The New International Dialogue
William Pfaff

The international conversation among policy makers has since the cold war and the Second World War tended to be Anglophone and something of an American monologue. Today, the United States is widely perceived as a large part of the present world problem. Today the effort is how to cultivate new institutions of international cooperation and governance. Washington used to do it all alone, but a major part of the world is restless.

When Freedom Was at High Tide
Paul Greenberg

The great tide had been building for years, for decades. But it would take daring and determination to release it. Walls do not come tumbling down by themselves, however much it might seem that way looking back. There is a tide in the affairs of men which, taken at the flood, leads on to freedom. High tide came November 9, 1989, when the Wall came down

Despite Obama's Concessions, Russia Remains Unhelpful on Iran
Joshua Kucera

The Obama administration's announcement last month that it was scrapping plans to build missile defense sites in Poland and the Czech Republic removed a prime irritant in the U.S.-Russian relationship; Russians felt the missile defense network was targeted as much at them as against the purported threat, Iran. And the move appeared at first to pay dividends. However ...

For Europe, U.S. Is Country That Cries Wolf
William Pfaff

Officials such as Philip Gordon regularly travel to Europe to ask for support for American initiatives. The Europeans reply that they have not been consulted in making these policies. The Americans say we will be happy to discuss them, but we are putting up most of the men and money, so it's too late to change anything. Maybe next time.

Afghan Mythologies
Victor Davis Hanson

As President Obama decides whether to send more troops to Afghanistan, we should remember that most of the conventional pessimism about Afghanistan is only half-truth. Remember the mantra that the region is the 'graveyard of empires,' where Alexander the Great, the British in the 19th century, and the Soviets only three decades ago inevitably met their doom?

With al-Qaida Diminished, There's No Sense in Expanding Afghan War
William Pfaff

Al-Qaida's relations with the Taliban today are troubled. Effective counter-terrorism strategy in Afghanistan is on the brink of completely eliminating al-Qaida. There will be no organization to return. This is the result of effective international and domestic intelligence cooperation as well as good police work. So why, one asks, is the U.S. expanding its war in Afghanistan?

In the Quicksands of Somalia
Bronwyn Bruton

The U.S. government needs to change its Somalia policy -- and fast. For the better part of two decades, international attempts to create a government have failed. And since 9/11, U.S. attempts to prevent Somalia from becoming a safe haven for al Qaeda have visibly backfired, alienating the Somali population, and propelling an indigenous Salafi jihadist group, called al Shabab, to power

Obama's Missile Defense Concession Holds Opportunity for European Security
Paul J. Saunders

It's a concession, but it could present an opportunity as well. While the move highlights the unhappy geography and tough political choices facing Central European leaders, it could also create an important opportunity to strengthen European security. The administration would do well to use this chance to try to encourage new and different relationships between the former Soviet bloc and Russia.

A Simple Plan for Killing al Qaeda
Alex Kingsbury Interviews Howard Clark

Howard Clark's answer is to both amplify the nihilism of its message and promote moderate Islamic voices. Clark, a former marine who served two tours in Iraq, now works as a consultant on counter-terrorism problems for the Department of Defense. He is also president and founder of Seventh Pillar, a nonprofit that seeks to combat al Qaeda's ideology. He recently spoke about his three-part plan for strengthening moderates and defeating extremists

Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan and Memories of Indochina
William Pfaff

The United States is in Afghanistan for its own reasons. The Afghan president said what he did to encourage the U.S. to keep him their man in Kabul. If the Afghan people should decide that he's nothing more than an American puppet, they will get rid of him. But Washington will get rid of him, too, since he would have lost his plausibility, and hence his value

Puzzling & Dangerous U.S. Foreign Policy Comes to an End
William Pfaff

President Barack Obama's cancellation of his predecessor's missile-defense scheme for Poland and the Czech Republic presumably brings to a close one of the least explicable and most dangerous American policy initiatives since the cold war officially ended.

Three Dangerous Stooges: Gadhafi, Ahmadinejad & Chavez
Victor Davis Hanson

Recenty, three dictators -- from Iran, Libya and Venezuela -- delivered lunatic hate speeches at the UN General Assembly. Why do these dictators feel so free to damn America from downtown New York? Why do their abettors spurn our requests for help? And why do creepy regimes plot to get nukes, and fund terrorists? Easy. They do not fear, much less listen ...

Afterthoughts from Obama U.N. Address
Jonah Goldberg

The United Nations is an odd venue to say such things. The Security Council is premised on nothing if not a balance of power, and the U.N.'s roots go nowhere if not deep into the chilled soil of the Cold War. It is odder still for the president of the United States of America to say such things

Iran: Words Without Action or Resolved to Be Unresolved
Paul Greenberg

'Iran is breaking rules that all nations must follow, endangering the global nonproliferation regime, denying its own people access to the opportunity they deserve, and threatening the stability and security of the region and the world.' No, that wasn't Israel's tough-talking prime minister, Bibi Netanyahu, warning against Iran's aggressive tendencies again. It was Barack Obama addressing the UN Security Council.

Interview with India's Environment Minister
Jayshree Bajoria

India and China have long maintained their economic growth will suffer if they accept binding emission targets under an international agreement on climate change. Instead, they have called for mitigation commitments by the developed world and financial support from rich countries to help developing countries adapt to climate change.

Tutu: Religious Strife due to Faithful, Not to Faith
Archbishop Desmond Tutu Interview

Amina Chaudary of Islamica Magazine recently sat down with Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a Nobel peace laureate, in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The Second World War -- Seventy Years Later
Victor Davis Hanson

Seventy years ago World War II broke out with the German invasion of Poland. Thousands of books have been written about the war. And by now revisionist historians of revisionist historians engage in an endless cycle of disagreement over why the war started, how it ended and what it all meant. Here are a few more controversial thoughts on the horrific conflict that killed 60 million people, wrecked Europe and set the stage for an ensuing half-century Cold War.

