Foreign Policy Public Health Blog

Obama's Fed Nominee Was Pivoting to Asia Long Before He Was

Asian markets seemed pleased by the news, which broke Tuesday evening (or Wednesday morning, Asia time) that President Obama would nominate Janet Yellen for the position of Fed chair this afternoon. Policymakers in the region, who'd been cheering...

Published Wed, Oct 09 2013 2:00 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: East Asia, Obama Administration, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Economics, Finance, Business

Obama Fires Back at Putin: 'I Believe America Is Exceptional'

He didn't address Vladimir Putin directly, but he sure came close. In an address to the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday morning, President Obama pressed the case for diplomatic responses to the Iranian nuclear program and the Syrian civil war. And...

Published Tue, Sep 24 2013 10:30 AM by FP Passport

Saudi Arabia's First Female Filmmaker: We Found Wonderful Girls -- but They Won't Act

That the first feature film shot in Saudi Arabia (a country with no commercial theaters) was directed by a woman (in a country where women still famously cannot drive) would have been enough to spark a media firestorm. That the film, Wadjda , which hit...

Published Fri, Sep 20 2013 9:40 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Culture, Middle East, Media, Women, Saudi Arabia, Arab World

What will Cameron and Merkel do if Sarkozy loses?

Nicolas Sarkozy's counterparts in Europe's "big three" have been involving themselves in his reelection bid to an unusual extent. Angela Merkel endorsed Sarkozy in late January and may even appear at his campaign events . David Cameron...

Published Wed, Feb 29 2012 2:48 PM by FP Passport

Morning Brief: Syria crackdown intensifies after referendum

Syria crackdown intensifies after referendum Top story: President Bashar al-Assad's government escalated its assault on restive neighborhoods in Homs one day after a referendum on a new constitution. According to activist groups, more than 60 people...

Published Tue, Feb 28 2012 4:37 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Morning Brief

Introducing the top 10 stories you missed in 2011

It's up! This morning, the 2011 edition of Ten Stories You Missed went online. I'm really excited about this year's list, which includes India's less noticed military build-up, the expansion of Mexico's drug war into Central America...

Published Mon, Nov 28 2011 6:48 AM by FP Passport

Don't forget the storm's other victims

One certainly shouldn't downplay the damage wrought by Hurricane Sandy in the United States, where at least 33 people were killed and the property damage is likely in the tens of billions of dollars . But the storm's worst impact is likely still...

Published Wed, Oct 31 2012 7:46 AM by FP Passport

What we're reading: Holiday edition

Want to know what Santa brought Foreign Policy editors this year? Judge for yourself whether we were naughty or nice. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Blake Hounshell: Want to understand our latest financial disaster...

Published Wed, Dec 30 2009 8:50 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: What We're Reading

Morning Brief: Qaddafi still at large as TNC works to consolidate control

Qaddafi still at large as TNC works to consolidate control Top news: Muammar al-Qaddafi remains at large as the Transitional National Council struggles to restore water and electricity to the Libyan capital as well as put down the last pockets of resistance...

Published Mon, Aug 29 2011 5:48 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Morning Brief

Would Americans stomach a war in Syria?

As President Barack Obama mulls what to do about evidence that the Syrian regime used chemical weapons against its own citizens, two new polls gauging Americans' attitudes toward intervention won't make his decision any easier. A Pew survey released...

Published Tue, Apr 30 2013 5:42 AM by FP Passport

The word on Chinese princelings

Normal 0 false false false EN-US ZH-CN X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 On Dec. 26, the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg both published exposés on the intersections between business and politics in the Chinese government. Bloomberg's article focused...

Published Thu, Dec 27 2012 3:20 PM by FP Passport

How the face of the Syrian regime betrayed Assad over Twitter

Christmas, it seems, came early for Western governments looking to strike a blow about Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime. Following reports that former Syrian spokesman Jihad Makdissi had fled to Washington, a well-known activist released...

Published Tue, Dec 25 2012 6:38 AM by FP Passport

A Thematic Guide to Obama's Big Berlin Speech

President Barack Obama stood before the Brandenburg Gate on Wednesday and tried to make some history. In a speech that referenced a band of doomed protesters in East Germany, Immanuel Kant, and John F. Kennedy, Obama announced that he intends to cut America's...

Published Wed, Jun 19 2013 10:00 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Freedom, Obama Administration, U.S. Foreign Policy, Germany

Frenchmen to Government: 'Don't Touch Our Whores'

It's a political divide that could only materialize in France. On one side, 343 "bastards" telling their countrymen and government not to "touch my whore." On the other side, a feminist minister crusading to end prostitution. These...

Published Tue, Nov 19 2013 2:10 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Europe, Human Rights, Politics, Health

Are Japan's Biggest Banks in Bed with the Yakuza?

The term "yakuza" may call to mind prostitution rings and low-brow thuggery, but Japan's modern day crime syndicates are all about white collar abuses -- investing in high finance and getting their hooks into the country's biggest banks...

Published Wed, Nov 06 2013 8:35 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Corruption, Japan, East Asia, Finance