U.S. and the World
Contractors Outnumber U.S. Soldiers in Afghanistan
Even with the expected surge of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, contractors will continue to outnumber military personnel in the war effort. According to a new report by the Congressional Research Service, the U.S. will expand its contractor force wit... read more
Largest Ever Arrests of Criminal Aliens
Following up on President Barack Obama’s pledge to focus illegal immigration crackdowns on violent criminals, 400 agents with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) service last week conducted its largest sweep ever of dangerous undocumente... read more
Obama Administration Supports Bush Rejection of Biological Weapons Inspections
The Obama administration has decided to maintain former President George W. Bush’s policy on biological weapons, which rejected the idea of international verification to ensure countries are not developing such agents. The Biological Weapons Conve... read more
Brazilian Police in Two Cities Accused of Killing 11,000 in Six Years
Police in Brazil’s two largest cities, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, have functioned as judge, jury and executioner in recent years by summarily executing suspects and then covering up the killings with false reports. According to a new report b... read more
Leaving Behind in Iraq Equipment Needed in Afghanistan
Arguing that it is cheaper to buy new equipment instead of shipping the old, the U.S. military has decided to donate tens of millions of dollars in vehicles and other materials to the Iraqi government rather than send it to Afghanistan. The decisi... read more
The Economy is Wonderful…If You’re the Saudi Royal Family
At nearly $76 a barrel, the price of petroleum has reached a “perfect” state, according to Saudi Arabia’s top oil official. “Inventories are coming down, the price is perfect and investors, consumers, producers are all very happy,” Ali al-Naimi, t... read more
Manny Pacquiao and Imelda Marcos Run for Office in Philippines
Next year’s congressional elections in the Philippines will not lack for star power. Manny Pacquiao, the first boxer to win world championships in seven different weight divisions, intends to run again for Congress from the southern province of Sa... read more
Taiwan Offers E-Readers to its Students
Taiwan’s Ministry of Education will offer e-readers in 2010 to its primary school students as it plans to further digitalize education and promote reading. The e-readers are essential components of Taiwan’s five-year $1.55 billion dollar program d... read more
Nepal Cabinet to Meet on Mount Everest
While the Maldives chose to go down (underwater) to draw attention to the dangers of global warming, Nepal has selected to go up—way up. This week, Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal will lead his senior ministers up Mount Everest to conduct the hi... read more
U.S. to Station Troops in Poland for First Time
In a move intended to assuage the Polish government, the United States will send for the first time a small detachment of soldiers next year to Poland to man an anti-ballistic missile (ABM) battery intended to guard against a Russian attack. Offic... read more
Federal Judge Orders Release of Guantánamo Prisoner…But He Stays Locked Up
Farhi Saeed bin Mohammed, 48, finds himself in the same limbo as a dozen other Guantánamo detainees who have been ordered released by federal courts, only to remain behinds bars in Cuba. District Court Judge Gladys Kessler ruled last Friday that t... read more
Worst Day Ever for Journalists…At Least 18 Murdered in Philippines
At least eighteen journalists were among those massacred on Monday in the Philippines at the hands of armed men loyal to a local mayor and police chief. The reporters were traveling with a group of supporters of Esmael Mangudadatu, a politician se... read more
Ex-Prime Minister of Ukraine Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison…in U.S.
It may have lacked the military and foreign policy bravado that came with the ouster of Panama’s leader nearly 20 years ago, but Pavlo Lazarenko’s sentencing in U.S. court last week was nonetheless noteworthy. The former prime minister of Ukraine ... read more
A Bad 30 Years for Afghans
Few peoples of the world have endured as much conflict and upheaval as the Afghans during the past 30 years. Oxfam conducted an examination of Afghanistan from the time of the Soviet invasion in 1979 to the present conflict fought between the Unit... read more
UN Arms Embargo Fails to Stop Flow of Munitions in Darfur
According to a report published by a panel of experts for the UN Security Council, the Darfur arms embargo has been blatantly violated by all parties, including Sudanese government forces, allied Janjaweed militias, rebel groups and insurgents fro... read more
China Steps Up Cyber Attacks on U.S.
Whether it’s using human spies or launching attacks in cyberspace, China is stepping up its intelligence efforts against American security. Experts from the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission told Congress this week in a report tha... read more