Iraq War -- What War
Victor Davis Hanson

The war in Iraq is scarcely in the news any longer, despite the fact that 141,000 American soldiers are still protecting the fragile Iraqi democracy, and 114, as of this writing, have been lost this year in that effort. But after the success of the surge, there are far fewer American fatalities each month

An Agenda for NATO: Toward a Global Security Web
Zbigniew Brzezinski

NATO now confronts historically unprecedented risks to global security. The paradox of our time is that the world, increasingly connected and economically interdependent for the first time in its entire history, is experiencing intensifying popular unrest. Yet there is no effective global security mechanism for coping with the growing threat of violent political chaos stemming from humanity's recent political awakening.

The Default Power and American Declinism
Josef Joffe

Every ten years, it is decline time in the United States. Declinism took a break in the 1990s, but by the end of the Bush administration, it had returned with a vengeance. The history of declinism shows that doom arrives in cycles, and what comes and goes, logically, does not a trend make. Today, as after past prophecies of imminent debility, the United States remains first on any scale of power that matters--economic, military, diplomatic, or cultural--despite being embroiled in two wars and beset by the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

The Diplomatic Myths and Illusions of the Middle East
by Robert Schlesinger

Incorrect preconceptions and misguided conventional wisdom hamper American policy in the Middle East, Dennis Ross and David Makovsky write in Myths, Illusions, and Peace: Finding a New Direction for America in the Middle East.

Journalists freed from North Korea
(c) M. Ryder

Relief Over Freed U.S. Journalists Tempered by Long-Term Implications
Henry A. Kissinger

Amidst the widespread relief that the two American journalists have avoided the brutal fate meted out to them by a North Korean court, it may seem captious to consider the long-term implications. The impulse to save two young women from 12 years of hard labor in a North Korean gulag is powerful. Yet now that this goal has been achieved, we need to balance the emotions of the moment against the precedent for the future.

'Never Again' in North Korea? Think Again
Jonah Goldberg

For decades now, we've known that what's going on in North Korea is too terrible to contemplate. Even so, what once haunted us as an ill-defined and foreboding suspicion has clarified into the secure knowledge of broad and systemic evil.

The Arrogant and the Ignorant
Cal Thomas

On my last visit to the UK three months ago, Members of Parliament were embroiled in a scandal involving outrageous expense claims for such things as moat cleaning, a baby crib and second homes that were sometimes occupied by friends and relatives, or not at all

Time to Get Out of Iraq
Joe Galloway

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has suggested that he might speed up our withdrawal from Iraq by pulling out an additional brigade combat team by year's end. Good idea! How about pulling out FIVE more brigades by then

One Year to Prove Strategy Is Working in Afghanistan
Robert Gates Interview

The clock in Washington on Afghanistan is going to depend on what happens on the ground. I think we need to show we are making some headway by next spring or early summer. We are not going to win it by next summer. We aren't going to be on the verge of winning it next summer; this is a long-term prospect.

General McChrystal: The New Strategy In Afghanistan
General McChrystal Interview

General Stanley A. McChrystal is commander of international forces in Afghanistan. In his interview with Julian Barnes, General McChrystal discusses the strategy and progress in Afghanistan.

Iran at Crossroads of History
Will this Regime Fall Like Shah's
Abolhassan Bani-Sadr

Within six short weeks since the recent election, the government of the Islamic Republic has been publicly divided, delegitimized, challenged and weak. As a result, we can now draw some analytical parallels between the current regime and the pre-1979 monarchy, and between the two occasions of political unrest.

Israel Fortifies Presence in Latin America
Andres Oppenheimer

Following three years of frantic Iranian activities in Latin America that included three trips by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the region -- a fourth visit is scheduled in August to Brazil -- and the opening or enlargement of a half-dozen Iranian embassies, Israel is beginning to raise its own profile in the region.

Working Together, Brazil, Russia, China and India Increase Leverage
Ian Bremmer

In 2003, a report authored by Goldman Sachs economists popularized the term BRICs -- Brazil, Russia, India and China -- to describe a whole new category of emerging-market powerhouse. The report argued that with sound political leadership and relative international stability, the BRIC economies would together outpace the original G6 industrialized nations in dollar terms by 2040 -- a fundamental shift in the global balance of power. Since then, these four countries have assumed ever-greater importance in the international investment community's collective imagination.

Growth With Equity: Brazil's Path to Economic Recovery
by Patrus Ananias

The financial crisis has left few corners of the global economy unscathed, but many of the loudest cries reflecting the deepest pain are largely ignored. These are the cries of the world's poorest citizens whose suffering is not measured in battered portfolios and retirement plans but in their daily survival

'U.S. Bases' in Colombia May Be Less Than Meets the Eye
Andres Oppenheimer

What's most surprising about South America's growing uproar over Colombia's plans to allow 'U.S. military bases' on its territory is that there may be no such thing in the making -- but rather a major Colombian PR blunder.

What's most surprising about South America's growing uproar over Colombia's plans to allow 'U.S. military bases' on its territory is that there may be no such thing in the making -- but rather a major Colombian PR blunder.

Partisan Split on Honduras Can Be Costly
Andres Oppenheimer

The conflict in Honduras is rapidly becoming the focus of a fierce partisan fight in Washington, D.C. -- and that may not bode well for the future of U.S. policy in Latin America. Sources in Washington tell me that 17 senators -- mostly conservative Republicans and not part of the usual crowd of legislators interested in Latin American affairs -- are trying to open a new front against Obama on top of healthcare accusing him of being "soft" on anti-American leaders in Latin America.

