Foreign Policy Public Health Blog

Gay sex scandal at the Vatican

In his FP piece on the decline of the Catholic Church in Ireland, Patsy McGarry described the disatisfaction of Irish catholics with the Pope's tepid response to their country's priest sex abuse scandal. Now Benedict may have to do some damage...

Published Fri, Mar 05 2010 7:35 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Religion

Friday Photo: The world's first 'Zero Star Hotel'

Daniel Charbonnier, co-founder of Minds in Motion, an international hospitality advisory and services company, has recently partnered with concept artists Frank and Patrik Riklin to transform the 'Zero-Star Hotel' into a worldwide business opportunity...

Published Fri, Mar 05 2010 3:11 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Europe, Fun Stuff

No lawyers for Swiss animals

A setback for animal-rights activists in Switzerland: Voters in Switzerland have rejected a proposal to introduce a nationwide system of state-funded lawyers to represent animals in court. Animal rights groups had proposed the move, saying that without...

Published Mon, Mar 08 2010 9:26 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Europe, Law, Environment

Bush's Northern Ireland intervention

Earlier today, former U.S. President George W. Bush called British conservative leader David Cameron to try to convince him to urge his allies in the Northern Irish Ulster Unionist party to support a deal that would give the government in Belfast control...

Published Tue, Mar 09 2010 8:17 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Europe, Bush Administration

Kim and Kanye May (or May Not) Be Getting Married at Egypt's Pyramids

Take this with several grains of salt, but Kanye West, croissant enthusiast and self-professed " Steve [Jobs] of Internet, downtown, fashion, culture ," and Kim Kardashian, noted cultural ambassador to the Arab world, might be planning a special...

Published Mon, Jul 08 2013 2:17 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Middle East, Celebs, North Africa

Before-and-After Images Reveal Destruction of Syria's Largest City

On July 19, 2012, Syrian rebels stormed Aleppo, Syria's largest city and commercial hub. The year since has been nothing less than a disaster for the city: The war between insurgents and the Syrian military has destroyed the lives of the civilians...

Published Wed, Aug 07 2013 7:06 AM by FP Passport

We Interrupt This Russian TV Broadcast to Bring You an Anti-Putin Rant

If Barack Obama is looking for ways beyond canceling summits to express his displeasure with Russia's president, he may have an answer: On July 31, Russians watching the evening news on the Urals-based Eastern Express channel were suddenly treated...

Published Thu, Aug 08 2013 5:30 AM by FP Passport

Iran's Not-So-Shocking Exposé of American Frat Boys

American college life is often depicted as a four- (or five-, or six-) year suspension of reality, in which the normal rules of society cease to apply and the nation's youth indulge their baser instincts. Social media-inflected binge drinking , no...

Published Thu, Aug 08 2013 5:30 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: North America, Culture, Fun Stuff, Iran

The New Cocaine War: Peru Overtakes Colombia as World's Top Coca Grower

With the declaration by the United Nations on Thursday that Colombia has reduced its coca crop by 25 percent, meaning Peru has likely passed the country as the world's largest cultivator of coca, Colombians can breathe a sigh of relief. Ravaged by...

Published Fri, Aug 09 2013 2:40 PM by FP Passport

Norway's Prime Minister Moonlights as Cabbie, Redefines Political Desperation

In an effort to get closer to his people and hear out their concerns, Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg apparently spent a Friday afternoon in June driving a cab around Oslo incognito. The stunt was captured on video, and his disguise does not...

Published Mon, Aug 12 2013 9:30 AM by FP Passport

The Best Twitter Snark From Monday's Hyperloop Announcement

Serial entrepreneur Elon Musk rolled out his latest too-good-to-be-true design Monday: a train that would rocket its passengers from San Francisco to Los Angeles in under an hour. But God forbid that anyone take it seriously. The self-referential, meta...

Published Mon, Aug 12 2013 3:00 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Fun Stuff

Covert Twitter Ops: Israel's Latest (Mis)Adventure in Digital Diplomacy

There's a new front in the social media wars: Israeli university campuses. In cooperation with Israel's national student union, Haaretz reported today, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office is planning to create "covert units"...

Published Tue, Aug 13 2013 4:30 PM by FP Passport

The Ukrainian Flag Can't Catch a Break These Days

Add this to the list of cultural minefields companies would do well to avoid: Henkel, a German consumer goods company, has pulled a toilet freshener from the Eastern European market three days after complaints from Ukraine first surfaced. The Bref Duo...

Published Wed, Aug 14 2013 1:50 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Culture, Eastern Europe

Morning Brief: Death Toll Mounts in Egypt as Government Reissues State of Emergency

Death Toll Mounts in Egypt as Government Reissues State of Emergency Top News: As of this morning, at least 464 people are dead in Egypt after a day of violent clashes that began as the Egyptian military stormed protest camps supporting ousted President...

Published Thu, Aug 15 2013 4:16 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Morning Brief

The Snowden Saga's Taken Some Bizarre Turns in the Past 24 Hours

Late last month, Edward Snowden's attorney, Anatoly Kucherena, brought his client a collection of Russian books, including Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment and works by Chekhov. His gift, it turns out, was prescient, as the Snowden saga has...

Published Fri, Aug 16 2013 9:10 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Intelligence, National Security