Visitors look at a miniature model of a self propelled artillery vehicle on display during the International Defense Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center in February of this year. (Ben Job/REUTERS)
8:34 am ET -Why the new initiative is so controversial among US conservatives.
Top Global Issues (View all)
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Focus
Why combat role for US women could reverberate worldwideIn many countries, women have historically served in combat when demographics demanded it. But the US move is based on equal opportunity for women – and could become a model for others.
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Global hopes, concerns for Obama's second term
President Obama's first term in office was met by high international expectations for the changes he would make. But this time around, limits to Obama's diplomacy are expected.
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2012's 'good news' stories
2012 saw jobs returning to the US, health concerns improve in historic numbers, and more.
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Cover Story
Progress watch 2012: Smart phones, jobs returning to America, and war crimes trialsThe often-slow arc of good news may not make headlines. But 2012 brought its quiet share: from extreme poverty dropping by half since 1990 to a robot with the bulky profile of an NFL player that may have a role in bringing jobs back to the US.
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Focus
In 2013, possibilities for stability from Somalia to South China SeaPolicymakers in many of the world's hot spots have a common New Year's wish: for unity to usher in and consolidate political and economic stability.
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How well do you know global Christmas traditions? Take the quiz
Test your knowledge about how the Christmas holidays are celebrated from the Philippines to Mexico.
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Global sympathy for Newtown, antipathy for US gun laws (+video)
Even as observers around the world mourned the teachers and children killed in Newtown, many expressed frustration with a US political system that has left guns so easily accessible.
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Global water crisis: Seen from the first Himalayan glacial trickle
Global water crisis: Reporter William Wheeler talks about water stress from the effects of climate change high in the Himalayas where India and Pakistan's great rivers start to Haiti's fresh-water pollution.
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Cover Story
Global water crisis: too little, too much, or lack of a plan?The global water crisis – caused by drought, flood, and climate change – is less about supply than it is about recognizing water's true value, using it efficiently, and planning for a different future, say experts.
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Not just sexy Kim Jong-un: 5 times the Onion has fooled foreign media
When the People's Daily, the Chinese Communist Party's official newspaper, took as straight news The Onion's declaration that stout North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un was 2012's "Sexiest Man Alive," it became the biggest foreign media outlet to be fooled by the satirical American newspaper. But it is not the first. Here are several other foreign news sites that took Onion fiction as newsworthy fact.








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