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Rage in Brazil

Christophe Simon/AFP/Getty

Mayhem mounts as unprecedented protests against the government spread across the country. By Mac Margolis.

Brazilians held their breath on Monday night as tens of thousands of demonstrators, placards and roses in hand, once again poured into the streets of the country's largest cities while phalanxes of black-clad riot police stood at the ready.Though social media and the local press reported scattered clashes, there was little of the mayhem and violence of recent days when similar protests turned two of Latin America's megacities into battlefields.

Career Planning

What's Next for Ahmadinejad

Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty

So you're not president of Iran anymore, but you still love the spotlight—what to do? From astronaut to 'Idol' judge, a few relevant options for the departing leader.

So you're not president of Iran anymore, but you still love the spotlight—what to do? From astronaut to 'American Idol' judge, a few relevant employment opportunities for Mr. Ahmadinejad. 1. Public SpeakerFor better or worse, Ahmadinejad has always been able to take a public speech and turn it into a spectacle. Infamously, his 2011 speech at the United Nations was so antagonistic toward the U.S. and other Western nations that American diplomats led a walkout that included the delegations of more than 30 countries.

Right to Learn

Gordon Brown: Malala’s Fight for Girls’ Education in Pakistan Continues

Banaras Khan/AFP/Getty

Fourteen female students were killed by a bus bomb in Pakistan on Saturday—just eight months after Malala Yousafzai nearly died in a similar incident. Gordon Brown on the launch of a new petition to protect girls’ basic right to learn.

Exactly eight months after Malala Yousafzai was shot with two friends on their school bus, yet another bus massacre by Pakistani militants has killed 14 female students and left dozens injured.The full horrifying details are only now just emerging of how the bus carrying more than 40 girls, who had just completed their day's studies at an all-women medical college in the city of Quetta, was blown up after a female suicide bomber hid on the bus.

Activism

Why Contemporary Art Matters Now

John Macdougall/AFP/Getty

In times of great upheaval, why should intellectuals be concerned with art? Bernard-Henri Lévy on balancing current events with creativity.

Our era has to have lost its mind, its memory, or its immunity to absurdity to be surprised that an intellectual attentive to his times—committed to the defense of freedom in Libya or Syria, haunted by the barbarity of an over-the-top century that, just last week in Paris, reminded us, in the death of young gay activist Clément Méric at the hands of a French fascist group, that history is by no means done dealing out tragedy and horror in Europe—should also be interested enough in art to devote a book to it.

Election

Iran Votes for Reform

Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty

In a surprise victory, a pragmatist candidate who ran as a moderate was declared Iran’s next president today. Omid Memarian on why the U.S. must show the Iranian people it’s with them.

The results of Iran’s presidential election have never been more meaningful for the U.S. than the June 14 election that led to the emergence of a moderate candidate who ran on a reformist platform, promising a solution to Iran’s nuclear negotiations and the Iranian people's need for relaxing the sanctions.Hasan Rowhani’s victory is indicative of the Iranian leadership’s rejection by the Iranian people and its failure to sell its hardliner policies, including the nuclear program that has led Iran to a series of crippling sanctions.

‘Escalating Force’

Police Clear Gezi Park

Lam Yik Fei/Getty

After seeming to reach a peaceful understanding with protesters, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reverses course, again, and has police clear the park. Mike Giglio reports.

Just days after protesters and the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan appeared to reach an agreement to halt a planned mall-development project in Gezi Park and Taksim Square, the last remaining green space in central Istanbul, police cleared the park by force Saturday evening. The move—the latest reversal in approach by an administration that’s seemed unable to hold a course of action in response to the now 17-day-old protests—came after Erdogan, addressing a crowd of about 10,000 supporters at a rally in Ankara, announced:“This state is not your plaything.

Pitfalls

Will Arming Syrian Rebels Lead to Disaster?

Evan Vucci/AP

Obama could be in for some serious unintended consequences. Bruce Riedel on what we can learn from Afghanistan.

The United States is about to start arming and training the Syrian rebels fighting to overthrow the brutal dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad. If done well, this move can end a bloody civil war. If done poorly, it could lead to disaster. Will Obama and his team do the right thing?It turns out Afghanistan of the 1980s is a terrific test case for how to handle the Syrian rebels. The Afghan mujahedin then and the Syrian rebels now both seem incapable of forming a broad national consensus or an effective united political and military organization.

Dracarys

Murdoch’s Game of Thrones

Imeh Akpanudosen/Getty

Personal matters aside, the mogul’s divorce could have a huge impact on his media empire. Peter Jukes on the succession drama brewing at News Corp.

It was not the split everyone expected.Two weeks before Rupert Murdoch was due to split the world’s second-largest media conglomerate into two new companies (21st Century Fox and a period-free News Corp), the announcement on Thursday that he was filing for divorce from his third wife, Wendi Deng, came as a shock.There were reports that the 12-year marriage was on the rocks two years ago, according to the former Financial Times chief media correspondent Ben Fenton, but these were denied at the time and overwhelmed by the phone-hacking scandal that erupted weeks later.

Rumor Mill

What Is the ‘Jaw-Dropping’ Reason Behind Murdoch’s Divorce?

Ian West/PA Wire,via AP

Is there a bombshell behind Rupert Murdoch’s divorce? A BBC reporter suggests there’s more to come.

The Murdoch divorce is fast turning into the kind of saga that could sell a million newspapers a day, and in the latest bit of pot-stirring, Robert Peston, the BBC's usually sober and buttoned-down financial correspondent, sent out an extraordinary tweet last night: “‘Am also told that the undisclosed reasons for Murdoch divorcing Deng are jaw-dropping—& hate myself for wanting to know what they are.”What could he mean? The incendiary comment is being taken particularly seriously as Peston is said by Murdoch biographer Michael Wolff to be good friends with key Murdoch lieutenant Will Lewis.

Cairo Time

An S.O.S. From Egypt

Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty

The NGO convictions should sound alarms from those just focused on Syria’s drama. Jane Harman writes it’s not too late for Morsi and Egyptians to real embrace democratic change.

Egypt is a mess, and its leaders seem intent on making a bad situation even worse.Returning recently from my fourth trip to Egypt in 18 months, I see the endless missed opportunities on all sides. The country appears stuck, and there is a real prospect that the economy could reach negative growth, unrest increases, and the glimmer of hope for building a pluralist democracy in the world’s largest Arab nation fades forever.The latest evidence is the conviction of 43 NGO activists, including 16 Americans, on trumped-up charges of using funds from abroad to operate without permission.

Brazil's Volatile Protests

Massive demonstrations have upended the home of World Cup 2014, as tens of thousands of unhappy Brazilians recently stormed the streets to protest government corruption, police brutality, poor public services, and the high cost of hosting that soccer tournament.

  1. On The Ground In Gezi Play

    On The Ground In Gezi

  2. Police Break Up Gezi Protests Play

    Police Break Up Gezi Protests

  3. Reformist Rowhani Leads Iran Election Play

    Reformist Rowhani Leads Iran Election

Women in the World

Malala's 'New Life'

She is a true inspiration. Teenage activist Malala Yousafzai has released a video statement for the first time since being shot by the Taliban last October. 'God has given me this new life,' Malala says, and in return, she is launching the Malala Fund, created to help educate children all over the world.

  1. Dona Anna: Intrepid in the Favelas Play

    Dona Anna: Intrepid in the Favelas

  2. Women's Work: Breaking Gender Norms Play

    Women's Work: Breaking Gender Norms

  3. The Backstory on Angelina Jolie's Report Play

    The Backstory on Angelina Jolie's Report

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