Foreign Policy Public Health Blog

You can't avoid settlements

Critics of the Obama administration's approach to Middle East peace, a group that includes just about everyone who is paying attention, say that focusing on Israeli settlements for the last 2 years -- as opposed to "core issues" -- was the...

Published Mon, Dec 13 2010 4:17 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Middle East, Israel/Palestine, Obama Administration

Berlusconi: Ousting me would be "political folly"

The problem with elections, a wise man once said, is that the politicians always win. So it must seem in Italy, which on Tuesday faces a dramatic no-confidence vote in Silvio Berlusconi, the country's clownish prime minister (last seen bailing a 17...

Published Mon, Dec 13 2010 3:31 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Europe

The vocal stylings of Vladimir Putin

Um...yeah. So this happened : The 58-year-old Russian Prime Minister-pilot-hunter-judo black belt added another line to his resume during a charity event in St. Petersburg Friday night, when he sang "Blueberry Hill" to an appreciative audience...

Published Sun, Dec 12 2010 8:12 PM by FP Passport

America can't walk away from the Middle East

I know where Thomas Friedman is coming from. His column today, in which he calls on the United States to wash its hands of the Middle East "peace process" and let the Israelis and Palestinians stew in their own juices for a while, must have...

Published Sun, Dec 12 2010 9:14 AM by FP Passport

Friday photo: Hell or high water

A Greenpeace activist holds a figure of the US Statue of Liberty, during their symbolic 'Sinking Icons' activity, by submerging icons of world famous buildings, in Cancun, Mexico, on December 8, 2010 during the United Nations Framework Convention...

Published Fri, Dec 10 2010 2:45 PM by FP Passport

Kim sibling rivalry?

South Korea's KBS television is reporting, via Chosun Ilbo , that the Kim Jong Il's oldest son Kim Jong Nam may be speaking out against his increasingly belligerent little brother. (The running caveat emptor warning for unsubstantiated Kim family...

Published Fri, Dec 10 2010 10:34 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: North Korea

Morning Brief: Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Liu Xiaobo

Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Liu Xiaobo Top news: Imprisoned Chinese activist Liu Xiaobo was represented by an empty chair at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony honoring him in Norway today. The chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize committee called for his immediate...

Published Fri, Dec 10 2010 5:48 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Morning Brief

Guest blog: Obama's partial vision

Speaking in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on Monday, President Barack Obama lamented America's stubbornly high unemployment and promised to outline for the gathered students a "vision that will keep our economy strong and growing and competitive...

Published Thu, Dec 09 2010 1:54 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: East Asia, Politics, Obama Administration, South Asia, Economics

Al-Akhbar hacked - David Kenner

If you visit the website of al-Akhbar , the leftist Lebanese daily that published dozens of classified State Department cables related to the Middle East before they appeared on WikiLeaks, you'll be greeted by the image above. The site has been hacked...

Published Thu, Dec 09 2010 12:31 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Middle East, WikiLeaks

Pakistani media publishes fake WikiLeaks scoops

A front-page story in Pakistan's The News today reports that new WikiLeaks cables have confirmed what reads like a laundry list of Pakistani suspicions and grievances against India: A cable from US Embassy in Islamabad leaked by whistle-blower website...

Published Thu, Dec 09 2010 11:06 AM by FP Passport

China's Confucius Prize debacle

The attempt by a group of patriotic Chinese scholars to create a Chinese alternative to the Nobel Prize appears to have backfired disastrously today, with the recipient a no-show and the Chinese government distancing itself from their efforts. The first...

Published Thu, Dec 09 2010 9:37 AM by FP Passport

Controversial Russian highway plan back on

Looks like even Bono couldn't stop it. Despite a wave of protest environmental and civil society groups throughout the summer, it appears that the Kremlin is going ahead with a controversial plan to build a highway through the Khimki forest, north...

Published Thu, Dec 09 2010 8:55 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Russia, Environment

Prime Minister's Questions turns into Smiths reference contest

In keeping with his image as a younger, hipper kind of Tory leader, British Prime Minister David Cameron has often expressed his appreciation for the music of legendary '80s band, The Smiths. The indie rock pioneers aren't all that appreciative...

Published Thu, Dec 09 2010 8:29 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Britain

Morning Brief: Pirates’ capture of Sudan-bound arms sparks political battle

Pirates’ capture of Sudan-bound arms sparks political battle Top story: In September 2008, Somali pirates hijacked the Faina , a Ukrainian freighter carrying 32 Soviet-era tanks, as well as other weapons. According to the cache of documents released by...

Published Thu, Dec 09 2010 6:03 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Morning Brief

Talking to the smart crowd: Nouriel Roubini

Foreign Policy 's Top 100 Global Thinkers of 2010 represent some of the brightest minds in the world today. Reuters' Chrystia Freeland, in partnership with FP , sat down with a number of them to hear the ideas that put them on the list. Nouriel...

Published Wed, Dec 08 2010 2:10 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Economics