Two periodicals that I read regularly have just published special anniversary issues. National Catholic Reporter has come out with a special issue to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council. Der Spiegel, the German news magazine, has a special issue devoted to another fiftieth anniversary, that one of a series […]

This week Indian authorities confirmed that Saudi Arabia has again extradited a member of an Indian militant group to India. This is the third extradition this year in the fledgling friendship between Saudi Arabia and India, provoked by Saudi preoccupation with the activities of its traditional ally, Pakistan. The WSJ reports on Saudi Arabia’s shift towards its friend’s […]

As the conflict in Syria drags on, religious minorities in Damascus are increasingly arming themselves and forming neighborhood defense groups for protection against the rebels. The Washington Post has more: “Because there is no army here, we are keeping the place safe,” said Abu Nasif, leader of a community defense group stationed on a street corner […]

Hundreds of homes were burned to the ground and three people were killed as ethnic tension once again boiled over to violence in Burma’s Rakhine state. Al Jazeera has the story: At least three people have been killed in clashes between Muslim Rohingya and Buddhists in western Myanmar, authorities say.The unrest in Rakhine state also left hundreds […]

You could probably make a pretty good case that Illinois is ground zero of the collapse of the blue model, which is probably why Democratic Governor Pat Quinn has been looking to cut costs anywhere he can. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done, Quinn has found, largely due to opposition from Democratic lawmakers and […]

Reuters: Iraqi Kurdistan has begun selling its oil into international markets in independent export deals that further challenge Baghdad’s claim to full control over Iraqi oil after first signing independent exploration deals with foreign oil majors last year.The move is likely to enrage the government, which is still locked in a battle with ExxonMobil over its independent deal with […]

Given tight budgets and failing performance of public schools, it isn’t hard to see why education has been a hot topic over the past few years. Now the Wall Street Journal reports that it may soon get even hotter. Five states—Arizona, Missouri, South Dakota, California and Oregon—are currently debating ballot initiatives to raise taxes to pay for […]

Following the funeral for Lebanon’s assassinated security chief, various Lebanese political factions and militias have been fighting each other on the streets of Beirut and Tripoli. The fighters are divided on roughly the same lines as in Syria’s civil war: supporters and opponents of Butcher Assad.The FT reports: The Lebanese army vowed to take “decisive […]

In the wake of yesterday’s foreign policy debate, former President Jimmy Carter is in the news today blasting President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu: “I don’t think there’s any doubt that Netanyahu has decided the one-state option is the one he’s going to pursue,” Mr. Carter said, despite Mr. Netanyahu’s professed commitment to two states, […]

Could we be witnessing the end of the “Made in China” era? According to an astute trade official in China’s Ministry of Commerce, the answer may well be yes. In an interview with the China Daily, this official explained that cheap goods are increasingly made in Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia rather than China, which is beginning to transition toward […]