WorldViews

Chinese hackers referencing PRISM to lure e-mail victims

Max Fisher — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:05:56 GMT

A cyber security professional named Brandon Dixon recently discovered an e-mail scam, apparently sent by the same group responsible for the “NetTraveler” attacks sourced to Chinese hackers, with an ingeniously newsy hook. The e-mail, which Dixon posted in full, carries … Continue reading →

Before-and-after satellite photos from Darfur show entire villages wiped off the map

Max Fisher — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:10:26 GMT

On April 8, one of Sudan’s most infamous militia leaders, a man who fights under the name of Ali Kushayb, descended on the the town of Abu Jeradil, in Darfur. He was traveling with a convoy of khaki-uniformed men, some … Continue reading →

The ultimate symbol of why Afghan peace talks will be so difficult

Max Fisher — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:19:33 GMT

Peace talks to end the war in Afghanistan have not even begun yet – they’re slated to kick off Thursday in Doha, between the United States, the Afghan government and the Taliban – and they’ve already hit three setbacks. First, … Continue reading →

On Michael Hastings

Max Fisher — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:42:47 GMT

Michael Hastings, a contributor to Rolling Stone and BuzzFeed, died on Tuesday morning in a car crash in Los Angeles at the unforgivably young age of 33. He is best known, rightly, for his 2010 Rolling Stone profile of Gen. … Continue reading →

Explaining Brazil’s protest movement with photos and tweets

Caitlin Dewey — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:44:15 GMT

Brazil is experiencing its largest protests in more than 20 years, as more than 200,000 demonstrators take to the streets of Sao Paulo, Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro and four other major cities to rally on a range of social issues. … Continue reading →

Egypt appoints member of terror group that once massacred tourists to run tourism region

Max Fisher — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:46:35 GMT

It was only 16 years ago, in 1997, that members of an Egyptian militant group called Gamaa Islamiya stormed the ancient Temple of Hatshepsut in Luxor, a tourism magnet, and massacred 62 tourists before killing themselves, part of their insurgent … Continue reading →

Amazing point-of-view video shows what it feels like in the middle of Rio’s massive protest

Max Fisher — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:37:34 GMT

Protests across Brazil, which began as a movement against rising bus fares, have since escalated into mass demonstrations challenging the rising cost of living and what is seen as the government’s emphasis on large-scale projects such as the World Cup … Continue reading →

Indian court rules that any couple who sleeps together is considered married

Max Fisher — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:17:44 GMT

NEW DELHI – It is a bit of a cliche to say that Indian society is in the throes of change these days. But it appears that the more things change, the more they remain the same. A court verdict … Continue reading →

Israeli politicians form new caucus to track the U.S. relationship

Max Fisher — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:46:02 GMT

JERUSALEM – As the United States’ position toward Israel and the Middle East continues to evolve, lawmakers in Israel have established, for the first time, a parliamentary caucus aimed at tracking their country’s relationship with the U.S. and any issues … Continue reading →

The two surprisingly small but notoriously difficult issues standing between the U.S. and Iran

Max Fisher — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:11:27 GMT

It’s only Tuesday, and already both President Obama and new Iranian President Hassan Rouhani have made comments this week hinting at their willingness to hold direct talks over the nuclear standoff that has created such antagonism between their countries. It’s … Continue reading →

Obama’s doctrine on Syria: ‘What we’re trying to do is take sides against extremists’

Max Fisher — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:48:34 GMT

President Obama offered some clues to his thinking on U.S. involvement in Syria in a Monday evening interview with Charlie Rose. He hinted that one of his major goals is to slow or prevent the rise of extremists, such as … Continue reading →

Fareed Zakaria’s case against U.S. involvement in Syria

Max Fisher — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 20:23:21 GMT

Fareed Zakaria: Stay Out Of Syria from The Dish on Vimeo. About two weeks ago, Washington Post columnist and CNN anchor Fareed Zakaria recorded a video for blogger Andrew Sullivan explaining why he believes the United States is right to … Continue reading →

Report: Kim Jong Un handing out copies of ‘Mein Kampf’ to senior North Korean officials

