Foreign Policy Public Health Blog

The Fallen Soldiers of Egypt's 'War on Terror'

MONOFEYA, Egypt -- Anis Nasr al-Din was missing. The 21-year old police conscript had spent the night of Aug. 18 in the city of Arish, and was heading back to his unit's base in the town of Rafah, along the Egyptian border with the Gaza Strip, after...

Published Fri, Aug 23 2013 10:40 AM by FP Passport

Did John Kerry Just Make the Case for Military Action in Syria?

If the bombs start falling on Damascus, Monday afternoon will be cited as the moment when the Obama administration laid out the moral case for military action in Syria. In a stern statement , Secretary of State John Kerry presented the White House's...

Published Mon, Aug 26 2013 2:00 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Syria

You know what else is a "big f#*$ing deal"?

Just in case your Internet's been down for the last five hours, the U.S. vice president uncorked a Bidenism for the ages today while introducing President Obama at the signing of the health care reform bill today: The White House doesn't seem...

Published Tue, Mar 23 2010 3:35 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Foreign Policy magazine

Another problem solved by global warming

From Africa to the Himalayas , everyone's worried about global warming's potential to drive world conflict. But what about the disputes it will solve? A long-running argument between India and Bangladesh over a small island in the Bay of Bengal...

Published Wed, Mar 24 2010 8:17 AM by FP Passport

GoDaddy to follow in Google's China footsteps

GoDaddy , the web domain registration company better known for its risque Super Bowl commercials than its political principles, announced today that it will stop registering domains in China in protest against cyber attacks and censorship: "We believe...

Published Wed, Mar 24 2010 2:17 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: China, Internet, Business

Kyrgyz protester: "The Jews are Kaput"

Freelance reporter Ben Judah has just filed an absolutley gripping and powerful first-hand account of this week's events in Kyrgyzstan for FP. Here's one brief excerpt: Hundreds of men are on the move. Their eyes have turned to glares. Men enter...

Published Fri, Apr 09 2010 8:29 AM by FP Passport

Friday photo: Sea-mail

LUEBBENAU, GERMANY - APRIL 09: Jutta Pudenz, an employee of German postal carrier Deutsche Post DHL, arrives to deliver mail from her falt-bottomed canoe in the narrow canals in the Spreewald forest on April 9, 2010 in Luebbenau, Germany. Pudenz has been...

Published Fri, Apr 09 2010 4:16 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Europe, Friday Photo, Germany

Abhisit on the ropes?

Thailand's beleaguered prime minister is seeming increasingly isolated after the chief of the army joined the very protesters he's supposed to be disbanding in calling for the disolution of parliament and the country's election commission...

Published Mon, Apr 12 2010 9:49 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: East Asia

Foggy Bottom's logistical nightmare

If you know anyone who works in the State Department's Office of Protocol, this is a week to be especially polite to them. The 46 international delegations converging on Washington D.C. for President Obama's nuclear summit today and tomorrow present...

Published Mon, Apr 12 2010 3:13 PM by FP Passport

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

Lebanon's soccer wars

Just when you think Lebanon couldn't get any stranger, the country manages to outdo itself. In commemoration of the 35th anniversary of the beginning of the country's 15-year civil war, Lebanon's leaders divided up into two teams based on...

Published Tue, Apr 13 2010 3:20 PM by FP Passport

France's President Has a 'Mission Accomplished' Moment in Mali

As French President François Hollande spoke at the inauguration of Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, Mali's first elected president since the country's unrest began in March 2012 with a coup , all that was missing was a 'Mission Accomplished' banner...

Published Thu, Sep 19 2013 10:08 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Terrorism, Africa, France, Mali, National Security

The Art of China's Holiday News Dump

This year, the Mid-Autumn Festival, which traditionally celebrated the harvest and is now one of China's most popular holidays, takes place from Thursday, Sept. 19 to Sunday, Sept. 22. It's a period when many Chinese travel, the mainland stock...

Published Fri, Sep 20 2013 12:00 PM by FP Passport

Morning Brief: Kenyan Troops Storm Mall After Two-Day Siege Against Al-Shabab Militants

Kenyan Troops Storm Mall After Two-Day Siege Against Al-Shabab Militants Top News: After a two-day siege, Kenyan troops stormed a mall in Nairobi on Sunday evening where fighters from Somali militant group al-Shabab had taken hostages. The standoff began...

Published Mon, Sep 23 2013 4:28 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Morning Brief

Metadata May Not Catch Many Terrorists, But It's Great at Busting Journalists' Sources

The National Security Agency says that the telephone metadata it collects on every American is essential for finding terrorists. And that's debatable . But this we know for sure: Metadata is very useful for tracking journalists and discovering their...

Published Tue, Sep 24 2013 9:59 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Science & Technology, Law, Obama Administration, NSA