Syria could be next in the Arab Spring, but judging from life in Damascus, you wouldn’t guess it. The NYT explains: DAMASCUS, Syria — As protests broke out across a restive Syria on a recent Sunday, and crowds were dispersed yet again by gunfire that left many dead, the conversation in the capital dwelled not […]

Bill Keller, executive editor of The New York Times, is no longer content to preside over what many still regard as the world’s greatest newspaper. (I don’t, but I read it every day, not because of its pervasive liberal bias, but because it continues to offer the best international coverage of any American newspaper.)  Keller […]

Those who truly loathe and despise the environmental movement will enjoy this New York Times account of green activists squirming in impotent fury over President Obama’s latest “betrayal,” last week’s decision to stiff environmentalists over promised plans to tighten nationwide ozone emissions standards. The question for environmentalists became, what to do next? ‘There is shock and […]

Quite possibly not — in which case Europe as we know it could be lost.  The FT reports: If Italy becomes infected…the Eurozone has neither the financial nor the political resources to go to Rome’s rescue. Italy must inoculate itself against the sovereign debt virus. Yet an incompetent political system has left it paralyzed in […]

A story in today’s FT highlights the concern felt by India’s national security leadership at what they perceive is a widening gap between the military capabilities of China and India. Indian commanders say the government’s reluctance to take decisions is severely hampering their ability to guard against a “collusive threat” from two nuclear armed neighbours […]

More sad news in Nigeria as sectarian violence intensifies in Jos, a city that has suffered recurring cycles of murderous attacks and retribution between Christians and Muslims.The FT reports that this week has seen 50 deaths and counting in the latest round of tit-for-tat violence. In this case, it looks like Christians sparked the cycle, […]

Against a backdrop of political meltdown and spiraling violence in its most populous city, Pakistan now has to deal with this year’s monsoon floods. The News reports that 300,000 people have been affected by flooding. According to an estimate, hundreds of thousands of acres of standing crops have been devastated in flash-floods across the country and […]

In the midst of criticism aimed at Angela Merkel for her apparent unwillingness to put Germany’s full economic weight behind euro rescue, the FT’s Gideon Rachman makes some important points in support of her cautious approach: First, the chancellor’s critics often fail to acknowledge the real political and legal constraints that she is operating under. […]

Here at Via Meadia and TAI, we’ve been watching as the US postal system struggles to keep its head above water. After announcing last month that thousands of post offices would be closed in an effort to save money, the USPS will warn Congress today that things are even worse than expected. From the Washington […]

In a predictable but disheartening development in the Libyan revolution, revenge attacks by rebel forces are sweeping the country. One main target appears to be migrant workers from Sub-Saharan Africa. The NYT has the story: …rebels were turning their wrath against migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, imprisoning hundreds for the crime of fighting as “mercenaries” for […]