Bill FrelickMarch 24, 2013 08:53

Fleeing Syria: Insights on Lebanon’s open border

Commentary: Lebanon needs financial aid to keep its refugee program from backsliding.

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A Syrian refugee child stands outside the shanty rented by her parents in a poor neighborhood of the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli on March 7, 2013. A significant number of Syrians have fled their country since deadly civil strife erupted just over two years ago, but now the focus has turned to financial aid as some of the refugee programs struggle to deal with the growing number of those displaced by the conflict. (Joseph Eid/AFP/Getty Images)

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WASHINGTON — Human rights advocates generally criticize governments for falling short and feel no need to credit them for acting the way they are supposed to. Having just returned from Lebanon, however, and seen its response to the Syrian refugee crisis, I will jettison my usual reticence.

Car bomb kills at least 10 people near Mogadishu's presidential palace

Daniel DeFraiaMarch 18, 2013 08:54

"The suicide car bomber targeted a senior national security officer whose car was passing near the theater," said senior police officer Abdiqadir Mohamud.

Somalia offers $50,000 reward for information on journalist killers

Jill LangloisFebruary 18, 2013 10:40

At least 18 journalists were killed in Somalia last year, which is double the country's worst year on record and second only to Syria.

Somalia woman charged after alleging rape by security forces

Jill LangloisJanuary 30, 2013 20:22

The woman, who has not been named, has been charged with making a false accusation and having "insulted and lowered the dignity of a National Institution."

Tom FentonJanuary 31, 2013 07:14

Obama’s cautious foreign policy has proved right so far

Commentary: Events, not intentions, will shape his record in the second term.

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US President Barack Obama waves to supporters after his victory speech at McCormick Place on election night Nov. 6, 2012, in Chicago, Ill. The president was sworn in for his second term in office on Jan. 21, 2013, at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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President Obama’s first term failed to live up to the expectations of the left wing of his party, which hoped for a more radical change in domestic policy. His second term is likely to disappoint another important constituency — the media and foreign policy elites in Washington, D.C.

Somali prime minister survives suicide bomb attack

Jill LangloisJanuary 29, 2013 20:53

"The prime minister is safe and unharmed, but five security guards" may have been killed in the explosion today, lawmaker Abdullahi Omar Abdshir said.

Africa's local militants embrace Al Qaeda ideology

Heather MurdockJanuary 25, 2013 07:00

ABUJA, Nigeria — Most of Africa’s terror groups are homegrown, inspired by corrupt and ineffective governments, incessant poverty and meddling by international governments and corporations. In recent years, however, foreign extremists have arrived in greater numbers, bringing with them expertise and weapons. And now, many of Africa’s localized militant organizations are embracing Al Qaeda-style, cross-border ambitions.

Stefan SimanowitzJanuary 24, 2013 07:19

Sound reasons to fight Al Qaeda in Mali

Commentary: International action could forestall a protracted war.

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A Malian man reads a newspaper reading ''Long live France!'' as he waits to donate blood, on Jan. 14, 2013, in Bamako, Mali. France is in the middle of a military campaign in Mali to drive back advancing Islamist rebels. (Issouf Sanogo/AFP/Getty Images)

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A decade after the occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq, public anxiety around British involvement in a potentially protracted military intervention against an ill-defined enemy, in difficult terrain, is understandable.

Somalia government recognized by US after 2 decades

Alexander BesantJanuary 17, 2013 19:08

The United States has formally recognized the Somali government for the first time in two decades.

5 recent hostage rescues that ended in tragedy

Samantha StainburnJanuary 17, 2013 15:44

Reports about possible fatalities in the hostage crisis at a BP gas field in Algeria serve as a grim reminder that hostage rescues often end in tragedy.