It is one of the great tragedies of Egypt’s revolution that every step “forward” has seemingly been accompanied by a brutal ordeal for the women of that country. More than a year after the toppling of Mubarak, the women of Tahrir Square occupy a radically different, and more degraded, place than they did last February. The […]

A new report in the Wall Street Journal details how delinquency on student loan debt is actually highest among the middle-aged, defined roughly as adults between 40 and 60. Delinquencies for those in their 40s stands at an alarming 11.9 percent. Meanwhile, over the past seven years debt rates for those in their 50s and […]

Despite the best efforts of technocratic Prime Minister Mario Monti to reform his country’s sclerotic economic system, Italy remains an awful place for the young to find work. The labor reform passed in the spring has been hailed as a major step forward, but as the FT points out, its focus was nearly entirely on […]

An apparent suicide bombing in Damascus has killed Syria’s defense minister, as well as Bashar al-Assad’s brother-in-law. The NY Times reports: The casualties were from the core team trying to enforce a security solution to the uprising in Syria, and in such a tense, suspicious climate, it was not clear who President Assad might find to […]

As Scranton teetered on the brink of bankruptcy, its mayor Chris Doherty made news earlier this month by paying city workers minimum wage rather than their full salaries, citing empty coffers. Scranton’s police, fire, and public workers unions are now asking a court to hold the mayor in contempt for defying a court order to […]

The largest pension fund in the U.S., the California Public Employees Retirement System, also known as Calpers, returned a measly 1 percent on its investments last year. This marks the third time in five years that the pension fund has failed to reach the benchmark 7.5 percent it needs to fulfill pension obligations. The statement by Calpers’s […]

When Raul Castro began assuming power from Fidel in 2008, there were hopes he would open up the Cuban economy. The Obama administration relaxed some restrictions on travel and remittances in 2009. In late 2010, the Cuban government allowed citizens to open private businesses. Cell phone use on the island increased. And this past April, the […]

Commentators may disagree over whether religious liberty is under siege in America today (we recommend Peter Berger on this subject), but we can all agree—from Via Meadia to The New Republic—that religious intolerance and persecution are rife in the Middle East. The outlook is bleak whether you are a Jew in Yemen, a Christian in […]

With the addition of three Republican senators, including VP hopefuls Rob Portman and Kelly Ayotte, opponents of the Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST) now have enough support to block its ratification. Foes of the treaty fear it will force America to cede sovereignty to the UN and would prefer to negotiate maritime disputes through […]

Check out the first installment of WRM’s interview with the Interpreter, the blog at Australia’s Lowy Institute for International Policy. It’s a multi-part interview, so there will be more to come over the next few days.As we’ve noted before on this site, a greater American foreign policy focus on Asia makes Australia a more important partner […]