Viewpoint: The Case Against Omar al Bashir

Friday is a defining moment in the history of justice. The members of the United Nations Security Council will be presented with the results of the International Criminal Court’s Darfur investigation — an investigation that they requested. Their response will determine whether there is going to be an international standard of justice that holds perpetrators accountable for the worst crimes in the world

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China’s youth post-Tiananmen: Apathy a fact or front?

They’re known as the "post 1980s" kids or the "Tiananmen-plus-20" generation: 200 million-strong, Web-savvy, pop-culture-conscious and decidedly apolitical. As the world observes the 20th anniversary of the bloody crackdown on Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on Wednesday, pro-democracy advocates abroad lament how little Chinese youth today know or care about the student-led movement that ended with the deaths of hundreds when tanks rumbled through the capital’s streets and troops opened fire. But what is lost in the generalization is whether today’s political apathy is a fact or a front

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Iraqi Kurds begin exporting oil

In an elaborately choreographed ceremony broadcast live on television, the leaders of Iraqi Kurdistan began pumping oil from Kurdish-controlled oil fields in northern Iraq through a pipeline to neighboring Turkey. It is the first time Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region has officially exported oil out of the country

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North Korea’s Next Kim: Dad’s Favorite, Kim Jong Un

In his memoir recounting the days he spent as Kim Jong Il’s personal chef in Pyongyang, Kenji Fujimoto calls Kim Jong Un, the third son of the North Korea dictator, the “Prince.” “When Jong Un shook hands with me,” Fujimoto writes, “he stared at me with a vicious look.

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Red Cross ‘gravely concerned’ about conditions in Swat Valley

No running water, no electricity, no fuel and little food. International Red Cross officials are “gravely concerned” about the stark situation in Pakistan’s Swat Valley, where a monthlong offensive against the Taliban has displaced more than 2 million civilians.

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In Susan Boyle’s hometown, heartbreak and hope

Streamers still line the streets of Susan Boyle’s hometown, where the international singing sensation’s second-place finish in "Britain’s Got Talent" left those who know her best feeling crushed — but also hopeful. “I am disappointed for Susan,” said one of about 200 residents of the small town who turned out for a viewing party at a community center Saturday night

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Kidding Ourselves About an Asian Recovery

The spin game is on as the world tries to talk itself out of the worst recession since the end of World War II. The good news is that there is a slowing in the rate of deterioration in the global economy. The tougher news is that this is hardly surprising.

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Oil Prices: It Gets Worse

Oil prices hit a record high of $97 a barrel on Tuesday, but the next generation of consumers could look back on that price with envy. The dire predictions of a key report on international oil supplies released Wednesday suggest that oil prices could move irreversibly over the $100-a-barrel threshold in the not too distant future, as the global economy faces a serious energy shortage

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