China Rising in Latin America, but Won't Overtake United States
Andres Oppenheimer

The latest figures showing that China is emerging from the global crisis sooner than anticipated is triggering speculation that China will soon overtake the United States as Latin America's top business partner. Granted, speculation about China's impending leap to becoming Latin America's top economic partner spread like wildfire recently when Brazil announced that it will trade more with China than with the United States this year for the first time. It sounds very interesting, but don't bet on it.

Britsh prime minister Gordon Brown
(c) Nancy Ohanian

Why Sometimes Pays to Be Like Gordon Brown
by William Pfaff

Flamboyance of the Latin kind gets you into the newspapers, but for bad reasons as well as good.

Nicolas Sarkozy of France is not a man noted for charm but for his unchecked energies and the restless activity. Italy's Silvio Berlusconi is another matter entirely. He is a success in politics apparently because the majority of Italians like him.

Indeed, sometimes pays to be a nondescript politician like Gordon Brown of Britain.

 

Israeli - Palestinian Peace
(c) M. Ryder

Obama, Solana Mean Business About Two-State Solution
by William Pfaff

The Israeli press reports with alarm that the United States has threatened to reduce by $1 billion the guarantee the U.S. Treasury customarily provides for Israel state borrowings, which assure them the best commercial terms.

This is evidence that the Obama government is serious about halting Israel's colonization of the Palestinian territories -- and about imposing, rather than merely inviting, a two-state Middle East solution.

 

From Iraq to Afghanistan, U.S. Foreign Wars Not Going According to Plan
by William Pfaff

In Iraq, tension was reported to be increasing between the Americans and the Iraqi military and security forces, who were supposed to take over the Americans' responsibilities. Move to another front: Pakistan-Afghanistan. Here there was also supposed to be a straightforward job to do: drive the Taliban out of Afghanistan, into the Tribal Areas of the Pakistan border. There, the Pakistan army, with American urging and help, would defeat and disarm them.

How to End the Insurgency and Win the War in Afghanistan
by Anna Mulrine

A longtime Afghanistan expert with the Rand Corp. and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, Jones talks about how the United States should handle Afghanistan.

War and the Balance of Power
(Nancy Ohanian)

War By Other Means
Robert C. Koehler - International Politics & World Affairs

We live in a world where arrogance and power are concentrated to an unbelievably fine point, while responsibility is diffused into a global mist.

A few fanatics can plot and wage a war, stirring up consequences infinitely beyond what they are capable of imagining, then retire, when things go bad, into a luxury tinged with disgrace.

 

Bearing Witness 2.0: You Can't Spin 10,000 Tweets and Camera Phone Uploads
Arianna Huffington

China just delivered a stunning, real-world demonstration of the changes rocking -- and transforming -- modern journalism. When deadly riots broke out in the western province of Xinjiang earlier this month, the Chinese government sprang into message control mode. It choked off the Internet and mobile phone service, blocked Twitter and Fanfou (its Chinese equivalent), deleted updates and videos from social networking sites, and scrubbed search engines of links to coverage of the unrest. At the same time, it invited foreign journalists to take a tour of the area.

Heart of the Future Between Russia & United States
by Robert C. Koehler

Last week's announcement from Moscow, of a new treaty between the U.S. and Russia to begin cutting their nuclear stockpiles by a quarter to a third, is indeed "modest" and perhaps downright "disappointing" in its tentativeness, as critics have pointed out. Even so, the heart of the future beats here.

Europe: Battle Over the Burqa
by William Pfaff

Since President Barack Obama in his recent Cairo speech made a tut-tutting remark about countries that restricted wearing religious garb in school, the controversy over the Muslim burqa has resumed in Europe

Another Swine-Flu Casualty: Good Journalism
by Andres Oppenheimer

The swine flu outbreak that has wrecked Mexico's economy may become a case study in reckless journalism. Like most of you, I had taken it for granted that the disease had started in Mexico.

Iranian Elections 2009: Iran's Crisis of Legitimacy

Islamic Republic Acronym
(David Horsey)

Iran Election Mess Is Just a Reflection of Global Human Failings
by Louis Ren� Beres

Today's dramatic Iranian instability is more a specific symptom of general civilizational fragility than an isolated disease.

Beneath the surface, all world politics readily reveals a distinctly common disorder. This is the incapacity of human beings to find both meaning and identity as individuals, within themselves.

CONTINUE >>

 

Missing Our Moment in Iran
by Victor Davis Hanson

Last month, hundreds of thousands of Iranians took to the streets to protest a rigged presidential election. Our president was extremely cautious in his initial criticism of the Iranian government's fierce crackdown against the protestors. At first, President Obama said that the United States -- given our history in Iran -- should not be "meddling" in

Violence Spikes as U.S. Troops Withdraw From Iraq's Cities
by Alex Kingsbury

Militants in Iraq staged a series of bomb and machine gun attacks in the past ten days that left more than 250 dead and the country on edge. Increased carnage as the U.S. forces prepare to depart was not unexpected, American and Iraqi officials say.

'W' is For Withdrawal
by Robert C. Koehler

National Sovereignty Day, the day U.S. troops withdrew from Iraqi cities. Sorry, but Iraq is still America's sovereign lackey: broken and smoldering. Some 130,000 U.S. troops remain in the country, withdrawn for the most part to the permanent bases we've built over the last six years. The country's infrastructure is shattered, and shocking bursts of violence remain a common occurrence

The Nation-State is Back & How
International Politics & Foreign Affairs
by Paul Kennedy

About 500 years ago, in parts of Western Europe, a funny thing happened to human society. The national state had arrived, and the world would never be the same.

