archive

May 9, 2012 In the post-Sept. 11 world, intelligence operations are discussed much more freely. This was evident once again with the foiled bomb plot in Yemen. Despite the sensitivity of the case, the details have come out quickly.

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May 8, 2012 It may seem like oil prices are always on a one-way escalator up. But analysts say there are reasons to be optimistic about America's energy future.

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April 30, 2012 Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng is believed to be under U.S. protection in Beijing. It's not the first time China and the U.S. have faced this kind of delicate question. Something similar happened in 1989, and it took a year for the two countries to resolve it.

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April 27, 2012 European leaders keep losing their jobs amid voter anger over shrinking economies and tough austerity measures designed to weather the eurozone crisis. Will French President Nicolas Sarkozy be the next to fall?

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April 24, 2012 Less than a year after they separated, Sudan and South Sudan are once again fighting. Both countries depend on oil revenue. A full-scale war could devastate their economies and trigger a humanitarian crisis.

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April 20, 2012 Protests rocked Bahrain last year and forced the cancellation of a Formula One Grand Prix race. But the country's rulers say they will not give in to demonstrators, and this year's race, set for Sunday, will go ahead as planned.

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April 19, 2012 The oil company is the largest in Argentina, and is owned mostly by a private Spanish company. The move has raised howls of protest from Spain, and seems to harken back to an earlier era in Latin America.

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April 12, 2012 America is still dependent on foreign oil, but the sources are changing. Think Canada, Latin America and Africa. The Middle East is well down the list. What does this mean for America's foreign policy?

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April 4, 2012 Desert warriors have seized control over the northern part of Mali. Officials fear that ethnic Tuaregs in the neighboring countries of Niger and Algeria might also be tempted to rebel.

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March 29, 2012 As the Supreme Court weighs the fate of President Obama's health care law, several European countries are also debating the future of their health care systems. They include Britain and France, nations which have had universal coverage for decades, but are having to adjust to changing demographics and rising costs.

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March 23, 2012 The military coup in Mali brings back unhappy memories of a time when such overthrows were common in Africa and Latin America. The past two decades have seen stronger democratic institutions in both regions, but the Malian coup is a reminder that such gains can be reversed.

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March 21, 2012 The fast-moving case is a textbook example of how bits of information — confirmed or not — take on a life of their own in the early hours of a breaking news story.

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March 21, 2012 Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales faces a military justice system that works differently from civilian criminal law in the U.S. or in Afghanistan. It's a case that's expected to be lengthy and complicated.

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March 19, 2012 The SWIFT financial messaging system used to arrange international money transfers has denied access to Iran as part of tightening sanctions. The move has effectively cut off Iran from the formal international commerce system. There are ways around SWIFT; will they be enough?

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