U.S. and the World

Building a Wall of Trees Across Africa

In an attempt to keep the world’s largest hot desert from getting any larger, African leaders want to build a wall of trees across the continent to stop the Sahara from encroaching into Central Africa. The “Great Green Wall” would be nine miles wi... read more

Drug Addiction Doubles in Afghanistan

American efforts to curb the drug trade in Afghanistan appear to be failing, based on a new United Nations report on addiction levels in the country. According to a study by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, 8% of Afghan adults are addicted to... read more

Drugs Courts in Scotland: Nice Idea, but They Don’t Work

So much for the TLC approach of handling criminals with drug problems. Scotland, which has adopted the United States’ idea of drug courts, has found the specialized system does not reduce recidivism. A study conducted by the Scottish governmen... read more

Pentagon Task Force Tries to Battle Contractor Corruption in Afghanistan

The Department of Defense has created a special task force to “follow the money” in Afghanistan to ensure that billions of taxpayer dollars are not spent unwisely on American or foreign contractors hired to support the U.S. military mission. C... read more

Largest Immigrant Groups in U.S.: Mexican, Filipino, Indian

While there’s been no change at the very top, the leading immigrant groups in the United States now have a new member of the top three. After the two largest immigrant populations—Mexicans (No. 1) and Filipinos (No. 2)—Chinese are no longer third.... read more

U.S. Takes Control of South Korean Computerized War Game

In a sign that Washington is taking seriously the heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula, the United States’ top military commander in South Korea will take back control of an annual military exercise between American and Korean forces. ... read more

Saudi Royal Family Blocks UN Study of Climate Change

Small island nations throughout the world are vulnerable to rising sea levels, which is why their representatives called for a study at the climate change talks currently being held in Bonn, Germany. But the effort to examine the challenges and da... read more

UNESCO Gives Award Named for One of World’s Worst Dictators

For two years the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has been trying to create a life sciences award in the name of the dictator of the West African nation of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema, who donated $3 mi... read more

U.S. Funding Child Soldiers in Somalia

There are only two countries that have not ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which prohibits the use of child soldiers: the United States and Somalia. Perhaps then it is no surprise to learn that American taxpayer dollars are goi... read more

USDA Bans Nebraska Organic Food Inspector for Using Chinese Government Employees

Until now, federal regulators relied on a U.S.-based inspection operation to certify organic goods imported from China. But after discovering that the inspector—Organic Crop Improvement Association (OCIA) of Nebraska—was using Chinese government e... read more

Foreign-Language Speakers in State and Defense Departments on Decline

Both the State Department and Department of Defense need to improve or expand their ranks of foreign language specialists, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The GAO in its report on national security programs criticized Stat... read more

Taliban Rules 4 Million People in Pakistan

Amnesty International has accused the government of Pakistan of turning its back on four million of its citizens by leaving them under the rule of the Taliban. In its new report (As if Hell Fell on Me: The Human Rights Crisis in Northwest Pakistan... read more

Border Patrol Agents Kill 27-Year Resident of U.S. and 15-Year-Old Boy

Agents with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection service are coming under scrutiny for killing two individuals near the border with Mexico in recent weeks. In San Diego, CA, an illegal immigrant who lived in the United States for 27 years... read more

First Convictions in 1984 Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster

Described as “too little, too late” and a “joke” by survivors and advocates, convictions were finally handed down in India related to the 1984 Union Carbide gas leak that killed approximately 15,000 people. Eight former executives of the compa... read more

Afghan Warlords Gain U.S. Funding by Rebranding as “Private Security Companies”

Willing to secure local domains and fight alongside Western forces, many of Afghanistan’s warlords are paid by U.S. and NATO commanders as “private security” businesses—even though these arrangements are threatening to undermine the West’s mission... read more

World Cup Guide: The 32 Teams

David Wallechinsky is the author of The Complete Book of the Summer Olympics and The Complete Book of the Winter Olympics. He is the vice-president of the International Society of Olympic Historians Introduction The World Cup, by far the bigg... read more