international governments news stories on Newser

Kim Jong-Il a 'Pigmy', 'Tyrant' US Will Miss

Katherine Thompson — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 15:59:47 CDT

The Bush administration felt a pending bittersweet goodbye when news leaked that North Korea's Kim Jong-Il likely had a stroke last month, the New York Times reports. True, officials had called Kim a "tyrant" and a "pigmy," but they knew he kept close tabs on his nation's nuclear arsenal. Now...

EU Convulses, the World Could Care Less

Jason Farago — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 10:23:00 CDT

The EU has been wracked with self-doubt and indecision in the days since the Irish electorate voted down the Treaty of Lisbon. But watching the turmoil unfold from Beijing, Financial Times columnist Philip Stephens observes just how introverted the Union has become. At a critical moment in the history of...

WHO Pushes Governments to Battle Smoking

Matt Cantor — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 16:40:20 CST

Aiming to slash the 5.4 million tobacco-related deaths worldwide per year, the World Health Organization today called on governments everywhere to discourage smoking, the Wall Street Journal reports. As it stands, only 5% of countries have programs working to curb the habit, such as advertising bans and warning labels....