Foreign Policy Public Health Blog

U.S. State Department apologizes to Qaddafi

This must have been humiliating. P.J. Crowley had to climb down today from his recent remarks about Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi, in which the State Department spokesman said that Qaddafi's speech before the U.N. General Assembly amounted to "lots...

Published Tue, Mar 09 2010 7:31 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Obama Administration, State Department, Libya

Friday Photo: Be prepared

South Korean students take part in a training camp for civilians at a military base of the Special Warfare Command in Bucheon, west of Seoul, on August 4, 2010. The camp is part of a summer programme organised by the army for 1,245 civilian who have volunteered...

Published Fri, Aug 06 2010 3:51 PM by FP Passport

Zardari gets the shoe - by Brian Fung

The exclusive club of world leaders with shoe-dodging experience grew a little bigger last weekend, as Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari was interrupted mid-speech on Saturday by a 60-year-old's footwear: Mr Zardari, who is under criticism for...

Published Mon, Aug 09 2010 10:15 AM by FP Passport

After 3 months, Iraqi parliament meets... for 18 minutes

After months of court challenges, coalition building, and sectarian brinksmanship, today's 18-minute parliamentary session seems a little anticlimactic : Given the deadlock, the brevity of the session was expected. It was recessed until an unspecified...

Published Mon, Jun 14 2010 10:50 AM by FP Passport

Castro: swastika has become Israeli flag

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 In lieu of his famous and longwinded diatribes (his longest speech clocked in at 7 hours and 10 minutes), Castro -- or, more likely, a loyal ghostwriter -- now communes with the...

Published Mon, Jun 14 2010 9:49 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Latin America, Israel/Palestine

U.S.-Russia adoptions in jeapoardy after boy "returned"

U.S. officials are on their way to Moscow this week to push the Russian government to continue to allow adoptions after a seven-year-old boy was sent back to Russia on a plane by a woman in Tennessee last week with a note explaining that she no longer...

Published Tue, Apr 13 2010 8:51 AM by FP Passport

Morning Brief: Leaked video shows killing of journalist in Iraq

Leaked video shows killing of journalist in Iraq Top news: A video released yesterday by the anti-censorship website Wikileaks show a 2007 helicopter attack in Baghdad which killed 12 people, including a Reuters photographer and his driver. The gunsight...

Published Tue, Apr 06 2010 6:03 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Morning Brief

You won't have to eat bland food after the apocalypse

If you're someone who's kept up at night by apocalyptic fears, there are certain obvious questions you might worry over as you toss and turn: for example, will Armageddon be the work of malevolent extraterrestrials (think Independence Day ) or...

Published Tue, Jul 13 2010 9:17 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: North America, Global Warming, Food/Agriculture, U.S. Congress

Goodluck Jonathan promises credible elections in 2011

One of the great ironies of reporting overseas is that it's often much easier to hear a political leader speak candidly here in Washington than in an interview back home. Such was the case today, as Nigerian Acting President Goodluck Jonathan spoke...

Published Mon, Apr 12 2010 10:41 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Africa

Where is Faisal Shahzad from?

The New York Times cites at least three different possibilities : Mr. Shahzad stated on a college application that the place was Karachi, but a Pakistani official said he was born in Kashmir. Rehman Malik, the Pakistani interior minister, told Reuters...

Published Wed, May 05 2010 11:36 AM by FP Passport

Quiz: If the U.S. deported its illegal immigrants at once, how long would the bus convoy be?

For those of you who don't subscribe to the bimonthly print edition of Foreign Policy , you're missing a great feature: the FP Quiz. It has eight intriguing questions about how the world works. The question I'd like to highlight this week...

Published Wed, May 05 2010 3:40 PM by FP Passport

Flemish secesionists leading in Belgian election

Loyal readers of this blog know that we have a long-running obsession with the ongoing cultural-linguistic dispute in Belgium -- Leffe-anon for short. The situation is looking a bit more serious this week a party led by outspoken Flemish nationalist Bart...

Published Wed, Jun 09 2010 8:44 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Europe

Costa Rica cracks down on stem cell tourism

Costa Rica, increasingly known as a haven for medical tourism, is putting a stop to one controversial practice: The health ministry last month ordered the country's largest stem cell clinic to stop offering treatments, arguing there is no evidence...

Published Mon, Jun 07 2010 3:50 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Latin America, Health

Welcome to the Most Boring News Event Ever

I have a theory: every segment of news delves into a level of detail that at least a few loyal readers find fascinating. Several -- if not dozens -- of people appreciated Creative Knitting 's recent advice on cardigans, and someone, somewhere, forwarded...

Published Tue, Jul 09 2013 11:15 AM by FP Passport

Morning Brief: Clashes erupt as riot police clear Istanbul square

Clashes erupt as riot police clear Istanbul square Top news: Clashes erupted in Istanbul's Taksim Square early on Tuesday as riot police attempted to clear hundreds of demonstrators from the area using tear gas and water cannons. The protests, which...

Published Tue, Jun 11 2013 5:53 AM by FP Passport