civil society

(Newser) - It may or may not alleviate massive traffic jams of Mercedes and Hummers, but Dubai's new metro system is definitely loosening up the Emirate's rigidly stratified society. “No velvet rope or electrified security gate to keep out the masses,” Tom Hundley writes. “Privileged Emiratis suddenly find themselves...

(Newser) - Feeling a disquieting disconnect, author Peter Lovenheim recounts his attempt to weave a neighborhood—one sleepover at a time. Americans interact with their neighbors less than ever, Lovenheim writes in the New York Times; by some estimates, the decline has been underway since 1950. So Lovenheim decided to get to...

(Newser) - Most Londoners are living comfortable, even enviable lives, yet they seem to be getting angrier and angrier, Janice Turner writes in the London Times. Minor stresses of everyday life boil over into violent disputes with alarming regularity, reminiscent of pampered resort guests flying off the handle over tiny inconveniences.

(Newser) - Even as Nawaz Sharif paints his return to Pakistan as a watershed moment, Washington is fretting over the implications of the Islamist-linked ex-PM's resurgence. Sharif has a reputation for being hostile to women’s rights and slow on social and economic expansion, the Wall Street Journal reports, but the US...