Global Issues

The Foreign Desk

Darkest Day of the War: 22 members of SEAL Team 6 killed

August 8, 2011

A helicopter transporting 30 American servicemen, including Navy Seals, was shot down by insurgents over Afghanistan on Saturday, marking the single deadliest day for American forces in the war in Afghanistan. ...

Nuclear jellyfish close power plant

Blast Magazine Newsroom

July 1, 2011

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- AccuWeather.com -- Nuclear facilities have become a target of Mother Nature this year, from the tsunami in Japan to recent flooding in Nebraska and the wildfire threatening Los Alamos Nati...

International Criminal Court issues warrant for Gadhafi

John M. Guilfoil

June 27, 2011

The Hague-based International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and his son and intelligence chief. The court charges the men committed crimes during the popular r...

Obama digs deep in Dublin to revive Irish spirits.

Brenda Collins

May 30, 2011

DUBLIN -- It was a little dicey, let’s be honest. In terms of his reputation for sincerity and passion, President Obama’s pinched stopover in Ireland ran a serious risk of dipping into the murky realms of token...

Journalist James Foley recalls murder in cold blood in Libya

Brittney McNamara

May 28, 2011

James Foley recounted his time as a prisoner of war under Libyan Leader Moammar Khadafy's regime, and revealed a secret that he and his three colleagues had to keep throughout their 44 days of imprisonment. ...

The Queen in ireland

Brenda Collins

May 23, 2011

CORK, Ireland -- It was a surreal week in many respects. When Queen Elizabeth’s BAE 146 Whisperjet touched down in the Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnel, the nation seemed to take in one long, measured breath. Fo...

DSK incident causes young French voters to reflect on the importance of politicians’ private lives

Laura Krantz

May 22, 2011

RENNES, France -- Many French people say the political career of Dominique Strauss-Kahn is history, yet talk about the New York-based sex scandal of the former International Monetary Fund director and top candi...

Old scars: Officials seek Boston College IRA interview notes

Brenda Collins

May 18, 2011

CORK, Ireland -- There have been tentative suggestions in Ireland recently that relations with the UK are at an all-time high. Despite the efforts of dissident groups, the people of Northern Ireland have worn a...

Haitian refugees allowed more time in US

Brittney McNamara

May 17, 2011

In a stray from previous policy, US immigration officials announced that Haitians who found refuge in the United States after the earthquake last year will be allowed to stay in the US legally for a fixed amoun...

State Department warns travelers of anti-American violence after bin Laden’s death

John M. Guilfoil

May 2, 2011

The State Department put American embassies around the world on alert as it issued a travel warning about the possibility of anti-American outbursts in the wake of al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden's death at th...

Irish emigration 3.0: A Blast writer’s thoughts on Ireland’s recession

Brenda Collins

April 6, 2011

The Irish emigrated during the Great Famine of 1845 and then during the recession in the 1980s. Now, many Irish are again searching for hope abroad

US launches missile attack against Libyan forces

John M. Guilfoil

March 19, 2011

The US military has launched a missile attack against Libyan air defenses, the Associated Press ahs reported. The missiles were aimed at coastal military targets and launched by Navy vessels in the Mediterra...

World powers launch against Libya’s Gadhafi

John M. Guilfoil

March 19, 2011

A "United Nations conflict" has started. The United Kingdom and France have taken the lead in enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya. British warplanes and French Rafale and Mirage jets have begun flying sorties...

Japan nuclear site winds direct leaked radiation off shore

John M. Guilfoil

March 16, 2011

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- AccuWeather reports winds at the ill-fated Fukushima nuclear power plant will remain essentially off shore through at least Friday, thereby steering any leaked radioactive matter out to se...

4 New York Times journalists missing in Libya

John M. Guilfoil

March 16, 2011

NEW YORK -- Four New York Times journalists, including a Pulitzer Prize winner, have been reported missing in Libya, the newspaper said. Editors said they last heard from their employees on Tuesday. Exec...

Japanese nuclear worker treated for radiation exposure

John M. Guilfoil

March 16, 2011

An employee of Tokyo Electric Power Co. working at the doomed Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant is being treated for exposure to radiation, according to Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency Bloo...

Japan Govt. spokesman: Partial meltdown likely underway in at least one nuclear reactor

John M. Guilfoil

March 12, 2011

Japan's top governmental spokesman told the media Sunday (late Saturday in the U.S.) that radiation at a besieged nuclear plant briefly rose above the legal limit and that a "partial meltdown" of one reactor ma...

Emergency declared at second nuclear reactor in Japan

John M. Guilfoil

March 12, 2011

The Japanese nuclear safety agency has reported a nuclear emergency at a second reactor in the same complex where an explosion had occurred earlier, the Associated Press is reporting. The Nuclear and Indust...

Protective winds could aid residents near evacuated Japanese nuclear power plant

John M. Guilfoil

March 11, 2011

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- AccuWeather reports officials have shut down a nuclear power plant in earthquake-ravaged north-central Japan. Winds could help protect nearby residents in the event of a radiation leak. ...

Chinese doctors remove knife stuck in man’s head for 4 years

John M. Guilfoil

February 18, 2011

Surgeons at a hospital in southern China said they successfully removed a rusty knife end from the skull of a man who didn't know it was there for four years, the Associated Press reported. Yuxi City People'...