Addressing China's Fear Of North Korean Collapse
Joseph S. Nye Jr. Interview

It is by now a cliche to say that greater pressure from China can force North Korea to change. The problem is that China has two objectives: They want a de-nuclearized North Korea, but they also want a North Korea that doesn't collapse into chaos on their borders. The consequence of these cross-purposes is that the Chinese have been reluctant to use the leverage they have

Tiananmen's Enduring Challenge
by Wang Dan

Twenty years have passed since our landmark demonstrations in Tiananmen Square for democracy and free speech and against corruption. And during this time, China has changed in important ways. Economic reforms have allowed millions of Chinese people to lift their families out of poverty, and many in China find their lives changed for the better. But the central causes the Tiananmen generation, students and citizens alike, took up remain unresolved: corruption, workers' rights, free speech and the need for government reform to address the needs of China's 1.3 billion people.

Asia Economy: Tamed Asian Tigers, Distressed Chinese Dragon
by Brian P. Klein and Kenneth Neil Cukier

Since the 1960s, Asian economies have focused primarily on exports. It was the key to success in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan. Much of Southeast Asia and China soon followed suit. Over the past decade, the region's exports have increased from 37 percent to 47 percent of GDP. By hitching their wagons to exports, however, Asian countries left themselves vulnerable to a drop-off in Western consumption

Elections Give India's Congress Party Clout to Push Agenda
by Ian Bremmer

For nearly a year, an unmanageable coalition government in India has obstructed the ruling Congress Party's policy agenda and brought the country's economic reform process to a grinding halt. Now that an impressive electoral triumph in national parliamentary elections held in April and May has allowed the party to shed unreliable allies, can its leaders move the country in a more market-friendly direction. There are grounds for both caution and optimism

India's Fortune: Prospects of a Country on the Rise
by Edward Luce

Nandan Nilekani's book, Imagining India, charts how India arrived at the potentially transformative moment it has reached today and describes the gargantuan challenges the country will have to overcome if it is to fulfill that potential

Indian Ocean: Center Stage for 21st Century Struggles Between India & China
by Robert D. Kaplan

Competition between India and China suggests that the Indian Ocean is where global struggles will play out in the twenty-first century. The old borders of the Cold War map are crumbling fast, and Asia is becoming a more integrated unit, from the Middle East to the Pacific.

North Korea's Nuclear Weapon Challenge
Henry A. Kissinger

The Obama administration has so far dealt publicly with the North Korean challenge in an understated, almost leisurely, manner. The challenge goes far beyond the regional security issue. For the United States, it involves relations with an emerging superpower (China); relations with a re-emerging Russia; relations with key U.S. allies (Japan and South Korea); and a major escalation in the threat of proliferation to non-state parties.

 

Essence of Islamist Resistance:
Different View of Iran, Hezbollah & Hamas
by Alastair Crooke

Most Western analysts of political Islam make the same mistake. They instinctively assume that conflict with the West has mainly to do with specific foreign policies, particularly of the U.S. with respect to Israel, the Arab world and Iran, and, if those changed, all would be well.

Tehran's Take: Understanding Iran's U.S. Policy
by Mohsen M. Milani

Iran's foreign policy is often portrayed in sensationalistic terms, but in reality it is a rational strategy meant to ensure the survival of the Islamic Republic against what Tehran thinks is an existential threat posed by the United States

Flipping the Taliban: How to Win in Afghanistan
by Fotini Christia and Michael Semple

Although sending more troops is necessary to tip the balance of power against the insurgents, the move will have a lasting impact only if it is accompanied by a political surge, a committed effort to persuade large groups of Taliban fighters to put down their arms and give up the fight.

Afghan Presidential Candidate Takes a Page From Obama's Playbook
by Anna Mulrine

Presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani, the leading challenger to incumbent Hamid Karzai, has embarked on an Internet fundraising campaign modeled on that run by President Obama.

In Afghanistan, It's President Obama's War Now

There is a popular proverb that has been making the rounds in Kabul involving the inadvisability of juggling two watermelons with one hand. It is used to suggest the peril--some say folly--of taking on large tasks with too few resources. Lately, it has been cropping up as Afghans struggle to describe the enormity of the task that confronts President Obama in their country, where conditions have deteriorated dramatically over the past year

A Bright Star on the World Stage: Smiles & handshakes a Start But Obama's real challenge will be to show results
by Thomas Omestad

White House officials say Obama's appeal extends beyond just the leaders of the world. "What has happened is that anti-Americanism isn't cool anymore," says top Obama adviser David Axelrod.

But this initial repositioning of the American leadership brand onto more popular terrain internationally will be the easier part of Obama's task. For all the sense of fresh starts and of goodwill, the seeds of perhaps inevitable disappointments are present as well.

Who's Ready if Swine Flu Pandemic Comes Knocking
Andy Coghlan, Linda Geddes & Rachel Nowak, New Scientist Magazine

Doomsday visions of curfews, sealed borders, travel bans and scuffles over food are a long way from materializing in the current crisis regarding swine flu.

But if the World Health Organization declares a pandemic, countries could bring in draconian measures to isolate and treat infection, prevent further spread and keep societies functioning.

The question, then, is which countries are ready and prepared to handle a Swine Flu Pandemic.

 

 

The West's Reckless Approach to Relations with Russia
by Wiliam Pfaff

The failure last week of Russian talks with the European Union on energy supplies to Europe is one more occasion for Russian-Western tension.

Obama Presses Israel on Settlements
by William Pfaff

The Obama administration's confrontation with Israel over its colonies inside the Palestine territories began as a test of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's willingness to enter serious negotiations on a Middle Eastern settlement.

Waiting For Netanyahu
International Current Events, News & World Affairs

As President Obama prepares to receive Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for their first meeting, the situation is very similar to what it was in 1978.

Now as then, Israel is ruled by a rightwing coalition. Now as then, some of its elements are more hawkish than the prime minister and his Likud Party is. Now as then, talks with the other side are ongoing but leading nowhere.

Obama's Moment in South Asia
International Current Events, News & World Affairs

Afghanistan and Pakistan are at the very top of President Obama's list of foreign and security priorities. The U.S. military has embraced this new emphasis, as indicated by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Adm. Mike Mullen's recent statement that the war in Afghanistan is now more important than the struggle in Iraq.

