In The News

Israeli Surgeons Helping Swaziland in Drive to Curb HIV

Craig Timberg October 24, 2007
A series of studies conducted in the past several years finds that circumcised men are 60 percent less likely to contract HIV than their uncircumcised counterparts. In response to these results, Israeli doctors, well-versed in the procedure, reach out to areas afflicted by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. In countries such as Swaziland, with the world’s highest reported rate of HIV infection, the problem...

Promises to Keep

Ayman El-Amir October 11, 2007
The United Nations' membership and mission has grown significantly in the six decades since its founding. Ayman El-Amir, a former director of UN Radio and Television, suggests that a proliferation of issues and the bureaucracy designed to address them have made the organization incapable of efficiently tackling the world's major problems. The stalling of reform initiatives begun in 1997...

Iran’s Unlikely TV Hit

Farnaz Fassihi September 25, 2007
A popular television show reveals a big divide in Iranian society. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has questioned the historical basis of the Holocaust. But the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei approves all programming for Iranian state television, including a well-funded show about an Iranian-Palestinian Muslim man who loves a Jewish woman: The hero rescues his love from Nazis who would send her to a death...

Russia is Building Up Its Power on Feet of Clay

Joschka Fischer September 10, 2007
Russia spans two continents, making it a geostrategic giant. With some of the world’s largest reserves of fossil fuel, the nation is a volatile economic hard hitter. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Russian politicians have opened to more trade and global negotiations with the US and Europe, but strains of authoritarianism run deep. Europe, concerned about intrusion or bullying, would prefer...

This Is a War for Credibility

Martin Woollacott September 6, 2007
US President Bush has compared the Iraq War to many wars. Until recently, he avoided comparisons with the Vietnam War, regarded a failed effort on the part of the US. Despite the deaths of more than 50,000 US troops, the US did not achieve its goal – preventing the spread of communism. After US withdrawal and the deaths of millions in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, South Vietnam fell to communist...

In an Interconnected World, American Homeowner Woes Can Be Felt From Beijing to Rio de Janeiro

The Associated Press August 31, 2007
The biggest surprise about the US mortgage crisis – even for the experts – is how some bad home loans led to a credit crunch that hurts insurance, textile, telecommunications and other industries around the globe. To prevent an economic slowdown, central banks around the world have inserted billions into the credit markets. Manufacturers around the globe worry about reports that debt-laden...

Party With Islamist Roots Set to Modernize Turkey

Hasan Kösebalaban August 28, 2007
With the rise of liberal conservative Abdullah Gül as Turkey’s new president, the country is at a crossroads. His Justice and Development Party (AKP) has unflinchingly stood for internationalism, economic reform and integration with the European Union, winning steady support of Turkish voters. But the party has faced strong opposition from secularists and nationalists, including the military...