Peril or Promise in North Korea?
By Javier Solana MADRID: Two days after Kim Jong-il, North Korea’s leader, died in a train in his country, South Korean authorities still knew nothing about it. Meanwhile, American officials seemed…
Europe is not the United States
By Martin Feldstein CAMBRIDGE: Europe is now struggling with the inevitable adverse consequences of imposing a single currency on a very heterogeneous collection of countries. But the budget crisis in Greece…
Macedonia’s man of peace
By Christopher Hill DENVER: Angelina Jolie’s new film, “In the Land of Blood and Honey,” is about the ethnic tensions that produced the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War II.…
Music icon Youssou Ndour shakes up Senegal presidential race
World-renowned singer Youssou Ndour stirred up the battle for Senegal's presidency Tuesday by announcing he plans to take on veteran incumbent Abdoulaye Wade in February elections. Revered in his home…
Hockney takes a swipe at Hirst over work ethic
By AFP British painter David Hockney has criticized controversial fellow artist Damien Hirst for employing other people to help create his works of art, saying it was "insulting". A poster…
Louvre cements spot as world’s most-visited museum
The Louvre cemented its position as the world's most-visited museum with a record 8.8 million visitors last year to the Paris home of Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa and other…
Debate over who needs a thyroid check in pregnancy
Check-ups during pregnancy tend to focus around the waist. But there's growing debate about which mothers-to-be should have a gland in their neck tested, too. Numerous studies since 1999 have…
Like its protagonists, ‘Kaf El-Amar’ loses its way
By Myriam Ghattas Khaled Youssef's "Kaf El Amar" (The Moon's Palm; 2011) tells the story of a widowed mother, Amar, played by the actress Wafaa Amer, and of her five sons…
US blames Egypt NGO crackdown on ‘Mubarak holdovers’
WASHINGTON: The United States stepped up its criticism of Egypt's raids on pro-democracy groups on Tuesday, saying the crackdown was "unacceptable" and driven by remnants of former President Hosni Mubarak's…
Leading in vote, Islamists reach out to rivals
CAIRO: The Islamist Muslim Brotherhood was edging towards a dominant role in Egypt's first free parliament in decades on Wednesday, but said it would not impose its will over a…