Need to know:
Israel launched retaliatory air strikes on the Gaza Strip Thursday hours after its top soldier warned troops to be prepared for possible "wider action" on the volatile border. The air strikes were launched overnight after a mortar fired by Gaza militants wounded an Israeli man at a farm.
Violent protests, ignited by preliminary presidential election results, have shut down Haiti and threatened the country's fragile stability.
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Want to know:
The good news is that U.S. forces are still more popular in Afghanistan than Osama bin Laden. Six percent of Afghans surveyed in a new poll expressed a "very favorable" opinion of American troops, versus just 2 percent for the fugitive Al Qaeda leader. The bad news for U.S. forces is that they have all but lost the battle for hearts and minds - 55 percent of Afghans want U.S. forces out of their country, stat.
Frustration with drug mafias and the breakdown of the legal system in Mexico is giving way to a wave of vigilante justice.
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Dull but important:
Another new poll by Transparency International suggests, the world in general is more corrupt than it used to be.
Chinese officials finally met with North Korea, following criticism from the U.S. that they weren't doing anything to rein in their rogue ally. Reports say they reached a "consensus" in Pyongyang, and speculation is that the North agreed not inflame tensions any further.
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Just because:
WikiLeaks reveals rock 'n' roll Saudi-style. "Behind the facade of Wahabi conservatism in the streets, the underground nightlife for Jeddah's elite youth is thriving and throbbing," one diplomatic cable begins.
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Wacky:
When "Borat" hit the theaters in 2006, it wasn't exactly good PR for Kazahstan. Sacha Baron Cohen, playing a spoof Kazakh TV reporter, described the pastimes in his homeland as "disco dancing, archery, rape and table tennis." Now, with an unofficial Borat sequel called "My Brother Borat," a leading Kazakh film director gets revenge. To give you a taste: At a press conference in Britain this weekend, director Erkin Rakishev plans to bring an effigy of Cohen - and beat it with his shoe.
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| GlobalPost invites: On Thursday Dec. 9 at noon, GlobalPost will host a free web-chat with Jason Rezaian in Tehran. He'll answer questions about the increasingly tense situation in Iran - the WikiLeaks allegations, the bomb targeting nuclear scientists, and the shadowy Stuxnet virus.
The chat is open to the first 100 respondents. If you'd like to join us, please email passport@globalpost.com for instructions. |
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