Meet Haiti’s 1%Haiti is known as a country wrecked with poverty and struggling to survive after the disasterous earthquake of 2010. But there’s a lot of rich people — mainly families who migrated from Europe a centruy earlier — calling the island home.
Politics / The World
Moscow protests: authorities’ gloves may come off
The protests are small enough, isolated enough, and moderate enough in their aims to fizzle out of their own accord, writes Matthew Clayfield, a freelance correspondent in Vladivostok.
Brussels is summit of a contrast, Trappist bier notwithstanding
Brussels resembles a mini-state unto itself, with demography, culture and politics a thing apart from the rest of the nation, freelance writer David Ritter reports from Brussels.
Rundle12: vigorous primaries toughen candidates like fire tidies a room
With the exception of Colorado, each contest is getting some attention.
Death, violence and protests: chaos continues in Egypt
After violent football riots killed 71 people, nearly 10,000 Egyptians took to the streets on Thursday demanding retribution, reports Al Jazeera.
The Power Index 
Julian Assange: Australia’s most powerful thinker
Townsville’s most famous former computer hacker is changing how the media and diplomats operate. Julian Assange speaks Tom Cowie about the role of WikiLeaks and its power.
The risk of leaving Afghanistan early
The US Defense Secretary said overnight that US and NATO were aiming to end all combat in Afghanistan by the end of next year. But what will the earlier withdrawal mean for Afghanistan? asks David Ignatius.
Guy Rundle: Mitt in a canter, thank god for enthusiastic amateur night
Well, that was quick. Polls closed in Florida at 8pm (noon AEST), and CNN declared victory for Mitt Romney at 8.30pm.
Gingrich: it ain’t over
Despite being widely tipped to be trampled by Mitt Romney at the Florida primary, Newt Gingrich has assured supporters the Republican race is “a long way from being over,” reports Seema Mehta.
Axis of Evil still relevant 10 years on
David Frum helped to write George W Bush’s iconic “Axis of Evil” speech a decade ago. That speech was heavily criticised at the time, but Bush’s claims have all been proved true, says Frum.
Is a quota for whales a solution looking for a problem?
If Japanese whaling was restricted to Japanese territorial waters, they would have an economic incentive to look after their own whales and manage their own marine environment, writes Crikey naturalist Lionel Elmore.
Port Moresby hums, despite media-perceived crisis
Port Moresby, seen as the centre of a crisis by the world’s media, continues to function every day for themselves and others, no matter what, writes Catherine Wilson, a journalist in Port Moresby.
Letter from...: Agbogloshie, West Africa’s biggest e-waste dump
The dumping and burning of e-waste in Agbogloshie has attracted significant attention from environmental groups, researchers and journalists, writes Clair MacDougall, a journalist in Monrovia, Liberia.
Is the World Bank failing girls and kids with disabilities?
A report suggests the World Bank is getting it wrong on the role of girls and kids with disabilities in its development programs — but AusAID comes out OK.
Rundle12: no one understands how utterly unconservative Newt Gingrich is
In Gingrich you see something triangulate between Marx, Mussolini, Toffler and sundry others, an investment in nation and species, an utter disinterest in the fate of the individual. None of his supporters really understand that, or how utterly unconservative he is.
Syria’s civil war: brutal force, but opposition not strong enough
Syria is in civil war. Yet unlike Libya, where an identifiable opposition movement was able to garner international support, the situation in Syria is far more opaque, explains Dr Benjamin MacQueen.
Maley: Bernanke holds a housing ace
Investors face a nervous few months as they try to work out when US central bank boss Ben Bernanke will play his last remaining trump card — buying up long-term mortgage bonds in an effort to revive the ailing US housing market.
Only faint hope for a deal with Iran on nukes
For a couple of months things have been looking pretty bleak on the Iranian front.
Rundle 12: it’s great to watch, this real pirate movie
Through the wide, night streets of Tampa came the pirates — tens of thousands of them, some in full regalia, tricorne hats and eye patches, plastic cutlasses and black velvet coats, girls in low-cut frilly white shirts and face paint.
UN begins nuclear inspection in Iran
In what could prove a turning point in US/Iran relations, UN nuclear inspectors began a mission to investigate rumours of a secret weapons program in Iran, reports The Associated Press.
Crikey Clarifier: Why is Papua New Guinea so unstable?
Yesterday around 100 troops, led by former Colonel Yaura Sasa, took the commander of the Papua New Guinea armed forces, General Francis Angwi, hostage. How unstable is the country, asks Adrian Dowie?
Welcome to the bizarro parallel universe that is UK politics
The government of the United Kingdom has pulled off one of the great political con jobs, writes David Ritter from London.
Doom-laden forecasts rejected by central banking heavy hitter
The tensions continue to go out of the tight conditions in global banking, especially in the eurozone.
The Stephen Colbert carnival continues, raising calls for campaign financing reform
The murky blend of corporate profit-taking and political interference was the focus of Stephen Colbert’s second spook campaign attack ad, which has given raise to widespread calls for campaign financing reform, writes Robin Cameron.
