Hot Spots
Gay marriage? No in North Carolina, no in Uganda
As the world responds to Obama's acceptance of gay marriage, opposing American forces influence gay rights abroad. ...
Forget Scotland: China stakes its claim to golf
Golf has become a global phenomenon, thanks in part to Asian growth. It has even come to Laos. But it's growing fastest in China, where new courses are sprouting like weeds. ...
Picture This: Huger-than-life kings, dictators, and leaders
This week's photo gallery features mundane, profane and insane portraits of leaders. ...
Will Saudi women finally get their Olympic moment?
If you're a Saudi woman, you better not exercise in public. Compete in the Olympics? Hah! But as the 2012 Olympics draw near, Saudi Arabia says it is considering allowing female athletes to compete for the first time . . ....
A race for re-election? Israel likely to go to the ballot before the U.S.
Some have speculated that Netanyahu wants to move the election date up before the U.S. elections in November. If Obama wins, he might up the pressure on Netanyahu to make a deal with the Palestinians. ...
Tuition battle in U.S. is a thumb war compared with Chile and Quebec
Riot police and water cannons greeted college students around the Americas this week. How much is too much to pay for a college education?...
Hollande will add sauce to U.S.-France relationship
Nicolas Sarkozy was America's BFF as French president. Francois Hollande probably won't be....
U.S., Muslim superheroes meet at first Middle East ComicCon
Make room, American superheroes. Superheroes from the Middle East are also fighting to save the world. ...
From Colombia: Secret Service exploits, and the sound of champeta
Secret Service agents are trained for all sorts of situations. But they perhaps were unprepared for the force of Cartagena's party culture and the local booty-shaking rhythm champeta....
Mass-murder trial begins in Norway – will the global press get it wrong?
Anders Behring Breivik goes on trial today for the murder of 77 Norwegians. As the world watches, one Norwegian wonders if the we'll continue to misinterpret the tragic story. (Photo: Reuters/Heiko Junge)...
Egypt’s presidential elections filled with intrigue
Politics junkies bored of the American presidential slog can get some kicks from Egypt's election next month: candidates are dropping out left and right and the most powerful political party hasn't settled on a candidate. ...
In Russia, a lack of men forces women to settle for less
This fact profoundly affects relationships in Russia. Men have a monopoly on power that they wield with impunity. From my own experience dating a Russian man, I found out for myself just how much....
In Burma, a vote for freedom (photos)
Guess what happened when Burma's military junta allowed a free by-election? A pro-democracy opposition party won in a landslide. The military remains firmly in control, but it is allowing foreign and local journalists to work relatively freely. They brought their cameras and we bring you some of their photos....
Burmese head to polls and wonder exactly what it all means for the future
The international press has been cheering Burma's move toward democracy, but, as reports from inside the country show, there's still quite a bit of skepticism about whether the military dictatorship will ever hand over power....
Joseph Kony’s new enemy, “Buy My Face,” and the Koch brothers
The African Union grows up, college students use a clever approach to getting rid of debt, and Al Jazeera takes a look at the Koch brothers...
The Arab Spring has a dope beat
Fight the Power? That's what Khaled M, Omar Offendum and other artists do via their hip hop-fueled protest songs. Don't believe the hype? Have a listen....
Indonesian petrol riots and the global debate on gas taxes
As Indonesians riot over the potential loss of a fuel subsidy, Latitude News wonders: How important is a gas tax to Americans? ...
Where’s Medvedev’s cat? After gaffe with Obama, Russians laugh at leader
Russia's outgoing President Dmtri Medvedev has long touted his high-tech chops. He's going viral on Twitter, for all the wrong reasons. ...
Book tour illuminates U.S. soldiers’ impulses to avenge, torture
It might seem unthinkable that a U.S. soldier could slaughter and burn children, but Abu Ghraib was unthinkable, too. Joshua Phillips has gone on tour with the unthinkable, promoting his book "None of Us Were Like This Before." He takes us inside this difficult topic. ...
How Kony2012 gets it wrong
Invisible Children has successfully changed the scope of humanitarian marketing. Its film, however, is rife with half-truths....
F1 drivers asked to boycott Bahrain
Gentlemen, stop your engines. That's the call from Bahrain, where activists want the Grand Prix canceled, to put pressure on Bahrain's monarchy....
Egypt: where have all the police gone?
What would you do if cars drove down the wrong side of the road? If your walk home meant dodging random street vendors? Cairo is unstable in a thousand small ways....
In Pakistan, improv comedy is a form of protest
It’s open-mic night at a cultural center in the Pakistani city of Lahore. A group of young comedians takes the stage and asks the audience to suggest figures for them to poke fun at, using the tag-line “the world’s worst…” Somebody shouts out “terrorist!”...
Photo Gallery: Syria implodes as U.N. condemns Assad
Shelled cities, a defiant regime and thousands dead - the situation in Syria is going from bad to worse. This week's Latitude News photo gallery zooms in on the conflict. ...
Islam and tolerance: the view from South Africa
A young Muslim writer from South Africa argues the Prophet would have been appalled by the violence over Salman Rushdie's "Satanic Verses"...
Surviving in Greece
This week Greece's Eurozone partners agreed the biggest sovereign bailout the world has ever seen - contingent on all kinds of budget cuts and austerity measures. We hear what this means, concretely, for ordinary Greeks. ...
Syrians sing for freedom
In Syria today, singing the wrong song can bring a death sentence. Here's the revolution in song, including a rousing performance of a revolutionary chant that cost the singer his life....
