The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) from 2002 to 2003 left a profound mark on East Asia, and nowhere more than China, where the disease affected thousands of people and killed hundreds. Many Chinese recall how empty the streets were in those dreadful months, as hundreds of millions of people stayed home to avoid exposure to the killer virus.
How do you solve a problem like Pyongyang?
“Sometimes, I think the only reason Saudi Arabia exists is to make us look good in comparison.”
Of the two things Saudi Arabia did on Jan. 2 to make the world a more dangerous place, one has caught all the attention: the execution of the dissident Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr. That led to the fire-bombing of the Saudi embassy in Tehran, and Riyadh’s retaliatory decision to break off diplomatic ties.
Who’s to blame for the fire-bombing of the Saudi Arabian embassy in Tehran? The first reports suggested it was a spontaneous expression of public outrage at the execution of the Shia cleric and dissident Nimr al-Nimr.
Let’s get this straight: I’m a gourmand, not a gourmet. I love all food. When I’m able, I’ll indulge in a little fine dining, but any victuals that taste good are good enough for me.
Teheran, Iran
Tehran, Iran
Tehran, Iran
Isfahan, Iran
Qom, Iran
Tehran, Iran
“We care about all people equally, and we will work hard to help people suffering in as many of these situations as we can.”—Mark Zuckerberg.
Once again, terror has been let slip among us. And once again, it arouses the familiar, foul taste in the back of our mouths, a rancid mix of horror, helplessness, and hate. The first two, we will overcome, and quickly—not because we’ve had so much experience with them (though we have), and not because it is the “new normal,” (because it isn’t)—because our society is redoubtable and resilient.
The obituaries for Ahmad Chalabi have, inevitably, focused on his role in persuading US president George W. Bush to go to war with Iraq, and his contribution to the fabrication of evidence that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. There is no doubt that he helped make the case for the most disastrous war in Iraqi history.
This week’s revelation by FBI director James Comey that fewer Americans are now traveling abroad to join terror group ISIL will give US security agencies some quiet satisfaction, but it will not greatly trouble the bloody organization overrunning swathes of Iraq and Syria.
Hands are wringing all across Europe as the flood of refugees from war-ravaged Syria shows no sign of abating. In country after country, immigration policies—as well as infrastructure—have come under scrutiny, and been found wanting. In just the latest outrage, some European leaders have suggested they’d be willing to take Christian refugees, but not Muslims. The criticism directed at governments that are unable or unwilling to do more to help these desperate people is warranted, and should be kept up.
After the bomb blast, the sky rained dried fruit, nuts, and candy.
Somebody had to go first—why not the Swiss?
As the details of the nuclear deal with Iran are parsed, you will hear variations of this phrase: “There are no losers, it’s win-win for all.” That’s the sort of thing you hear from winners trying to soften the blow for losers—and from losers pretending they haven’t lost.
As the negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 stall in the home stretch, foreign minister Jawad Zarif found the time to write a column for the Financial Times (paywall), arguing this is the moment to display “the audacity to to shatter old habits.”
Something fascinating just came over the transom from Tehran: In an interview to the state-owned news service IRNA, president Hassan Rouhani threatened that “if the other side breaches the deal, we will go back to the old path, stronger than what they can imagine.”
