 years -- a potential humanitarian disaster is looming on the horizon back home. Thein Sein's scheduled visit...

Published Tue, May 14 2013 3:20 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Disasters, Southeast Asia

A close reading of the recruitment letter Russia allegedly captured from a CIA agent

On Tuesday, Russia's FSB -- the successor organization to the KGB -- announced that it had captured a U.S. spy who was trying to recruit a Russian official. The American, who was later asked to leave the country, has been identified as Ryan Fogle...

Published Tue, May 14 2013 2:00 PM by FP Passport

Was the World Press Photo winner a fake? (And what's a 'fake' photo, anyway?)

Paul Hansen's image of a funeral procession in a Gazan alleyway on Nov. 20, 2012 is undeniably striking. Two men, their faces warped with grief and anger, carry the shrouded bodies of their young nieces, killed in an Israeli missile strike, while...

Published Tue, May 14 2013 11:40 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Science & Technology, Middle East, Media, Israel/Palestine, Photographs

Egyptian political party wants off U.S. terrorist list

In yet another example of the unrealistic ambitions of Egypt's new political class on the world stage, the Building and Development Party, the political wing of Gama'a al-Islamiyya (GI), is calling on the United States to remove the political...

Published Tue, May 14 2013 9:45 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Terrorism, al Qaeda, Middle East, History, U.S. Foreign Policy, International Relations, State Department, North Africa, Egypt, Democracy

Wait, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's brother is running for president of Iran?

On Saturday, the five-day registration period for Iran's June 14 presidential election came to a dramatic close when several last-minute candidates entered the running. And buried deep in news articles reporting the participation of popular former...

Published Tue, May 14 2013 9:00 AM by FP Passport

Morning Brief: Justice Department subpoenas journalists' phone records

Justice Department subpoenas journalists' phone records Top news: The U.S. Justice Department secretly obtained two months' worth of phone records for Associated Press journalists and editors, the AP announced on Monday. The seizures -- which...

Published Tue, May 14 2013 5:23 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Morning Brief

The story of how Nawaz Sharif pulled back from nuclear war

On Saturday, Nawaz Sharif swept to victory in Pakistan's parliamentary elections, capping a frantic election season and handing the former prime minister a sufficient number of seats to assemble what is likely to be a far more stable government than...

Published Mon, May 13 2013 6:10 PM by FP Passport

Barbara Walters's greatest interviews with world leaders

For those born after a certain year, Barbara Walters may be best known for her banter with the likes of Whoopi Goldberg and Elisabeth Hasselbeck on her talk show The View -- or her interviews with the likes of Monica Lewinsky and Michael Jackson. But...

Published Mon, May 13 2013 4:30 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Media, Celebs

39% of people who think Benghazi is America's biggest scandal can't find it on a map

Here's a depressing data point about Washington's super-politicized debate over the Benghazi consulate attack: 39 percent of American voters who think the Obama administration's response to the deadly assault represents the biggest political...

Published Mon, May 13 2013 3:30 PM by FP Passport

Responding to He Yafei: Who's to blame for the downturn in U.S.-Chinese relations?

Just how bad are U.S.-Chinese relations these days, and who's to blame for the downturn? China's former Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei has published an essay in Foreign Policy today on the worrying state of the world's most important relationship...

Published Mon, May 13 2013 1:20 PM by FP Passport

Egyptian activist freed but still under investigation

On Friday, we wrote about the arrest of Egyptian activist Ahmed Maher, who was detained at Cairo International Airport as he returned from a series of meetings with officials and speaking engagements in the United States. The Daily News Egypt reports...

Published Mon, May 13 2013 10:50 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Security, Politics, Middle East, North Africa, Egypt

How European taxpayers are fueling executions in Iran

This is a guest post by Gissou Nia, executive director of the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center , in response to our May 2 post, " The unlikely winner in the war on drugs? Iran ." When it comes to the death penalty, European governments...

Published Mon, May 13 2013 9:20 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Europe, Drugs & Crime, Iran

Introducing FP's new ebook

This morning, FP published our newest ebook, Bird of Chaman, Flower of the Khyber , Matthieu Aikins's great read about his wild ride in a Pakistani truck, starting in Karachi and following the military supply route into the Afghan war zone. The book...

Published Mon, May 13 2013 8:50 AM by FP Passport

Morning Brief: Nawaz Sharif scores resounding win in Pakistan

Nawaz Sharif scores resounding win in Pakistan Top news: With initial returns indicating Nawaz Sharif secured a resouding majority in parliamentary elections Saturday, the former prime minister, who was ousted in a coup in 1999, has begun discussions...

Published Mon, May 13 2013 5:40 AM by FP Passport