Foreign Policy Public Health Blog

The Obscure Academic Feud at the Center of India’s Elections

There are few accolades that Amartya Sen, the aging, brilliant Indian academic, hasn't attained. His country's most prominent public intellectual, the man is both a Nobel prize winner and that most unlikely of things: a rock-star economist. His...

Published Wed, May 07 2014 1:41 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: South Asia, Development, Economics, India

Obama, Don't Take It Personally, North Korea Just Hates Black People

"In 1965, the Cuban ambassador to the DPRK, a black man, was squiring his wife and some Cuban doctors" around Pyongyang, the scholar of North Korea B.R. Myers wrote in his 2010 book The Cleanest Race. "Locals surrounded their car, pounding...

Published Thu, May 08 2014 12:53 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: North Korea, East Asia, Obama Administration

Morning Brief: Boko Haram Video Shows Kidnapped Girls

Boko Haram Video Shows Kidnapped Girls Top News : A video released by the Islamist insurgent group Boko Haram allegedly shows around 100 of the recently kidnapped girls from Nigeria. The group's leader, Abubakar Shekau, said the captives, who Boko...

Published Mon, May 12 2014 5:15 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Morning Brief

Why Do Americans Fear Torture More than Chinese?

A decade has a passed since the American public first learned of the horrific abuses committed by U.S. military personnel at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Shortly after that, major newspapers caught wind of the George W. Bush administration's now...

Published Tue, May 13 2014 11:12 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Terrorism, Justice, Law, Freedom, Bush's Legacy

The One Picture That Explains Egypt’s Political Divisions

Nine months ago, Egyptian security forces dispersed two major Islamist sit-ins in Cairo in a day of violence that left nearly 1,000 people dead and solidified the military's grip on power. Supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi commemorated...

Published Wed, May 14 2014 1:27 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Middle East, Egypt

Bye Bye Bluefin: Navy Drone Sub Yanked from Hunt for MH370

A 17-foot-long drone submarine the United States dispatched to help trawl the Indian Ocean for signs of Malaysia Airlines flight 370 has been pulled out of the hunt, at least temporarily, which means that the Pentagon no longer has any major military...

Published Thu, May 15 2014 3:51 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: South Asia, Military, Southeast Asia

Ivory Coast ex-rebel forces close in on capital

Wires are reporting this morning that the ex-rebel forces who back president-elect Alassane Ouattara in the Ivory Coast are close to recapturing the country's capital, Yamoussoukro, from outgoing President Laurent Gbagbo this morning -- a win that...

Published Wed, Mar 30 2011 8:31 AM by FP Passport

Why does James Inhofe support Ivory Coast's Gbagbo?

As the situation in the Ivory Coast rapidly deteriorates, Sen. James Inhofe (Okla. - R) has written to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calling for new elections in the Ivory Coast, a signal of support for outgoing president Laurent Gbagbo who...

Published Wed, Mar 30 2011 2:12 PM by FP Passport

Morning Brief: Bahrain rulers tighten grip on power

Bahrain rulers tighten grip on power Top story: Following Saudi Arabia's intervention in Bahrain last month, Bahrain's ruling family has cracked down on the nascent protest movement. Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa has instituted emergency...

Published Thu, Apr 07 2011 5:10 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Morning Brief

Original Sin - By Wolfgang Munchau

The seeds of the euro crisis are as old as the euro itself. Read More...

Published Thu, Apr 07 2011 2:48 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Europe, Financial crisis, Default, Free, Web Exclusive, Argument

Troubling developments on the Russian Internet

Whatever other political rights may have been curtailed in Russia, the country's Internet culture has been pretty free of censorship, filtering, and state interference compared with, say, China. But this week has brought a host of disturbing news...

Published Fri, Apr 08 2011 4:14 PM by FP Passport

China bans time travel

Beijing is taking action against an increasingly popular genre on Chinese television. From the China Hush blog: In these time-travel based TV plays, usually the protagonist is from the modern time and for some reasons and via some means, travels through...

Published Mon, Apr 11 2011 8:45 AM by FP Passport

Memo to MPs: Your iPad is not for watching porn

When an MP from Silvio Berlusconi's party was photographed surfing an escort website during a session of parliament in February, Italian voters weren't all that shocked because, well, they're pretty much impossible to shock at this point....

Published Mon, Apr 11 2011 1:02 PM by FP Passport

Researchers test Europe’s sewage for drugs

Researchers from Oslo's Norwegian Institute for Water Research and Milan's Mario Negri Institute revealed results from their collaborative study on European sewage today. Partnering with eleven other institutions across Europe, they traced illicit...

Published Thu, Jul 26 2012 11:54 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Europe, Drugs & Crime

7 international grudge matches to watch in London

Those hoping for an Iran-Israel Judo showdown will be disappointed after a "critical digestive system infection" prevented Jahvaad Majoob -- the only Iranian athlete scheduled to compete alongside an Israeli -- from boarding the plane to London...

Published Fri, Jul 27 2012 11:25 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Europe, North America, East Asia, South America, Olympics, Thumbs