Foreign Policy Public Health Blog

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

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

Morning Brief: More Than 40 Killed in Ukraine as Unrest Grows

More Than 40 Killed in Ukraine as Unrest Grows Ukraine: Pro-Russian militants stormed a police station in Odessa, releasing 76 militants who had been arrested, as Prime Minister Arseniy P. Yatsenyuk visited the city to address the deadly violence that...

Published Mon, May 05 2014 6:19 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Morning Brief

The Arab allies trickle in

British Prime Minister David Cameron says that Jordan and Kuwait are now joining the mission in Libya: “We will be getting logistic contributions from countries like Kuwait and also Jordan. I hope further support will be forthcoming,” Cameron told lawmakers...

Published Wed, Mar 23 2011 2:42 PM by FP Passport

North Korea: Qaddafi should have kept his nuke program

The New York Times ' Mark McDonald reports on a telling, if predictable, response from Pyongyang: North Korea ’s official news agency carried comments this week from a Foreign Ministry official decrying the air assault on Libyan government forces...

Published Thu, Mar 24 2011 11:30 AM by FP Passport

Canada to lead Libya mission. But who leads Canada?

Two big Canada stories in the international news today, which -- sorry, Canadian friends -- is two more than normal. First : Canadian Defence Minister Peter MacKay said Lt Gen Charles Bouchard, deputy commander of NATO's Allied Joint Force Command...

Published Fri, Mar 25 2011 12:16 PM by FP Passport

Morning Brief: Rebels approach Qaddafi's hometown

Rebels approach Qaddafi's hometown Top news: Aided by the internationally-imposed no-fly zone, Libya's rebels are closing in on Muammar al-Qaddafi's hometown of Sirte after a rapid advance during which they retook hundreds of miles of territory...

Published Mon, Mar 28 2011 6:04 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Morning Brief

Libyan intervention: Brought to you by Bernard-Henri Levy?

After his key role in the run-up to France's intervention in Libya, Bernard-Henri "BHL" Levy, can probably safely claim to be the world's most powerful philosopher: Lévy took up the Libyan cause in earnest after meeting Mustafa Abdul...

Published Mon, Mar 28 2011 1:56 PM by FP Passport

Europeans putting on a fighter plane demo in Libya?

If you thought it was cynical to suggest that Nicolas Sarkozy may have been aggresively pushing for military action with an eye on the 2012 election, that's nothing compared to the notion that the campaign is serving as an advertisement for the Dassault...

Published Tue, Mar 29 2011 10:25 AM by FP Passport

Uzbekistan rips off Facebook with 'YouFace'

Global Voices Uzbekistan blogger Ekaterina has a new post discussing Uzbekistan's recently-launched Facebook competitor, ammusingly called "YouFace." As you can see from the image above, it's pretty clear where the site got its design...

Published Thu, Jul 12 2012 6:35 AM by FP Passport

The return of French presidential family drama

The French may have thought that by trading in President Bling-Bling for Monsieur Normal , they were putting an end to the tabloid frenzy that often accompanied President Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni. They clearly didn't take into account Hollande's...

Published Thu, Jul 12 2012 2:49 PM by FP Passport

To plug leaks, Pentagon will read the newspaper

Hours after Defense Secretary Leon Panetta appeared before a closed session of the House Armed Services Committee on Thursday to discuss recent leaks about secret U.S operations against Iran and suspected terrorists, the Pentagon announced a plan to crack...

Published Fri, Jul 20 2012 1:45 PM by FP Passport

Decline Watch: What exactly did the Australian foreign minister tell Romney?

Talking Points Memo is asking if this is Romney's " first big foreign stumble" and the Obama campaign is sending it out to journalists, but it's not exactly clear who exactly made a gaffe or about what. Here are some comments made by...

Published Mon, Jul 23 2012 12:11 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Flash Points, Decline Watch, Election 2012, Mitt Romney

Judge rules that WikiLeaks cables are still classified

A U.S. federal judge yesterday ruled against the American Civil Liberties Union in a suit to obtain the unredacted versions of 23 embassy cables related to Guantanamo, rendition and the drone program. The odd thing is, those cables are already available...

Published Tue, Jul 24 2012 9:23 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: WikiLeaks

Indian media slams Oprah for 'ignorant' program

Oprah Winfrey's special program on India drew the ire of several Indian media outlets on July 21, who called the show "myopic, unaware, ignorant and gauche." The program was featured in the "Oprah's Next Chapter" series, which...

Published Wed, Jul 25 2012 7:24 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: India