Last week, thousands of parents, students, and teachers rallied in cities across the country for National School Choice Week. Discussing the event, columnist Richard Garnett writes, It is not only wrongheaded, but also morally wrong, for our communities and governments to pretend that public education—that is, the education of the public—only happens in government-run schools, […]

India’s frail infrastructure is taking a toll on its economy as farming, mining and manufacturing have sputtered, driving growth forecasts down to their lowest level in 10 years. India’s GDP is expected to grow only 5 percent this fiscal year, well below earlier government projections. The FT reports: “The number is astonishingly low,” said Naina […]

When Obama took to the stump for health care reform, one promise came through loud and clear: “If you like your insurance, you can keep it.” That promise is officially about to be broken, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Millions of employees will soon be dropped from health insurance coverage as new provisions of […]

Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, rebuffed an offer from Washington for direct talks today, saying “Negotiations with the US will not solve a problem because they have not fulfilled any of their promises in the last 60 years.”This is not the first time Iran has refused to talk directly to the U.S. Khamenei […]

Rwanda isn’t a country we typically associate with good news, but that’s exactly what we have here: The country doing extremely well on several metrics these days, particularly public health. The article, published by famous public health doctor Paul Farmer in the British Medical Journal, details the country’s vast accomplishments since the 1994 genocide. The […]

Another BRIC capital city, another air quality disaster. Move over, Beijing haze. There’s a new deadly, disgusting cloud of smog smothering a different town. New Delhi is the latest Asian mega-city to make the news for its outrageous air pollution. Delhi authorities tried to clear the skies. Metro lines were built, factories were moved out of the […]

Rebel forces attacked Damascus this morning, clashing with Assad’s forces in the east of the city. A show of strength against a teetering regime? Perhaps not. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the latest rebel move is probably an attempt by hard-line elements within the splintered opposition to snuff out last week’s effort by […]

The war of words and water cannons in the East China Sea took a dramatic turn this week when news broke that a Chinese military vessel locked its fire control radar on a Japanese ship and helicopter. Prominent Japanese officials blasted the move as an unprovoked escalation, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe saying “it was a […]

The economic news in Egypt is getting worse. The country’s foreign currency reserves fell by 10 percent last month, according to the BBC: The [Egyptian Central Bank] said reserves fell by $1.4bn during the month from $15bn to $13.6bn amid continued political unrest and violent street protests. […]The central bank gave no reason for the fall […]

Texas Governor Rick Perry has taken the fight for new jobs straight to California’s airwaves. The Lone Star governor is out with a 30-second advertisement on radio channels across California’s major media markets: “Building a business is tough,” says the governor in his Texas twang, “but I hear building a business in California is next […]