Obama’s Tall Order: A Democratic Mideast That Shares U.S. Priorities

President Obama has reportedly told White House aides that he wants a “new Middle East policy” — one that urges beleaguered allies threatened by popular rebellions to “enact reforms that would satisfy the popular craving for change while preserving valuable partnerships on crucial U.S. interests, from soil security to counter-terrorism and containing Iran.” But there’s [...]

Gaddafi’s Ministry of Silly Outfits: a TIME Gallery

We mentioned in an earlier post that, yes, it has become a little cliche to gawk at Muammar Gaddafi’s sartorial decision-making. Unlike other publications, we even deliberately refrained from publishing our amassed photos of the now-isolated Libyan dictator’s wardrobe while security forces in his employ gunned down ordinary Libyans. But as Gaddafi continues to lose [...]

With Friends Like the Gaddafis…

It seems only yesterday (actually it was last November) that students from the London School of Economics and Political Science, an institution of such international renown that like the BBC it usually goes by a three-letter acronym, led protests about changes to the funding of higher education in Britain. Once again, LSE students are revolting, [...]

The Craziest Guy in the Room: A Portrait of Gaddafi

Three inches from one of the most notorious dictators in history, the photographer Platon focused tightly on the black eyes glaring at him through his lens. “There was nothing in them,” he said. “It’s like his soul had been scooped out of his head and taken away.” The result, a dark and menacing portrait of [...]

Global Briefing, Feb. 28, 2011: Ten Stories to Start Your Day

Not in Bloom — TIME’s Austin Ramzy chronicles the ‘sad farce’ of China’s would-be Jasmine revolution. The Palin Doctrine — Foreign Affairs asks what Tea Party populism means for American foreign policy. The Right’s Might —  A flagging Europe is at risk of a fascist renaissance, warns Ian Kershaw in the National Interest. Social Medium [...]

Sarkozy’s Cabinet Shuffle: Will Anything Change?

Though hastily organized in appearance, the cabinet shuffle announced by French President Nicolas Sarkozy Sunday night was in fact designed to do something that had long become inevitable: dump scandal-plagued Foreign Affairs Minister Michèle Alliot-Marie. But while Sarkozy justified the shake-up as necessary to get France’s sidelined diplomacy back in the foreign affairs game—especially in [...]

Grameen Bank Founder’s Fate in the Balance

The board of the Grameen Bank is meeting today in Dhaka to decide the future of its founder, Muhammad Yunus. Revered as one of the founders of microfinance, Yunus won a Nobel Prize in 2006 for his work in bringing credit to the world’s poor, beginning in his home country of Bangladesh. He is now [...]

In China’s “Jasmine” Crackdown, Image Matters

After the paranoid and sometimes violent response to yesterday’s thwarted “jasmine rallies,” a question hangs in the air: why would a government that seems so strong react with such fear? After all, few think that China will experience its own Middle Eastern-style “jasmine revolution.” The story from yesterday’s protest sites, at least until cops started [...]

India’s Cricket World Cup Ticket Woes

The closely watched cricket World Cup matchup between India and England ended in a draw yesterday — the English batsmen, led by a dominant Andrew Strauss, almost got the better of the lackluster Indian bowlers — but I couldn’t keep my eyes off the stands. I wanted to know, who were those lucky people who [...]

China’s ‘Jasmine’ Crackdown, Animated Edition

Taiwan’s Next Media Animation has a satirical take on China’s heavy-handed response to calls for anti-government protests. Keep an eye out for the panda goons, who you may recognize from their previous roles in ‘Hu Jintao Goes to Washington‘ and ‘Tiger Moms.’