Max Fisher — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:41:35 GMT

Senior North Korean officials received copies of “Mein Kampf,” Adolf Hitler’s rambling prison memoir, as gifts for Kim Jong Un’s birthday this January, according to a report by New Focus International, a North Korean news organization that sources from defectors … Continue reading →

Five astonishing videos from Turkey’s protests and crackdowns

Max Fisher — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:49:24 GMT

After two weeks of demonstrations, police cleared protesters from Istanbul’s Taksim square and the surrounding area this weekend. You might have missed the intense clashes, which left a number of people injured and saw police deploying tear gas and water … Continue reading →

New poll finds Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan still popular; though support is declining

Max Fisher — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:25:46 GMT

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, after a forceful denunciation of the demonstrations in Istanbul’s Taksim Square and an even more forceful police operation to clear the protesters, is still popular with 53.5 percent public support, according to a new … Continue reading →

5 things to know about Iran’s new president, Hassan Rouhani

Max Fisher — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:54:09 GMT

Iranian officials announced Saturday that Hassan Rouhani, perhaps the most moderate candidate in the country’s six-way presidential race, had won the votes to replace President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Young Iranians filled the streets in celebration, a striking contrast with the protests … Continue reading →

Iran’s next president, in speech: ‘I will try to improve peace in the world by engagement’

Max Fisher — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 19:28:34 GMT

Hassan Rouhani, the political moderate who was announced Saturday as the winner of Iran’s presidential election, gave a victory speech in Tehran that offered an early hint of diplomatic engagement. A former nuclear negotiator who agreed to halt uranium enrichment in … Continue reading →

Video: Young Iranians fill streets in celebration of their new president, Hossan Rouhani

Max Fisher — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 18:15:10 GMT

This video, uploaded by a popular Persian-language YouTube channel and circulated by the Iran news site Tehran Bureau, purports to show young Iranians celebrating in the streets of Shiraz, a city in the country’s south. They are said to have … Continue reading →

Iran’s next president, Hassan Rouhani, seen as best hope for ending nuclear standoff with West

Max Fisher — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 18:08:29 GMT

Almost a day after polls closed, Iranian authorities have announced that the race’s leading moderate, a cleric and former nuclear negotiator named Hassan Rouhani, has won the election outright to replace Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the president of Iran. A number of … Continue reading →

Taliban fighters shrug off NSA surveillance revelations: ‘We knew’

Max Fisher — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 19:57:00 GMT

KABUL — Like the rest of the world, Taliban officials learned last week of the U.S. government’s large-scale surveillance program on citizens and foreigners, which included access to a massive amount of information gathered from online communications. Unlike many Americans, … Continue reading →

DNA tests estimate that Prince William is 0.3 to 0.8 percent Indian

Max Fisher — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 19:56:30 GMT

Over 150 years after the Queen of England began her reign over India, the “crown jewel” in a British empire that has since dissolved, a monarch of partial Indian descent is about to sit on the British throne. Prince William, … Continue reading →

Why small arms would be unlikely to help Syria’s rebels

Max Fisher — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 18:32:33 GMT

The Obama administration announced Thursday night that, after concluding that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces had used chemical weapons, it would provide direct military assistance to the rebels as a “last step.” Although it has not announced what kind of … Continue reading →

‘Everything we have now is because of Jalili and his courage’

Max Fisher — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 17:49:34 GMT

Whomever Iranians pick in today’s presidential election, and regardless of whether or not their votes are accurately counted, the winner will not be in charge of the country’s controversial nuclear program or its foreign policy. Those are controlled by Supreme … Continue reading →

How do Iran’s supreme leader and president split power? Here’s a chart explaining it.

Max Fisher — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 15:19:46 GMT

Iran is holding elections for a new president today, renewing international attention on the country’s complex political system. The contradictions within that system – it’s got a president and a supreme leader, democratic institutions and unelected religious overseers – can … Continue reading →

Japanese girl group sings about Abenomics, sets hemlines by the Nikkei

Caitlin Dewey — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 13:30:55 GMT

There are few things in the world less sexy than monetary policy, but one Japanese girl group is trying really, really hard to turn that around. The group is called Michikado Keiki Japan — “Economic Conditions on the Streets of … Continue reading →