The increased emphasis on Afghanistan and Pakistan is laudable, because what happens in these two countries is critical in determining the future of extremism and terror -- a defining security challenge of our time.

Fighting Extremism with Democracy in Pakistan
International Current Events, News & World Affairs

Pakistan opposition leader Nawaz Sharif is seen by many -- including, reportedly, officials in the Obama administration -- as the man who can possibly help unite Pakistanis against the scourge of Talebanization threatening the South Asian nuclear-armed nation.

In this interview Sharif says that national consensus on strengthening the rule of law, must be part of a multi-pronged strategy to address the root causes of Taliban extremism.

Cambodia Deja Vu: The Invasion of Pakistan
International Current Events, News & World Affairs

39 years! And here we are again. The United States, despite its plan to deploy nearly 70,000 troops this year in Afghanistan, finds itself and its NATO allies in danger of defeat by the Taliban guerillas. U.S. bombing, with remote-controlled "drones," of the Pakistani Tribal Territories has killed many people but has had no decisive effect on the fighting in Afghanistan.

Brazil Stretching Clout to Central America
Andres Oppenheimer

Brazilian President Luiz In�cio Lula da Silva's largely unnoticed trip to Central America last week underscored an interesting phenomenon: Brazil is making big inroads into a region that was traditionally seen as Mexico's backyard

Will Colombia's President Uribe Run Again?
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer

After Tuesday's vote in the Colombian Senate many well-placed Colombians tell me they are convinced that President �lvaro Uribe is serious about running in 2010.

Many Believe End of Argentina's 'K' Era Nears
International Current Events, News & World Affairs

Seven weeks before Argentina's much-awaited June 28 legislative elections, there is a growing consensus that populist President Cristina Fern�ndez de Kirchner will lose her majority in Congress, and that there will be major political changes in this country.

Free-Market Economy Fundamentally Healthy
Global Economic Viewpoint

Last week at the Milken Global Conference, three Noble Laureates in Economics sat down to discuss the global recession -- Gary Becker (Nobel Prize, 1992), Roger Myerson (Nobel Prize, 2007) and Myron Scholes (Nobel Prize 1997).

All three agreed that this is not going to be a depression and that the free-market economy is fundamentally healthy.

Brazil, China & India Can Mitigate Global Crisis
Global Economic Viewpoint

Brazil, India and even China will not be able, by themselves, to correct the dysfunctions that produced the global crisis. But it is true that the economic power of these three countries can mitigate its negative consequences. ...

Obama's Foreign Policy Challenge - Henry Kissinger

The first overseas trip of a new president always has a significance beyond its itinerary. The president has an opportunity to test the impact of his policies; his interlocutors begin to assess the leader with whom they will have to deal over at least four years.

The Global Economy: Worse & Worser

Today's global economic debacle shares a disturbing number of similarities with the early stages of Japan's "lost decade" of the 1990s.

Without good policy and better luck, the world may well fall into a prolonged period of slow GDP growth, high unemployment, and stagnant living standards like that which unfolded in Japan almost 20 years ago.

Today's Global Economic Debacle: The Japan Fallacy

As the United States sinks deeper into recession, many observers fear the country could reprise Japan's "lost decade," the decade of stagnation that followed its mammoth property bubble in the late 1980s. But this fear is unawarranted.

 

Deng Undone: China Halts Market Reform

Since the present Communist Party leadership took power, fresh market-oriented liberalization has been minor. Such policies have been wound down and supplanted by renewed state intervention. In privatization, prices, even foreign trade and investment, the PRC was heading away from the market well before the financial crisis erupted.

 

Why China & U.S. Not Ready to Upgrade Ties

Calling on the United States and China to do more together has an undeniable logic. Both Washington and Beijing are destined to fail if they attempt to confront the world's problems alone, and the current bilateral relationship is not getting the job done.

But elevating the bilateral relationship is not the solution. It will raise expectations for a level of partnership that cannot be met and exacerbate the very real differences that exist between Washington and Beijing.

 

Match-fix probe targets 200 games
Around 200 football ties, including three in the Champions League, are part of a match-fixing probe, German officials say.

Iran criticised over nuclear deal
The six major powers say they are disappointed with Iran's apparent rejection of a deal over its nuclear programme.

Drug resistant swine flu hits UK
Health officials in Cardiff say a Tamiflu-resistant strain of swine flu has spread between hospital patients.

EU foreign head dismisses critics
The new EU foreign affairs chief dismisses criticism of her appointment, saying she is the "the best person for the job".

'Many flee' Congo fishing clashes
More than 50,000 people flee DR Congo amid deadly ethnic clashes over fishing rights in the north-west, the UN says.

Easyjet sorry for Holocaust error
Easyjet apologises after fashion photographs shot at the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin were published in its in-flight magazine.

Italian sex scandal woman 'dead'
A transsexual prostitute linked to a sex row involving an Italian politician is believed to have been burned to death, media report.

French jail mail escapee caught
A French murder suspect who hid in a cardboard box and escaped in a delivery van is recaptured after weeks on the run.

Beam circles 'Big Bang' machine
Engineers have sent proton particles all the way round the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) machine for the first time in more than a year.

Mussolini brain 'stolen by criminals keen to sell it on the web'
The granddaughter of Italy's fascist dictator Benito Mussolini says criminals have stolen part of his brain and blood to sell on the internet.

Galileo's fingers and a tooth found, Italian museum says
Fingers and a tooth cut from the body of famed astronomer Galileo Galilei have been found, an Italian museum says.

France reject Irish replay hopes
The French Football Federation turns down the Republic of Ireland's request for a replay of their controversial World Cup play-off game.

