In The News

Syria Is Dying

Azeem Ibrahim August 29, 2013
A brutal civil war reigns in Syria, as demonstrated by scenes of a neighborhood waking to a chemical attack that killed hundreds. International critics allege that the regime, clinging to power, is responsible for the attack, even as the United Nations investigates. The country has become the center for a regional proxy war and a battleground for the two leading branches of Islam, explains Azeem...

Gay Laws and the Company Russia Keeps

Tim Marshall August 15, 2013
Russia claims to uphold national values with a vague law that outlaws promotion of homosexuality among children. The stance is attracting global attention, with boycotts on Russian vodka and worries about the safety of athletes and audience members attending the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. “This values-led argument is very useful to those who want to cloak the repression of others by saying...

US Urged to Adopt Policy Justifying Intervention

Mark Landler July 25, 2013
The doctrine known as “responsibility to protect,” or R2P, compels nations to act when other nations commit atrocities against their own people. But decisions on intervention represent a struggle between conscience and pragmatism. The US applied R2P to justify support for Libyan rebels in 2011, but has hesitated to do the same for Syrian rebels, explains Mark Landler of the New York Times, adding...

Pakistan’s Malala Problem: Teen Activist’s Global Celebrity Not Matched at Home

Omar Waraich July 19, 2013
A young Pakistani schoolgirl survived an assassination attempt and continues to speak out on free, compulsory education for all. In a speech at the United Nations, 16-year-old Malala Yousafzai argued that books and pens are the most powerful tools against illiteracy and terrorism, reports Omar Waraich for Time Magazine. A global audience cheered her message: “One child, one teacher, one book and...

Man Without a Country

Alistair Burnett July 16, 2013
Edward Snowden, a former contract worker who exposed secret National Security Agency practices, has been trapped inside Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport for 23 days and counting. The United States, alternately pressuring and pleading with other countries not to offer Snowden asylum, has charged him with unauthorized release of classified intelligence and theft of government property. So far, most...

Granting Snowden Asylum Could Help and Hurt Ecuador's Leader

Chris Kraul, Pablo Jaramillo Viteri June 28, 2013
Giving asylum to Edward Snowden, the former US National Security Agency systems administrator who has exposed broad surveillance programs, might have mixed results for Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa. While assisting Snowden would help boost Correa’s image as a human-rights advocate in the international arena, Ecuador may have to sacrifice its trade preferences to enter the US market – set to...

China Eases Curb On Dalai Lama Images

June 27, 2013
Chinese authorities in the Sichuan province have announced that followers of the Dalai Lama can publicly display his images, and officials in the area have been ordered to cease criticism of the spiritual leader, according to a report by US-funded Radio Free Asia. China took control of Tibet in 1951 and has since demonized the Dalai Lama after he established a government in exile in India. Since...