Far from Moscow, Putin’s power faces off with the grassroots
Vladimir Putin has exerted control over far-flung areas in Moscow by doling out tax rubles. The system has ensured that he and his people control rural cities and towns. But that approach is being challenged by an online grassroots movement that's spreading fast....
Violent clashes ahead of Senegalese election
Rocks, batons, tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons - riot police have used whatever they can to subdue protests against President Wade's bid for a third term. But protestors are still hitting the pavement in Dakar, Senegal. ...
A run to save olive trees in Palestine
Would you run an ultra-marathon to save some olive trees? One Michigan store owner decides that fair trade means replacing olive trees damaged and uprooted in the West Bank. ...
Stories to watch: Spain protests austerity
Whereas Greece was dragged kicking and screaming down the path of austerity, Spain has gone more willingly. At least initially. Spain now has the highest unemployment rate in the EU - a massive 23 per cent. People are beginning to get angry. ...
Tinariwen rocks the Tuareg rebellion
It isn't every day that a separatist movement produces a great band. Listen, learn and enjoy!...
Love and the Libyan Revolution
"Marriage for a Libyan woman is an essential part of taking control of her life." But these days, in the aftermath of the revolution that killed 30,000 men, it's not that easy to find an eligible mate. The first in a Latitude News series on international love and marriage ...
Russia says “nyet” to Damascus Spring
Syria burns and the West squirms as Russia takes its turn during talks in Damascus. The Russians called for "peace and harmony." That seems to involve a lot of shelling. Syrians are hoping to avoid a repeat of the Hama massacre. ...
Nigeria’s homegrown terrorists
The headlines from Nigeria are shocking. 250 dead in January alone, all at the hands of the Islamist sect Boko Haram. Just who are the Boko Haram? And are they really a threat to U.S. global interests? ...
Egypt’s political football
In Egypt and throughout the Gulf region, football is politics. The stadium is a place for displays of power as well as fanfare. What happened in Port Said was a message, not a mistake... ...
Happy Anniversary, Egyptian Revolution
Faces in the crowd from Cairo’s Tahrir Square on the first anniversary of the Egyptian revolution...
Shaking the patriarchal cage in Egypt
The Islamists won the elections in a landslide. The military are still in control. And the young revolutionaries who sparked the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak? They're still protesting and they're using the media to channel their discontent ...
In Guatemala, an American anthropologist digs up bodies and builds a case
One of the most controversial figures in Guatemalan history, General Efraín Ríos Montt, has been ordered to appear in court this week. This could be the first step to him being charged for ordering massacres that took place decades ago. A critical part of the evidence comes from the work of pioneering forensic scientists. ...
One Syrian activist’s lonely exile
As the uprising and the brutal repression of it continue in Syria, the story of one young man who felt he had no choice but to protest and now lives a shadow life in Egypt ...
Radio host wants to remake Pakistan
Bombings, killings, fighting -- we're used to hearing that from Pakistan. But one man thinks that music, talk shows and the occasional militant reciting a poem -- will make a difference in Waziristan....
Christmas in Egypt with checkpoints and protests
The Coptic Christmas celebrations this weekend come at a time of unprecedented political upheaval. What will the Islamist victory at Egypt's elections mean for the Middle East's largest Christian community? Two Copts tell us what they are going to do. ...
Syria lurches towards an endgame?
The new year brings new intensity for Syria's protests. No one knows when -- or if -- Assad's regime will fall, or what will happen next. But we do know this: Filipino migrant workers are choosing to stay put....
Taking on Libya’s gun culture
The story of how one Libyan businessman and doctor put together an initiative to shame people into giving up their guns. ...
After the Spring, tourism falls in Egypt
No lines. No waits. Great sights. What better time to go to Egypt? But as our photo essay shows, the tourists have yet to return to Tahrir Square. ...
In Russia, election monitoring gets hip
You want to participate in politics? Be an election monitor! That’s what a lot of people did for the first time in Russia this month. They found themselves in the middle of the story ...
In Pakistan, an unlikely hero dies for his cause
A government school headmaster is assassinated near the Afghan border in Pakistan. The reason? He advocated democracy and stood up for women's rights. ...
The guns of war make peace uneasy in Libya
Freedom from Gaddafi has also meant freedom to bear arms, including portable surface-to-air missiles. As the Libya's fledgling government tries to get militias to turn in their weapons, ordinary Libyans are worried. Some have opted not to return to the country. ...
The cotton kings and the carpet pharoah
Mohamed Mansour once worked in a pizza parlor in North Carolina. Today his family firm represents General Motors and McDonalds. Mohammed Farid Khamis started with a single loom. Today he makes carpets for Target and Walmart. ...
Spending billions no aid to U.S. image in Pakistan
Despite nearly $19 billion in aid to Pakistan since 9/11, ordinary Pakistanis remain hostile to America. In part, that's because much of the money has gone to the military...
“I don’t tell people I am American any more”
Individual Americans living in Egypt report that the atmosphere is becoming more hostile towards them. Is anti-Americanism really getting worse? Magdi Abdelhadi reports ...
On the medical front line of Libya’s uprising – Dr. Emad
A profile of the chief doctor for the war wounded in a desert hospital
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On the medical frontline of Libya’s uprising – day one
Saleyha Ahsan, a doctor and an award winning journalist has been working as a medical volunteer with Libya’s war wounded. ...
From Brooklyn to Tehran: the House of Hope
A film maker in Brooklyn uncovers the stories of the House of Hope - an unusual therapy center for women in Teheran ...














