The way Tony Abbott was recently elected prime minister of Australia could have implications for center-right parties elsewhere. His coalition softened its image and won votes with a proposed parental leave program much more generous than that of its competition; in doing so, writes Reihan Salam, it proved that family-friendly conservatism can work: [T]he proposal, which aims to […]

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been racking up small- and medium-sized wins lately (Edward Snowden, Syria), but do these make up for the fact that his biggest ambition is falling apart? Putin’s dream of creating a Eurasian Union, transforming the rigor mortis of modern day Russia back into a Soviet-style superpower, has hit one roadblock […]

On January 8, RINs, ethanol credits available to fuel refiners looking to meet government-mandated biofuel production targets, were trading at 7 cents a credit. The price of credits spiked sharply this year, hitting $1.33 in late July before settling back down to roughly 60 cents a credit today.Here’s why: while biofuels targets have risen every […]

Zanzibar was once a tourist paradise, but sectarian violence is rapidly turning it into a no-go zone. The BBC reports that Rev. Joseph Mwagambwa, an elderly Roman Catholic priest, was attacked with acid and is now being treated at a local hospital. More: It follows a similar attack on two young British women there last month.Tensions […]

Is Germany up for grabs again after eight years of Merkel? A new group of polls suggest that it is, as Merkel’s conservative coalition has been steadily losing support in the run up to next week’s vote. As recently as last month, many observers believed Merkel would come out ahead without much trouble, but now […]

After years of claiming that it doesn’t exist, the New York Times has found evidence of voter fraud: a political machine organizing unqualified voters to swing an election in Alabama. Of course there are some twists: The turmoil began some weeks earlier. It raised the specter of the Machine, a secret society representing a league of select […]

Malaysia’s state-owned oil company Petronas is backing out of a multi-billion dollar venture to help develop Venezuela’s Orinoco Belt, one of the world’s largest heavy oil deposits. Carabobo-1 was the flagship Orinoco development project, and Petronas had an 11 percent stake in it. The FT paints the backdrop to the decision: The projects have been slow to […]

WRM’s mother is going off life support this morning. She has never wanted “heroic measures” and the family is honoring her wishes. She is with the people she loved and moving peacefully through the final stages of her life.Thanks to our readers for their thoughts and prayers. The medical team has been supportive and helpful […]

Syria continued to draw the world’s focus this week. Vladimir Putin penned an op-ed on the situation in the New York Times, Barack Obama interrupted Tuesday night primetime TV to once again make his case for action in Syria to the American people, and WRM wrote an essay looking into why the President has failed so abysmally […]

The QS World University Rankings are out for 2013, and the Anglosphere wins in style. The results are remarkable. American and British universities hold every spot in the top 10. American, British, Canadian, and Australian universities hold 34 of the top 50 spots. The Anglosphere represents 61 of the top 100.This isn’t just about the […]