Critical Analysis: UN Peacekeepers Under Attack in Darfur

A United Nations peacekeeper serving in Sudan’s besieged Darfur region was killed, and another injured, in an attack on Sunday. The Bangladeshi peacekeeper, who was a member of Bangladesh’s Formed Police Unit, was fatally shot when an unidentified gang surrounded and fired at the staff in Nyala, the state capital of South Darfur, at the … Read more

Critical Analysis: Blackwater to Pay $7.5 Million Fine for Violations

Academi LLC, the private security contractor formerly known as Blackwater, has agreed to pay a $7.5M fine as part of a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. government, according to an FBI press release.  The company, which has earned billions of dollars in government security contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan, will pay the fine along … Read more

Critical Analysis: Mexico City In Crisis: The Western Hemisphere’s Largest City Can’t Quench Its Thirst

A recent hiccup in Mexico City’s water quality has sparked new debate around the metropolis’ water system. In the last few weeks, Mexico City residents have been complaining about their tap water. Inhabitants have noticed an extraordinarily strange taste and smell of their water, but the country’s National Water Commission (CONAGUA) assures the public that … Read more

Critical Analysis: Drone Strikes in Pakistan Surge in the Summer

Though the news media is seemingly all eyes on the Olympics this week, drones have been making magazine covers and headlines as attacks on militants in Pakistan have escalated during the summer and days before a visit to Washington by Pakistan’s intelligence chief. Drones, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), are what their proper … Read more

Critical Analysis: North Korea Recognizes its First Lady

In North Korean media, a mysterious woman has been showing up alongside Kim Jong-un.  This woman was seen attending an important gala concert, followed by a kindergarten, and most recently at the inauguration of an amusement park.  However, at this most recent event, North Korean media reported that this woman, now identified as Ri Sol-ju, … Read more

Critical Analysis: “Radical Reforms” Likely in the Wake of LIBOR Scandal

In the wake of the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) scandal that cost Barclays Bank 290 million pounds ($455m) in fines and the bank’s CEO and chairman their jobs, world financial leaders are calling for reforms to the interest rate system that affects $800 trillion worth of financial instruments.  Sir Mervyn King, governor of the … Read more

Protected Witness in Mladic Trial Recalls His Survival of a Mass Execution During the Srebrenica Genocide

This is a summary of the Prosecution’s cross examination of witness RM255 on July 19, 2012 in the war crimes case against General Ratko Mladic. Bosnian Serb ex-army chief Ratko Mladic oversaw the Serb army “obliterating everyone like a fire,” a protected witness said Thursday. Separated by Serb soldiers from his family while trying to … Read more

Critical Analysis: U.S. Naval Ship Fires on Indian Pleasure Boat

A U.S. Navy supply ship fired at a small boat in the Persian Gulf on Monday, injuring three people and killing one. United Arab Emirates officials reported that the casualties were Indians on a small, white pleasure craft. Before the incident, which some are calling a reflection of rising tensions in the region, the small … Read more

Hands Off My Patagonia: Chile Leverages its Most Precious Biogem as it Struggles to Satisfy a Growing Need for National Energy

The future of Chile’s Patagonia continues to be a source of steep controversy as a large-scale dam project looms. HidroAysén is the name of the $3.2 billion hydroelectric dam project that appears to be slowly moving forward in the Aysén region of the South American country. If HidroAysén is executed according to current plans, it … Read more