Mercedes want Schumacher - Jordan
Michael Schumacher will race in Formula 1 for Mercedes' new team in 2010, BBC Sport's Eddie Jordan believes.

Dangerous seas
Can EU's taskforce defeat pirates off Somalia coast?

Puzzling choices
What EU appointments mean for bloc's future

Coaxing Karzai
Will Clinton's approach to Afghan leader pay off?

Parents' plight
Russian concerns on children taken from families

Magic moments
Some of Oprah's most memorable shows

In pictures
Celebrations as Belize marks settlement day

Riot over Egypt football defeat
Police are injured as Egypt fans' anger over reported violence after a World Cup game erupts in Cairo.

Sani Abacha son 'must pay $350m'
A Swiss court orders the seizure of $350m in assets from the son of Nigeria's ex-ruler Sani Abacha after a 10-year investigation.

Peru arrests 'human fat killers'
Police in Peru arrest members of a gang accused of killing dozens of people to sell their fat for use in cosmetics.

Oprah announces end of talk show
A tearful Oprah Winfrey announces her talk show will end in September 2011 after 25 years on the air.

Vietnam denies blocking Facebook
Vietnamese officials deny blocking access to Facebook for the site's million users, instead blaming a technical fault.

Five shot dead on Pacific island
At least five people are killed in a shooting incident on Saipan, one of the Northern Mariana Islands in the Pacific.

Profile: Herman van Rompuy
A profile of Belgian PM Herman van Rompuy, the European Union's first permanent president.

EU gives Nigeria $1bn 'for peace'
Europe signs a $1bn deal with Nigeria, aimed at tackling corruption and promoting peace in the troubled Niger Delta.

Barghouti urges unity from jail
Palestinian factions must unite and start campaigning for statehood, says jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti.

Egypt recalls envoy from Algeria
Sudan joins a diplomatic row between Egypt and Algeria over violence at a World Cup qualifier in Khartoum.

Afghan ex-warlord escapes attack
MP and former Afghan warlord Abdul Rasul Sayyaf narrowly escapes an assassination attempt in which five bodyguards die.

Bodies of Mumbai gunmen unburied
The unclaimed bodies of nine gunmen who were killed during the Mumbai attacks a year ago are still awaiting burial.

Cordoba, the city with many faiths
The historic clash of Muslims, Christians and Jews in Cordoba in southern Spain has left the city with a tangled legacy, David Edmonds finds.

New realities for ancient Timbuktu
With talk of North African Islamists extending their operations into Mali, Andrew Harding travels to the tourist-draw city of Timbuktu to find out what the locals think.

Can Iran nuclear deal be reached?
Six major powers say they are disappointed with Iran’s response to the offer of a nuclear power deal.

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Arrests made in €10m match-fixing probe
Police and sport officials have dismantled a criminal ring suspected of unprecedented match-fixing and betting in European professional football

Contest starts for plum EU posts
The race to secure senior jobs in the next European Commission has intensified with the big member states keen to secure the most important economic dossiers

Chinese white weddings help platinum recovery
Chinese brides, who value platinum partly because it goes so well with a white wedding dress, are on course to snap up enough of the metal to make up for a fall in demand from the auto components industry

Ukraine deal eases gas disruption fears
Vladimir Putin agrees to waive sanctions against Ukraine and amend Russia's natural gas contract with the country, in a move that could ease fears of a disruption to European gas supplies

Trichet warns on bank bonuses
Jean-Claude Trichet, ECB president, has issued his strongest warning yet that banks must keep pay and bonuses 'contained' and prepare for withdrawal of emergency support

US missile strike kills eight in Pakistan
Security officials and Taliban said a suspected US drone aircraft fired two missiles at a militant stronghold in the North Waziristan region, killing eight people

Dubai ousts financial chief over debt troubles
Dubai has removed the high-profile governor of the Dubai International Financial Center as a political power struggle caused by the emirate's financial troubles continues to build

Mekong's turbulent fight for survival
The region faces a difficult balancing act between development and conservation

India 'should fund environment projects'
India's government should tap some of the $400bn it has locked up in state enterprises to invest in projects to clean up its environment and combat global warming, a top economic official said

Test for US healthcare proposal
The administration of Barack Obama, US president, faces the next big test of its push for healthcare reform this evening when the Senate meets to decide whether to proceed to a debate on its $848bn draft legislation

Alabbar upbeat on Dubai growth prospects
Dubai's economy could grow by about 5 per cent this year, says one of the emirate's top officials, in one of the most upbeat recent forecasts about the city's prospects

Germany probes football 'match-fixing'
Several people arrested as part of investigation into alledged widespread match-fxing and gambling fraud involving at least 100 people

Worried nations try to cool hot money
Move to curb foreign inflows via American Depositary Receipts loophole puts Asian currencies under pressure amid speculation about copycat action in the region

Karzai sets date for Nato pull-out
Hamid Karzai opened his second term as Afghan president by saying his country's National Army should take the lead in tackling security issues in unstable parts of the country within three years

Obama warns of Iran sanctions 'within weeks'
US President Barack Obama has said that world powers could have a package of measures against Iran "within weeks", warning Tehran of consequences for its failure to respond to an offer of a nuclear deal

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FT.com - World

 

Kidnapped Britons say Somali pirates may kill them (AP)
AP - A British couple being held hostage by Somali pirates said in an interview broadcast Friday that they fear they will be killed or handed to a terrorist group if a ransom is not paid soon.

Floods devastate UK Lake District, much of Ireland (AP)

AP - Raging floods engulfed northern England's picturesque Lake District on Friday following the heaviest rainfall ever recorded in Britain, killing a police officer and trapping dozens in their swamped homes.

Museum: Galileo's fingers, tooth are found (AP)

AP - Two fingers and a tooth removed from Galileo Galilei's corpse in a Florentine basilica in the 18th century and given up for lost have been found again, a Florence museum said Friday.

