Opinion | GlobalPost

Opinion: Lessons of the UK election (so far)

Michael GoldfarbMay 11, 2010 09:19Updated May 30, 2010 13:33

Update: Gordon Brown is no longer British Prime Minister. Per custom he went to Buckingham Palace at around 7:25 p.m. local time to tender his resignation to Queen Elizabeth II. Approximately an hour later, she summoned David Cameron, leader of the Conservative Party, and asked him to form a government. Cameron is expected to form a coalition government with the Liberal Democrat party. Details will become clear overnight. Brown has also resigned as leader of the Labour Party marking his departure from front line politics.

3 smart takes on the World Cup

Mark StarrMay 11, 2010 06:40Updated May 30, 2010 13:33

BOSTON — The World Cup is now just one month away. And a swift month later we will all be making judgments on South Africa 2010 based on a variety of factors: the host country’s ability to provide a festive, efficient and trouble-free backdrop; the quality and aesthetics of the soccer on the field; how our own favorite teams fare; and whether those vuvuzela horns can be muted so that they don’t exact such a painful toll on our ears.

Opinion: How to approach North Korea

Daniel A. PinkstonMay 12, 2010 07:59Updated May 30, 2010 13:32

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea may soon release the findings of an investigation into the sinking of the ROKS Ch’onan, a 1,200-tonne coastal patrol ship, which on March 26 was blown in half by an external explosion. Many people have already blamed North Korea for the attack that killed 46 people near the disputed inter-Korean maritime boundary. They are probably right.

Opinion: A new "New Europe" is emerging

Michael Moran May 10, 2010 11:04Updated May 30, 2010 13:32

NEW YORK — As leaders of European Union states erected a wall of euros to defend the common currency from the Greek debt crisis on Sunday, the head of the EU’s most important economy decided she would go to Moscow instead. While investors continued to punish Greece for its profilacy, Angela Merkel, the conservative German chancellor, accepted Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's invitation to the 65th anniversary of the end of World War II.

Opinion: USAID needs more autonomy

Nancy Birdsall and Sarah Jane StaatsMay 10, 2010 09:22Updated May 30, 2010 13:32

WASHINGTON — In insider Washington there is a battle going on over who will control U.S. global development strategy. The gossip is that it is a White House-State Department fight compounded by a low-level struggle inside State between the secretary’s staff and the old development guard at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Opinion: What motivates a terrorist?

HDS GreenwayMay 9, 2010 10:34Updated May 30, 2010 13:32

BOSTON — The American reaction to Faisal Shahzad’s failed attempt at a car bombing in Times Square was: Pakistan again? Why do so many of terrorism’s hydra-heads originate in Pakistan? Pakistan answered that Shahzad had, after all, spent decades in America and had become an American citizen. So was he radicalized solely in Waziristan’s training camps? Or were the seeds of his radicalization planted here in the United States?

Opinion: Obama right to press Kenya to reform

Stephanie HansonMay 10, 2010 06:57Updated May 30, 2010 13:32

BUNGOMA, Kenya — Not much has changed politically in Kenya since the violent clashes that erupted after the December 2007 presidential election and the power-sharing agreement that ended them in February 2008. Most of the reforms the power-sharing government agreed to implement have yet to materialize. The two factions appear more interested in fighting over who should run things than in getting things done.

Essay: A mother lands in the US

Julia Kumari DrapkinMay 9, 2010 09:40Updated May 30, 2010 13:32

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — The night before I moved to Argentina, my mother had a party. The party wasn't for me, but it ended up being a great chance to talk to her. Not about dad, my sister, the house or the dog. But for once, about her. She told me the story about how she first moved to the United States.

Analysis: Hope for mothers around the world

Randi Hutter EpsteinMay 8, 2010 11:30Updated May 30, 2010 13:32

NEW YORK — A trifecta of studies examining the death rates of young children and new mothers offers a glimmer of hope among dismal statistics. The bad news, which isn’t really news at all to anyone who has opened a newspaper in the past decade, is that some 300,000 women die every year because they do not have any care whatsoever during pregnancy and childbirth. The good news — which really is newsworthy — is that we seem to be making headway in some places.

Opinion: How can Iran oversee women's rights?

Daniel S. MariaschinMay 7, 2010 08:32Updated May 30, 2010 13:32

WASHINGTON — If you thought Iran's withdrawal of its bid for a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council was a step in the right direction, think again. There are no circumstances under which it makes sense for Iran to sit on any human rights committee. For it to sit on the UNHRC, would have been the ultimate manifestation of wolves guarding the sheep. Apparently, and thankfully, enough members of the U.N. General Assembly agreed, and Iran withdrew its candidacy.