Foreign Policy Public Health Blog

Morning Brief: Saudi Arabia attacks rebels inside Yemen

Saudi Arabia attacks rebels inside Yemen Top Story: The Saudi air force has launched attacks on rebel bases inside Yemen in response to a cross-border raid by the rebels, according to local media reports. The Saudi government has confirmed only that the...

Published Thu, Nov 05 2009 5:58 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Morning Brief

Iraq's useless bomb detecting technology

The New York Times published an absolutely brilliant story today about the bomb detecting wands yielded by Iraqi security forces. Though the piece is written in the even-handed language you expect from the NYT , you can still practically hear the journalist...

Published Wed, Nov 04 2009 3:50 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Middle East

Hundreds of Ethiopian opposition party members jailed

According to opposition parties in Ethiopia, nearly 450 of their members have been jailed , as part of an effort by the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) to secure national elections being held this May. One opposition...

Published Wed, Nov 04 2009 3:12 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Africa, Corruption, Human Rights, Politics, Elections

Tehran protesters call to Obama

Andrew Sullivan posts the following video from Tehran today, showing opposition demonstrators chanting, "Obama, Obama, you're either with us or with them": Another features the chant (according to TehranBureau's translation ), "...

Published Wed, Nov 04 2009 11:43 AM by FP Passport

Italian court convicts CIA agents in absentia

Today, an Italian court convicted 23 U.S. citizens, 22 of them acknowledged as CIA agents, for the daylight abduction and "extraordinary rendition" of cleric Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, better known as Abu Omar. The CIA snatched Abu Omar off...

Published Wed, Nov 04 2009 10:42 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Terrorism, Europe

The Streisand effect and the Afghan election

Writing for Eurasianet, Aunohita Mojumda makes the case that Abdullah Abdullah is the real winner in the Afghan election debacle: Heading into the August 20 election, Abdullah, an ethnic Tajik, stood virtually no chance of winning the election -- whether...

Published Wed, Nov 04 2009 10:37 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Elections, Afghanistan

Boris Johnson: "Knight on a shining bicycle"

Does Boris Johnson have a superhero alter-ego? Buffoonish mayor of London by day, cycling vigilante by night? Environmentalist documentary maker Franny Armstrong would certainly argue that. Johnson swooped to her rescue yesterday, when she was pushed...

Published Wed, Nov 04 2009 9:11 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Europe, Security

Bush dispenses baseball wisdom in Japan

Taking a break from the self-help circuit , former President George W. Bush traveled to Japan to throw out the first pitch at the Japan Series. The one-time Texas Rangers owner also took the time to talk to university students about running a successful...

Published Wed, Nov 04 2009 8:45 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Bush's Legacy, Sports

Reports of his death are a bit premature

While being sworn in for a second term as mayor of San Pedro Garza Garcia, Mexico, Mauricio Fernandez jumped the gun a bit in announcing the death of a notorious narcotrafficker: "Black Saldana, who apparently is the one who was asking for my head...

Published Wed, Nov 04 2009 7:32 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Drugs & Crime, Mexico

Morning Brief: Iranian opposition demonstrates on embassy siege anniversary

Iranian opposition demonstrates on embassy siege anniversary Top story: Taking advantage of an official rally to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the takeover of the U.S. embassy in Iran, opposition supporters took to the streets of Tehran , chanting...

Published Wed, Nov 04 2009 5:57 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Morning Brief

Are we talking enough about 1989?

Maybe it's just because we've been discussing upcoming Berlin Wall-related content here at the office, but I find Matt Welch's Reason cover essay , calling the 1989 defeat of communism in Europe, "the Unknown War" a little strange...

Published Tue, Nov 03 2009 2:45 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Europe, Media, History

The quiet leader on the Hill

Say someone asked you what the world's biggest economy was. The United States, of course, you'd surely answer -- maybe throwing in that China would beat it in a decade or so. The chance that you'd answer with a country from across the pond...

Published Tue, Nov 03 2009 1:50 PM by FP Passport

Movie to be made about life of Muhammad, without Muhammad

There is going to be a Muhammad biopic . Yes, that Muhammad. Many readers may wonder: How is that possible, with the whole he-shall-not-be-depicted rule? Well, it's pretty simple; the movie will never show him. Due to start shooting in 2011, producer...

Published Tue, Nov 03 2009 12:54 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: North America, Culture, Middle East, Islam

Even Islamists love Angela Merkel

Sayyed Imam al-Sharif gets all the credit, but another important Islamist preacher has published a letter renouncing violence in Europe. Mohammed al-Fizazi is currently sitting in a Moroccan jail for his role in the 2003 Casablanca terrorist attack ,...

Published Tue, Nov 03 2009 11:43 AM by FP Passport

As Uighurs arrive in Palau, is there such a thing as too much publicity?

It appears the Uighurs have arrived in Palau, but they may not have much company there for long: President Johnson Toribiong himself welcomed the group when they arrived before dawn Sunday on a secret flight, and he will treat them to a personal tour...

Published Tue, Nov 03 2009 10:58 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Islam, Pacific