Afghan police are weak link in security force (AP)

AP - Underpaid, under-equipped and under-trained, Afghanistan's 93,000-member police force is the weak link in an ambitious security strategy to hand over defense of the country to Afghans so American and other foreign troops can go home.

6 world powers press Iran on nuclear issue (AP)

AP - Representatives of six world powers urged Iran on Friday to accept a U.N. plan aimed at delaying its ability to build a nuclear weapon, as the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency warned Tehran not to miss the opportunity to resolve the dispute.

The E.U.'s New Top Leaders: Bland Leading the Bland (Time.com)

Time.com - Eschewing the superstar candidacy of Tony Blair, the E.U. picks low-profile politicians as its first president and foreign minister

GE, Vivendi talks over NBC Universal stretch on (AP)

AP - A deal for Comcast Corp. to buy a controlling stake in NBC Universal and create one of the most powerful media companies in the world is taking longer than expected as the current owners tussle over price.

Egyptian soccer fans riot against Algeria (AP)

AP - Egyptian soccer fans burned Algerian flags and rioted outside the Algerian Embassy in Cairo, smashing cars and shop windows, in an escalating row between the two countries over a bitter World Cup rivalry.

Guatemala reopening international adoptions (AP)
AP - Guatemalan officials on Friday announced the resumption of international adoptions after a nearly two-year suspension prompted by the discovery that some babies were being sold.

35 Egyptian police hurt as football violence simmers (AFP)

AFP - Protesters injured dozens of police near the Algerian embassy in Egypt's capital on Friday, fanning the flames of a diplomatic spat that erupted after Algeria won a football World Cup qualifier.

U.S. to tighten control of Afghan contracts: Gates (Reuters)

Reuters - The United States must tighten control of Afghan aid contracts as a first step toward stemming rampant corruption, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Friday.

Canada to have vaccine soon for half population (Reuters)
Reuters - Enough H1N1 flu vaccine for almost half of Canada's population will have been shipped out by the end of the next week, Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq said on Friday.

Australia 'disappointed' at Japan whaling mission (AFP)

AFP - Australia said it was "deeply disappointed" after a fleet of Japanese whaling ships set out to kill hundreds of the giant ocean mammals on their annual hunt.

Couple to plead guilty to spying for Cuba (McClatchy Newspapers)
McClatchy Newspapers - WASHINGTON — A retired State Department employee and his wife are expected to plead guilty Friday in federal court to charges that they have been spying for Cuba for decades.

Afghanistan President Karzai inaugural: promises of clean cabinet (The Christian Science Monitor)
The Christian Science Monitor - Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai promised to crack down on corruption after being sworn in for his second term on Thursday. But his related promise to fill his cabinet with "professionals" may be what the US and other governments were most hoping to hear on the topic.

A New Indian Travel Fad: "Divorce Tourism" (Time.com)
Time.com - A few Indian tour operators are cashing in on Indian's rising divorce rate with a new offer: The perfect holiday -- just you, your spouse, and a relationship counselor

Immigration Reform: The Call Heard Round the Country (OneWorld.net)
OneWorld.net - NEW YORK, Nov 19 (New America Media) - Organizers described them as immigration reform "house parties."

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Model sues over 'snobbery' towards doorman husband
A New York foot model has launched a $10m lawsuit against the board of her swanky apartment block, accusing it of trying to force her out for falling in love with the Hispanic doorman.

American killed British student 'for revenge'
British student Meredith Kercher was killed by her room mate in a drug-fuelled revenge attack, a court heard today.

BNP denies elderly Sikh becoming member
The British National Party today denied suggestions that an elderly Sikh was set to become the party’s first non-white member.

Italian sex scandal prostitute found dead
The body of a transsexual involved in a scandal that brought down an Italian regional governor was found among the remains of a house fire in Rome today.

US senator wants Lockerbie bomber returned to jail
A US senator today demanded the return of the Lockerbie bomber to prison in Scotland.

British lawyer to defend Karadzic at war crimes tribunal
Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic has had a British lawyer appointed to represent him at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal.

Kercher trial moves into final stages
Prosecutors in Italy today began their closing arguments in the Meredith Kercher murder trial.

Peru: Gang murdered people for body fat
A band of murderers who killed people to extract and sell their body fat to the cosmetic industry have been arrested in Peru.

Top model found dead in Paris apartment
A top model who was a fixture at fashion week in Paris and London has been found dead at her apartment in Paris, an official said today.

Torrential floods hit UK
Devastating rainfall over Cumbria in England in the last 36 hours might have reached "historical" levels, forecasters said.

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U.S. Fears Iraq Development Projects May Go to Waste
After spending $53 billion for relief and reconstruction in Iraq since 2003, the U.S. is concerned that Iraqis won’t be able to maintain the facilities once the Americans have left.

As Iran Stalls on Nuclear Deal, New Sanctions Weighed
Officials from six countries and the European Union expressed disappointment that Iran had not accepted a deal to export most of its enriched uranium.

Anglican Leader Defends Faith as Vatican Welcomes His Members
In Rome, the archbishop of Canterbury called for clarity on the future of Catholic-Anglican dialogue.

E.U. Leaders Make Unity in the Bloc Their First Job
With the European Union’s new top jobs going to two low-key bridge-builders, the bloc appears to have set its sights on repairing internal divisions before trying to construct a bigger global role.

8 Militants Killed in Reported U.S. Strike in Northwestern Pakistan
The area of the attack is believed to hold many insurgents who fled from an army offensive elsewhere in the Afghan border region.

Pakistani Politics Take on a Nationalist Tone
The recent unpopularity of President Asif Ali Zardari and resentment of America follow a familiar script.

Afghan Bomber on Motorcycle Kills 16
Several children and a police officer were among the victims of the blast on a crowded market.

