Foreign Policy Public Health Blog

May Day Celebrations Recall the Glory of the Soviet Union

A spectre of Russian domination is haunting Eastern Europe, and on this year's May Day, the traditional workers' parades in Russia and eastern Ukraine carried a distinct whiff of nostalgia for the glory days of the Soviet Union. This year, the...

Published Thu, May 01 2014 5:02 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Russia, Eastern Europe, History, Ukraine

Why Is Hollywood So Upset About Brunei?

Typically, the imposition of sharia law in a distant land doesn't make much of a splash in Hollywood. But in the case of Brunei, a tiny, oil-rich country whose overseas investments include California landmarks like the Beverly Hills Hotel and the...

Published Thu, May 01 2014 4:20 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Human Rights, Culture, Religion, Southeast Asia

The Bassem Sabry Reader

Egyptian Bassem Sabry did more in 31 years than many do in their lifetimes. He was a political analyst, an advisor to presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabbahi, and a part-time film producer. His voice surfaced in the blogging he did during Egypt's 2011...

Published Thu, May 01 2014 1:54 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Politics, Middle East, Media, Egypt

Morning Brief: Ukraine Detains Russian Military Attaché

Ukraine Detains Russian Military Attaché Top news: Ukrainian authorities on Thursday detained Russia's military attaché to Kiev on suspicion of spying, as the eastern portion of the country continued to slip farther from the central government's...

Published Thu, May 01 2014 6:36 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Morning Brief

Al Qaeda Core Down, but Terrorist Attacks Up, Says State Department

The Obama administration has spent years arguing that the killings of Osama bin Laden and numerous al Qaeda lieutenants have defeated what it describes as the "core" of the terror group. On Wednesday, though, the State Department warned in its...

Published Wed, Apr 30 2014 4:39 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Terrorism, al Qaeda, Middle East, Central Asia, Iran, North Africa, Syria

Don't Worry America: You Aren't Poorer Than China

On Wednesday, the front page of the Financial Times declared that China stands poised to surpass the United States as the world's largest economy -- and to do so much sooner than anyone expected. Citing new data from a consortium of leading statistical...

Published Wed, Apr 30 2014 3:58 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: North America, East Asia, China, Economics, Finance

How Iraq Turned into the World’s Car Bomb Capital

As Iraqis went to the polls Wednesday for the first parliamentary election since the U.S. military withdrew from the country in 2011, something was missing from the streets of Baghdad -- cars. In a sign of Iraq's struggles to tackle rising violence...

Published Wed, Apr 30 2014 1:32 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: al Qaeda, Elections, Middle East, Iraq

Morning Brief: Ukraine 'Helpless' to Control Militias in East

Ukraine 'Helpless' to Control Militias in East Top news: Ukraine's acting president, Oleksandr Turchynov, said that his country's security forces are "helpless" to control separatist militias in his country's east, where...

Published Wed, Apr 30 2014 6:29 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Morning Brief

Meet the Four Americans Who Defected to North Korea in the 1960s

Earlier this month, a 24-year-old American named Matthew Todd Miller tore up his tourist visa while attempting to enter North Korea and shouted that that he had gone to the country "after choosing it as a shelter" and "would seek asylum...

Published Tue, Apr 29 2014 4:10 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: North Korea, East Asia, History, Military

When Gerhard Met Vlad: A Geopolitical Love Story

It's the most vivid metaphor yet for the divisions between the United States and Europe over how to retaliate against Russian aggression in Ukraine: a photograph of former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder literally embracing Russian President Vladimir...

Published Tue, Apr 29 2014 4:05 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Europe, Russia, Germany, Ukraine

Old Frenemies: A Timeline of US-Philippine Relations

Relations between the United States and the Philippines have come a long way since William Howard Taft, the first U.S. governor-general of the island nation and eventual U.S. president, described the archipelago’s inhabitants as “our little brown brothers...

Published Tue, Apr 29 2014 8:30 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: U.S. Foreign Policy, Military, Southeast Asia

Morning Brief: Kharkiv Mayor Shot as Mob Violence in Ukraine Continues

Kharkiv Mayor Shot as Mob Violence in Ukraine Continues Top News: Mayor Hennady Kerkes was shot in the back while cycling to work on Monday and a mob armed with clubs and stun grenades attacked a pro-Ukrainian rally in Kharkiv, the country's second...

Published Tue, Apr 29 2014 5:01 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Morning Brief

Meet the Houbara Bustard: the Rare, Oversized, War-on-Terror Chicken

The houbara bustard -- a gawky, turkey-sized bird with spindly legs, a long, thick neck, and a goofy mating ritual -- would be a mostly unremarkable species, except for one thing: It is the prey of choice for Arab falconers, who have hunted the bird to...

Published Mon, Apr 28 2014 4:25 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Terrorism, Pakistan, Environment, Middle East, Afghanistan, South Asia

Morning Brief: U.S., EU to Impose New Sanctions on Russia Over Ukraine

U.S., EU to Impose New Sanctions on Russia Over Ukraine Top news: President Barack Obama announced additional sanctions against Russian individuals and entities on Monday, after pro-Russian activists seized new buildings in eastern Ukraine and paraded...

Published Mon, Apr 28 2014 6:14 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Morning Brief

China’s Totally Misguided Campaign to Turn Working Women into Wifeys

China's government has some advice for the country's young, highly educated women: Get married early, or you'll regret it. The official propaganda puts it more eloquently. "As women age, they are worth less and less," one government...

Published Fri, Apr 25 2014 1:34 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: East Asia, China, Culture, gender

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May Day Celebrations Recall the Glory of the Soviet Union

Why Is Hollywood So Upset About Brunei?

The Bassem Sabry Reader

Morning Brief: Ukraine Detains Russian Military Attaché

Al Qaeda Core Down, but Terrorist Attacks Up, Says State Department

Don't Worry America: You Aren't Poorer Than China

How Iraq Turned into the World’s Car Bomb Capital

Morning Brief: Ukraine 'Helpless' to Control Militias in East

Meet the Four Americans Who Defected to North Korea in the 1960s

When Gerhard Met Vlad: A Geopolitical Love Story

Old Frenemies: A Timeline of US-Philippine Relations

Morning Brief: Kharkiv Mayor Shot as Mob Violence in Ukraine Continues

Meet the Houbara Bustard: the Rare, Oversized, War-on-Terror Chicken

Morning Brief: U.S., EU to Impose New Sanctions on Russia Over Ukraine

China’s Totally Misguided Campaign to Turn Working Women into Wifeys