Foreign Policy Public Health Blog

The Greece v. Germany row gets deeper

Two weeks ago, European leaders tapped Germany to lead a bailout of Greece. Since then -- sturm und drang and chaos . Germans are infuriated over everything from Greece's hiring of Wall Street firms to hide its debt to the country's retirement...

Published Thu, Feb 25 2010 10:05 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Europe, Financial crisis, Finance

Drones Killed 94 Kids, Says Pakistani Report

For the past nine years, CIA drones have struck militant commanders in Pakistan's tribal areas with deadly frequency, decimating the leadership of al Qaeda and the Taliban. But those very same strikes have also resulted in an untold number of civilian...

Published Mon, Jul 22 2013 11:38 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Pakistan, National Security

The dumbest country in the Middle East

So what are we to make of the allegation that Syria is moving, or has moved, Scud missiles, or parts of Scud missiles, into Hezbollah country in Lebanon -- even as the Obama administration tries to send a U.S ambassador back to Damascus for the first...

Published Wed, Apr 14 2010 4:37 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Middle East, Syria

Morning Brief: South Korea cuts trade ties with the North; frustration mounts over BP oil spill

South Korea cuts trade ties with the North; frustration mounts over BP oil spill South Korean Lee Myung-bak announced that his nation would cut all trade ties to North Korea, deny North Korean trading ships access to South Korean sea lanes, and call on...

Published Mon, May 24 2010 5:36 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Morning Brief

What's appropriate for a foreign leader to say in Congress?

Speaking of U.S.-Mexico relations, I see that some lawmakers weren't happy that Mexican President Felipe Calderon criticized Arizona's new immigration law in his speech to Congress yesterday: Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said that Calderon's...

Published Fri, May 21 2010 11:15 AM by FP Passport

Dispatch from China: Home Ownership Blues in Beijing

For the next three weeks, I am traveling in China, reporting on a few larger themes, but also posting occasional dispatches when people or places that I encounter illuminate trends in the news, or how history is experienced on a personal level. Within...

Published Fri, Apr 16 2010 10:29 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: East Asia

President of Norway running country from his iPad

Governing Norway? There's an app for that. Prime minister Jens Stoltenberg, like thousands of others, has been stranded by the volcanic cloud hanging over Europe. But he seems to be managing : Stoltenberg, who was in town for President Obama's...

Published Fri, Apr 16 2010 9:49 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Europe, Science & Technology

Team Putin Says They Don't Mind The Latest NSA Scandal One Bit

While the rest of the world is bubbling with (subdued) rage against the United States over reports that the NSA has been spying on their leaders, Russia is quietly rubbing its hands. On Thursday, The Guardian reported that the U.S. had been listening...

Published Fri, Oct 25 2013 10:13 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Russia, Eastern Europe, NSA

Horrific Day for Tiananmen Tourists Is Banner Day for Chinese Censors

On Oct. 28, a Jeep drove into a crowd in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, killing five people and injuring 38. While the story is still breaking and details remain sparse, the response by both police and censors has been swift. On Sina Weibo, China's...

Published Mon, Oct 28 2013 9:09 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: East Asia, China, Internet

The day Somalia's music died

Taking a page from the Taliban, Somalia's Shabaab militants have effectively banned music from the radio in Somalia: The BBC's Mohammed Olad Hassan in Mogadishu says the order to stop playing music and jingles was issued 10 days ago. All but two...

Published Tue, Apr 13 2010 7:36 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Africa, Culture

North Korea unveils (first?) Kim Jong Il statue

While statues of former North Korean leader Kim Il Sung are ubiquitous in North Korea, the regime has so far been reluctant to build a state of his son, the country's currently leader, Kim Jong Il. Until now: North Korea has unveiled a statue of leader...

Published Mon, Jul 19 2010 10:59 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: North Korea

Painting the Andes white

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 If you're the kind of interior decorator who spends weeks agonizing between "white zinfandel" and "baby's breath" for the dining room walls (two hues...

Published Thu, Jun 17 2010 2:46 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Environment, South America, Global Warming

Medvedev's BP-bashing

No love for BP from Russia's oil man-turned-president: On the eve of his first state visit to the U.S. next week, Mr. Medvedev also questioned whether the Gulf oil spill might lead to the "annihilation" or breakup of BP, as the company faces...

Published Fri, Jun 18 2010 12:03 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Russia, Oil

Finally, a way to put pirates on trial

As we've reported several times here at FP , stopping the Somali pirates who are tormenting the Gulf of Aden (check out their impressive list of recent catches) is a legal disaster. No one really knows who has jurisdiction to try them; everyone is...

Published Thu, Jun 17 2010 7:57 AM by FP Passport

The end of early retirement?

The French government announced today that it will raise the country's retirement age from 60 to 62, a move likely to be fiercely resisted by French labor unions. The retirement age was already one of the lowest in Europe and economists have long...

Published Wed, Jun 16 2010 12:39 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Economics