All Keep Calm
Japan nerve gas fugitive: hiding in plain sightFor many international fugitives, from Serbian General Ratko Mladic and Carlos the Jackal to Congolese warlord Bosco Ntaganda, the place to hide is in an open, urban setting.- Should Columbia University have admitted Syrian dictator Assad's former press aide?When Columbia University admitted Sheherazad Jaafari, a former aide to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, many students objected. But she's not the first controversial student at a US-based university.
- Good Reads: Globalization and the glass half fullHere is a survey of a few good articles to explain global doom, the globalized taste in literature, and the peculiar mental shortcuts and errors that smart people make.
Good Reads: How India failed to live up to its hypeThis week's best reads deal with India's economic disappointment, Germany's problematic switch from nuclear energy, Al Qaeda, and the Great Un-American Western.
Good Reads: a few tips about how to stay off Obama's 'kill list'This week's best reads include an investigation into how the Obama administration chooses targets for drone attack, a stirring defense of dictator intelligence, and a scientific explanation of optimism.- As Europe peers into economic chasm, Africa's economy is risingReports by the African Development Bank, World Bank, and McKinsey show how Africa continues to offer a bright spot in the global economy.
- Sudan and South Sudan to resume negotiationsAfter weeks of fighting, in which South Sudan took out one of Sudan's last remaining oil fields, the two countries are returning to the negotiation table, under African Union mediation.
Even if NATO rushes to the exits, Afghan collapse is not inevitableAs French President Hollande promises troop withdrawal this year, and the rest of NATO plans to exit by 2014, Afghanistan's best hope may be the disunity and ill-discipline of the Taliban.
Good Reads: Why nations fail, and how we overlook some successesThis week's reading list includes a close look at why nations fail, how Africa is booming, why Greece's default won't be such a tragedy after all, and how Facebook's IPO is a warning bell.
With Crocker's exit, a chance for a new approach to AfghanistanAmbassador Ryan Crocker announced he is stepping down as the US ambassador to Afghanistan.
Chicago NATO summit sets stage for Afghan withdrawalWith France set to leave at the end of 2012, and the rest of NATO out by 2014, the question is whether Afghanistan's own forces can meet the challenge.
West African group backs off intervention in Mali messECOWAS had warned of a possible military intervention, but at a meeting in the Malian capital of Bamako, they accepted an interim president chosen by military coup leaders.
Good Reads: on optimism, rise of a global middle class, and geek revivalsIt may be easy to feel down in an election year, but between the rise of the global middle class and a geek resurgence, there are reasons for hope.
West African group mulls intervention in MaliECOWAS, a West African regional group, reimposes sanctions and considers military intervention after Mali's coup leaders renege on promise to cede power to civilian rulers.
Rains cool off war in South SudanThe six month rainy season gives time for Sudan and South Sudan to make progress in resolving differences. But the wet weather will strain the sanitation systems in refugee camps.
Europe launches airstrikes on Somalia to uproot pirate baseThis is the first time the European-led naval expedition, Operation Atalanta, has attacked a pirate base on Somali territory.
Kony hunt: Ugandan army captures senior LRA commanderThe capture of Caesar Acellam, the fourth highest commander under the LRA's Joseph Kony, is a huge boost in the effort to end a 20-year rebellion that has killed thousands.
Good Reads: on the politics of language, Genghis Khan, and the Beastie BoysThis week's reading list includes a book review on how we use and abuse language, leadership tips from Genghis Khan, and a tribute to the late hip hop master and peace activist, Adam Yauch.
Does a military solution for Somali piracy work?Somali pirate attacks have dropped, from 45 in 2010 to 24 in 2011, but there's no evidence that more naval patrols and aggressive private security firms are actually keeping pirates ashore.
Fighting continues between Sudan and South Sudan, as economies collapseAt this time last year, South Sudan was preparing to become Africa's newest nation. Now the dispute between South Sudan and Sudan may turn both into the latest failed states.
