Foreign Policy Public Health Blog

Russia and Qatar to host World Cup

FIFA today announced that Russia would host the 2018 World Cup and … Qatar … would host the 2022 Cup. Obviously this is shocking news across the sporting and football worlds. So why Russia and Qatar? Russia, actually, makes a certain amount of sense....

Published Thu, Dec 02 2010 12:00 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Corruption, Russia, Middle East, Sports, World Cup

Shutdown Watch: America's Trade Agenda Flounders

Trade talks between the United States and the European Union are on hold , China is promoting a rival Asian trade bloc in President Obama's absence, and Jason Furman, the chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, is apparently answering...

Published Mon, Oct 07 2013 4:30 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: U.S. Foreign Policy, U.S. Congress, Trade

Argentine courts to give Spain a taste of its own medicine

Spanish investigative judge Baltasar Garzon has made a name for himself by prosecuting human rights abusers around the world -- including former Chilean leader Augusto Pinochet -- using universal jurisdiction to get around national amnesties. But Garzon...

Published Wed, Apr 14 2010 10:41 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Europe, Law, History

Russian Press, Politicians Fume Over Putin Nobel Peace Prize Snub

Sure, some have spent the past few days lamenting that Pakistani girls' education advocate Malala Yousafzai didn't receive the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday. But several Russian news outlets and politicians have been grousing about a separate slight...

Published Mon, Oct 14 2013 2:27 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Russia, Human Rights, Diplomacy, Media, Georgia, Caucasus, International Organizations, Syria, Arab World

Moscow to Caracas -- The Scenic Route

So Edward Snowden finally has somewhere that will take him in -- if he can just figure out a way to get there first. After rejections from more than a dozen countries, word came late Friday that three Latin American countries -- Venezuela, Bolivia and...

Published Sat, Jul 06 2013 2:31 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Russia, WikiLeaks, Venezuela

The Akbar Zeb story: too good to be true

I wrote last week about Pakistan's High Commissioner to Canada Akbar Zeb's reported rejection as ambassador to Saudi Arabia due to the unfortunate Arabic translation of his name as "biggest ***." Alas, the story turns out to be false...

Published Fri, Feb 12 2010 11:23 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Diplomacy, Media, Fun Stuff, South Asia

Debating the anti-Muslim backlash to Britain's Woolwich attack

Two weeks ago, the dramatic murder of British soldier Lee Rigby in broad daylight on a London street gripped the world. But what has attracted less attention since the grisly killing is a reported increase across Britain in violence, vandalism, and slurs...

Published Thu, Jun 06 2013 1:20 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Europe

Morning Brief: Libyan Prime Minister Briefly Kidnapped By Angry Militiamen

Libyan Prime Minister Briefly Kidnapped By Angry Militiamen Top news: Militiamen briefly abducted Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan on Thursday, apparently in retaliation for consenting to an American Special Forces operation aimed at capturing a suspected...

Published Thu, Oct 10 2013 6:05 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Morning Brief

Teenage goddess to pursue banking career

What's a girl to do when she's not a living goddess anymore? Apparently aim for a career in finance : Chanira Bajracharya, 15, has been the Kumari or “living goddess” of Patan, an ancient town south of Kathmandu, for nine years, blessing devotees...

Published Wed, Apr 07 2010 8:30 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Religion, Finance

Captured Zetas Leader Built Reputation on Sadistic Violence

In the macabre world of Mexican gangland violence, Miguel Ángel Treviño Morales, the Zetas chief who was captured on Monday, stands out in his taste for violence. Dismemberment, acid baths, and decapitation were standard tactics for the man who helped...

Published Tue, Jul 16 2013 2:00 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Drugs & Crime, Mexico

Is Israel winning the YouTube war?

Since Monday's clash between Israeli military forces and pro-Palestinian activists, both sides have issued video recordings to support their version of events (and, maybe more importantly, to unload blame onto their adversaries). So far, there's...

Published Fri, Jun 04 2010 3:05 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Internet, Israel/Palestine

Ambassadors bet steak dinner on soccer game

Now the pressure is really on for the U.S. to beat Britain in the World Cup opening match this Saturday, because a free meal for the American ambassador is on the line. Politico has released an email exchange between the U.S. and British ambassadors in...

Published Wed, Jun 09 2010 2:21 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Europe, Sports

Attack of the balloons has South Koreans on edge

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 A heartwarming scene from The Red Balloon it was not: when South Korean schoolchildren launched fifty balloons into the sky on Thursday, no one stopped to oh and ah. The man who...

Published Fri, Jun 18 2010 8:40 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Disasters, North Korea, East Asia, Borders

The West Bank's Danica Patricks?

While stoppages and barricades stymie the "Freedom Flotillas" en route to Gaza, the "Speed Sisters" -- an eight-woman speed-racing troupe breaking onto the driving scene in the West Bank -- are revving up to shatter barriers at high...

Published Mon, Jun 28 2010 1:31 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Britain, Middle East, Women, Israel/Palestine, Sports

Did Obama push Sarkozy into Russian arms?

The Times 's France-blogger Charles Bremner speculates about the motivations behind France's recent overtures to Russia, which include an elaborate state visit to Paris by President Dmitry Medvedev, a gas deal between GazProm and France's...

Published Wed, Mar 03 2010 11:01 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: France, Russia