Mar 11 Thousands Displaced as Violence Escalates in Ivory Coast By Saskia de Melker In Ivory Coast, hundreds of thousands of refugees have fled their homes or escaped to neighboring countries as post-election fighting in the West African nation threatens to escalate into civil war, some regional specialists warn. Violence erupted after elections… Continue reading
Mar 11 Afghan Civilian Casualties Database Appears in Unexpected Place: Science We close this week with an unusual collaboration in the world of science. In January, 2011, the military released an entire database of civilian casualties to the journal, Science -- a first for a science magazine. The data… Continue reading
Mar 11 Japan ‘the Most Prepared Place in the World’ for a Tsunami By Lea Winerman For many viewers, the photos and video from Japan Friday brought back images of the 2004 tsunami disaster in Indonesia -- debris-clogged water flooding streets, sweeping away houses and leaving destruction behind. The earthquake and the resulting tsunami in… Continue reading
Mar 11 Japan’s Earthquake and Tsunami: How They Happened By Jenny Marder The 8.9-magnitude earthquake that struck coastal Japan on Friday, devastating large swaths of the coast and spawning a powerful tsunami, was caused by the Pacific tectonic plate thrusting underneath the country, and forcing the seabed and ocean water upward. Continue reading
Mar 11 In News Conference, Obama Addresses Disaster in Japan, Oil Prices, Libya By News Desk In a news conference Friday afternoon, President Obama called the earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan a "catastrophic disaster," adding that images of the aftermath have been "heartbreaking." The president said he spoke with Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan early… Continue reading
Mar 11 Rebels Hold Out in Areas Around Ras Lanouf, Gadhafi Forces Celebrate in Zawiya A Libyan rebel fighter smiles while changing his gun magazine as smoke raises from a bomb dropped by a Libyan jet fighter on the outskirt of the eastern oil port town of Ras Lanouf on March 11, 2011. (Gianluigi… Continue reading
Mar 10 Watch Rep. Granger: Scope of Foreign Aid Misunderstood, But Budget Cuts Needed Rep. Granger: Cuts to Foreign Aid Painful But Necessary… Continue watching
Mar 10 Watch News Wrap: Pro-Gadhafi Forces Claim to Recapture Key Oil Port In other news Thursday, forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi claimed to have recaptured the key oil port of Ras Lanouf, which rebels seized a week ago. Gadhafi's forces attacked the port with tanks and warplanes. Meanwhile in Brussels,… Continue watching
Mar 10 Foreign Aid Facing Proposed Cuts and a Public Perception Problem Calls for belt tightening and budget slashing abound on Capitol Hill as members of Congress debate not one but two contentious spending measures -- government spending for the remainder of financial year 2011 and the president's budget proposal for 2012. Continue reading
Mar 10 In Egypt, Excitement Dampened by Continued Violence By Larisa Epatko Following Egypt's revolution that brought down former president Hosni Mubarak a month ago, Egyptians are cautiously optimistic about the movement toward democracy, but sporadic violence continues to hamper the process, reports Jon Jensen, GlobalPost's correspondent in Cairo. Continue reading