Print John J. Xenakis Read Full Bio World View: Syria Missile Strike Kills 80 Students Taking Exams A missile strike, presumably from warplanes sent by the regime of Syria's president Bashar al-Assad, struck a building at University of Aleppo where hundreds of students were taking exams, killing 82 and injuring 150 more. 15 Jan 2013 World View: Brazil Urges Quick Venezuelan Election if Chávez Dies Brazil is making a major intervention in Venezuela's government by urging the country to hold elections as quickly as possible if president Hugo Chávez dies: "We are explicitly saying that if Chávez dies, we would like to see elections as soon as possible. We think that's the best way to ensure a peaceful democratic transition, which is Brazil's main desire." 15 Jan 2013 World View: France on Terror Alert after Challenging al-Qaeda When France's Socialist president François Hollande announced an early withdrawal of France's troops from Afghanistan, it was thought that Hollande would be an anti-war president. And with the worsening French economy, Hollande's popularity was dropping sharply. 14 Jan 2013 World View: Tension Grows Between Egypt's Al-Nour Party, Muslim Brotherhood Although the two parties are collectively referred to as "Islamist," there are sharp differences between the two. The two parties cooperated brilliantly during the elections to decisively defeat the completely disorganized secular and liberal opposition, but now that the FJP is firmly in control of the government, tensions are growing, and the al-Nour party has announced that it plans to oppose the FJP in future elections. 13 Jan 2013 World View: France Sends Army, Air Force into Mali The President of Mali went on national TV on Friday and declared a national state of emergency, days after Ansar Dine Islamists took control of the central town of Konna, as we reported yesterday. At the same time, French and Malian soldiers, supported by French air strikes, launched a military attack on the Islamists, recapturing the town. France decided to take unilateral action after becoming impatient with the U.N. Security Council for dithering for months, allowing the Islamists to gain control of larger and larger areas of Mali. 12 Jan 2013 World View: U.N. Sec Council Has Emergency Meeting About Al Qaeda Takeover in Mali The United Nations Security Council is holding emergency consultations on Thursday evening, after Islamist militants from the al-Qaeda linked terror group Ansar Dine have apparently taken control of the strategic Mali town of Konna on Thursday, after fierce fighting. 11 Jan 2013 World View: Syria's Assad Frees 2,130 Prisoners in Exchange for 48 Iranians Syria's opposition rebels are accusing president Bashar al-Assad of considering Syrian civilians almost worthless, and at the same time celebrating a major victory, after al-Assad freed over 2,130 prisoners, mostly Syrian civilians, in exchange for just 48 Iranians that have been held by the opposition rebels. 10 Jan 2013 World View: Swiss Bank with No U.S. Branches to Close After DOJ Indictment Wegelin & Co, a private Swiss bank founded in 1741, will close its doors, after pleading guilty in U.S. district court to violating American laws by keeping the names of American depositors secret. The bank had no offices in the United States and was not violating any Swiss laws, but somehow they were guilty of violating American laws anyway. 9 Jan 2013 World View: China Quadruples Rice Imports for No Apparent Reason United Nations agricultural experts are reporting confusion, after figures show that China imported 2.6 million tons of rice in 2012, substantially more than a four-fold increase over the 575,000 tons imported in 2011. The confusion stems from the fact that there is no obvious reason for vastly increased imports, since there has been no rice shortage in China. 8 Jan 2013 World View: Assad Promises New Violence When it was announced that Syria's president Bashar al-Assad would give a nationwide speech on Sunday, some people dared to hope that he would announce an end to his program of massive bloody slaughter of innocent women and children in his own country. Unsurprisingly, nothing of the sort happened. 7 Jan 2013 Previous 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Next
World View: Syria Missile Strike Kills 80 Students Taking Exams A missile strike, presumably from warplanes sent by the regime of Syria's president Bashar al-Assad, struck a building at University of Aleppo where hundreds of students were taking exams, killing 82 and injuring 150 more. 15 Jan 2013
World View: Brazil Urges Quick Venezuelan Election if Chávez Dies Brazil is making a major intervention in Venezuela's government by urging the country to hold elections as quickly as possible if president Hugo Chávez dies: "We are explicitly saying that if Chávez dies, we would like to see elections as soon as possible. We think that's the best way to ensure a peaceful democratic transition, which is Brazil's main desire." 15 Jan 2013
World View: France on Terror Alert after Challenging al-Qaeda When France's Socialist president François Hollande announced an early withdrawal of France's troops from Afghanistan, it was thought that Hollande would be an anti-war president. And with the worsening French economy, Hollande's popularity was dropping sharply. 14 Jan 2013
World View: Tension Grows Between Egypt's Al-Nour Party, Muslim Brotherhood Although the two parties are collectively referred to as "Islamist," there are sharp differences between the two. The two parties cooperated brilliantly during the elections to decisively defeat the completely disorganized secular and liberal opposition, but now that the FJP is firmly in control of the government, tensions are growing, and the al-Nour party has announced that it plans to oppose the FJP in future elections. 13 Jan 2013
World View: France Sends Army, Air Force into Mali The President of Mali went on national TV on Friday and declared a national state of emergency, days after Ansar Dine Islamists took control of the central town of Konna, as we reported yesterday. At the same time, French and Malian soldiers, supported by French air strikes, launched a military attack on the Islamists, recapturing the town. France decided to take unilateral action after becoming impatient with the U.N. Security Council for dithering for months, allowing the Islamists to gain control of larger and larger areas of Mali. 12 Jan 2013
World View: U.N. Sec Council Has Emergency Meeting About Al Qaeda Takeover in Mali The United Nations Security Council is holding emergency consultations on Thursday evening, after Islamist militants from the al-Qaeda linked terror group Ansar Dine have apparently taken control of the strategic Mali town of Konna on Thursday, after fierce fighting. 11 Jan 2013
World View: Syria's Assad Frees 2,130 Prisoners in Exchange for 48 Iranians Syria's opposition rebels are accusing president Bashar al-Assad of considering Syrian civilians almost worthless, and at the same time celebrating a major victory, after al-Assad freed over 2,130 prisoners, mostly Syrian civilians, in exchange for just 48 Iranians that have been held by the opposition rebels. 10 Jan 2013
World View: Swiss Bank with No U.S. Branches to Close After DOJ Indictment Wegelin & Co, a private Swiss bank founded in 1741, will close its doors, after pleading guilty in U.S. district court to violating American laws by keeping the names of American depositors secret. The bank had no offices in the United States and was not violating any Swiss laws, but somehow they were guilty of violating American laws anyway. 9 Jan 2013
World View: China Quadruples Rice Imports for No Apparent Reason United Nations agricultural experts are reporting confusion, after figures show that China imported 2.6 million tons of rice in 2012, substantially more than a four-fold increase over the 575,000 tons imported in 2011. The confusion stems from the fact that there is no obvious reason for vastly increased imports, since there has been no rice shortage in China. 8 Jan 2013
World View: Assad Promises New Violence When it was announced that Syria's president Bashar al-Assad would give a nationwide speech on Sunday, some people dared to hope that he would announce an end to his program of massive bloody slaughter of innocent women and children in his own country. Unsurprisingly, nothing of the sort happened. 7 Jan 2013
Michel Jourdain Jr. lone driver to fail to make Indy 500 field during Bump Day19 May 2013, 7:11 PM PDT