Obama Demands Afghan Reforms Produce Results
President Obama sent Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to Afghanistan to press President Hamid Karzai to deliver “measurable results” in return for civilian aid.

Northern England Hit by Floods After Heavy Rain
The military deployed intense rescue efforts to conduct house-to-house searches for people trapped in their homes.

Obama Raised Issue of American Held in China
The Chinese government has held an American oil geologist on suspicion of stealing state secrets for nearly two years, prompting President Obama to raise the issue during his visit to Beijing.

In Obama Interview, Signs of China’s Heavy Hand
Authorities appeared to carefully monitor how President Obama’s words were transmitted to China’s public, even in a newspaper known for its press-the-envelope approach.

China Helps the Powerful in Namibia
Secret scholarships to study in China that were awarded to the offspring of top officials in Namibia have angered the public there.

Karzai Sworn In for Second Term as President
In his inaugural address, President Hamid Karzai said that the Afghan Army should assume full control of the country’s security within five years.

Honduran Leader Says He’ll Briefly Step Down
The de facto leader, Roberto Micheletti, and the ousted president, Manuel Zelaya, continued their political jockeying ahead of presidential elections on Nov. 29.

Industrialized Nations Unveil Plans to Rein in Emissions
Prior to a climate change meeting scheduled for Copenhagen, industrialized countries, except the United States, are offering targets to curb greenhouse gases.

Iraq Sentences Sunni Leader to Death
The sentence of a leader of the Sunni Awakening Council set off charges that the Shiite-dominated government was trying to weaken the Sunni movement.

Russian Priest Killed in Church
A Moscow Patriarchate official called the Rev. Daniil Sysoyev a “talented missionary” whose work among Muslims, including Tatars, might have been the motive for the shooting.

Gas Feud Escalates Between Russia and Ukraine
An aide to the Russian president called Ukraine’s warnings of a possible gas crisis “political blackmail” on Thursday.

Gunman Kills 4 at Pacific Resort
SAIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands (AP) -- A gunman went on a rampage on the Pacific resort island of Saipan on Friday, killing four people and wounding six others before fatally shooting himself, officials said.

Air Defense Push Inspired by 9/11 Gets a 2nd Look
The commander of military forces protecting North America has ordered a review of the costly air defenses intended to prevent another Sept. 11-style terrorism attack.

German Students Fret Over Accelerated Degrees
Germany has adopted degree programs that will get students out of school and into the job market faster, prompting many to join street protests over the changes.

Pirates Widen Range, Straining Naval Patrols
The European Union, the United States and other allies have extended their mission as the attacks have increased and spread out.

Peru’s Police Say Gang Drained Victims’ Fat
A gang in the remote Peruvian jungle has been killing people for their fat, the police said Thursday.

Suicide Attack Is Pakistani City’s 7th in 2 Weeks
Militants killed 17 outside a courthouse in Peshawar, the seventh attack in two weeks in the city.

Sir John Crofton, Pioneer in TB Cure, Dies at 97
The clinician showed that three antibiotics could be safely combined to provide a cure, providing the template for later combination therapies for cancer and AIDS.

World Briefing | Europe: Russia: Moratorium on Executions
Russia’s Constitutional Court extended the country’s moratorium on the death penalty on Thursday, though it stopped short of fully abolishing capital punishment.

World Briefing | Europe: France: Acquittals in Fatal Blast
A court in Toulouse acquitted a subsidiary of the French oil giant Total and a former factory manager on Thursday in a 2001 explosion at a chemical plant that killed 31 people and injured more than 2,000.

Bangladesh Court Upholds Death Sentences in Coup Case
The five men were convicted of killing the country’s independence leader, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, in an army revolt 34 years ago.

World Briefing | Europe: Vatican City: Cross Is Restored
A treasure of the Vatican’s collection of religious art, a sixth-century reliquary containing what are revered as fragments of the cross on which Christ was crucified, has been restored.

World Briefing | Europe: Ukraine: Putin Soothes Dispute Over Price of Sending Fuel
Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin of Russia took a more conciliatory stance toward Ukraine on Thursday in negotiations over the transit of Russian gas through Ukrainian territory.

World Briefing | Europe: Moldova: Army Enlists Onions and Garlic to Ward Off Swine Flu
The Moldovan Army is issuing garlic and onions to help its soldiers ward off a growing epidemic of swine flu in Eastern Europe.

World Briefing | Europe: Britain: Politician Is Accused of Cellphone Use While Driving
A leading British politician faces motor vehicle charges including using a cellphone while driving, prosecutors said Thursday.

National Briefing | Southwest: Texas: Plant Will Not Take Waste From Mexico
A southeast Texas industrial disposal facility has suspended its plan to import and incinerate up to 20,000 tons of hazardous waste from Mexico, a company official said.

Names of the Dead
The Department of Defense has identified 4,354 American service members who have died since the start of the Iraq war.

Saturday Profile: In Iraq, a Civilian Voice at the Commander’s Side
Emma Sky, a Briton, initially opposed the war but now has a place in Gen. Ray Odierno’s inner circle.

36 Hours in Rajasthan, India
The country is modernizing rapidly, sometimes too fast, but this spectacular old region endures, evoking rulers with giant mustaches and spectacular forts and palaces.

Diplomatic Memo: Clinton Seen as Obama’s Key Link to Afghan Leader
The role thrusts Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton into the thick of a critical international problem.

Thuwal Journal: A Saudi Gamble to See if Seeds of Change Will Grow
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has given a university $10 billion, hoping it will draw ideas and students.

On Assignment: Asia in the Blink of an Eye
Stephen Crowley of The Times has found that just one frame is not enough to convey the cascading incongruities and harmonies of a presidential tour.

Currents: Are Metrics Blinding Our Perception?
Welcome to the Age of Metrics - or to the End of Instinct.

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