Nearly 500 miles of European land mass fell away, the English Channel hollowed out, the great earth shifted and the continent merged with the island to its west. When all came to rest, the medieval cityscape of Strasbourg, France, sat atop London… No, certainly not. But for many a Europe-weary Briton, it felt as such […]
Among Pakistan’s many problems—rampant power cuts, extremist violence, anemic economic growth, widespread poverty—it can seem puzzling that a disease that has claimed only 58 new victims in the last few years has commanded so much attention. Polio, or poliomyelitis, has suffered a stunning defeat in the last 30 years, with a worldwide eradication rate of […]
Credit: The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs In the past couple of months, two interesting polls have been published on Israeli and Palestinian public opinion. The first (published in late May), which was commissioned by the Israel Peace Initiative and conducted by the Israeli company New Wave Research, found that 55 percent of Israelis […]
Just last year, protestors in Nunavut spoke out against the high cost of milk and other basic foodstuffs. But few international media outlets paid attention to these protests, even though they touched upon an issue just as central to the Arctic as the environment: human development and well-being. In comparison, the scaling of The Shard, […]
The Bank of Japan, the country’s central bank governed by Haruhiko Kuroda, said the economy is showing signs of recovery after three months of inflationary policies, according to a New York Times article. The statement released Thursday was the first time the central bank has used the word “recovery” since the March 2011 quake/tsunami/nuclear […]
It is said the Vatican thinks in centuries, not years, and, after watching this documentary, the viewer can see why. Despite it being a bit dated, this documentary sheds light on the inner workings of the smallest nation in the world. Narrated by Martin Sheen, it takes the viewer behind the scenes as an army […]
Jews have lived in the land of Israel for thousands of years. They faced several forced expulsions, the most recent lasting nearly 2,000 years. Even throughout that time, Jews lived in the Levant continuously, albeit in much reduced numbers. Two stories appeared this week in the press about archeological discoveries in Israel. In December 2012, […]
To coup or not to coup? Who cares? Whatever label it is being given, coup or revolution, what the Egyptian military accomplished less than one week ago is removing a government supposedly democratically elected. This comes on the heels of a previous removal of a long-standing dictator — Hosni Mubarak — just over two years […]
Editor’s Note: The following is a contributing guest piece by Muhammad Sahimi. Dr. Sahimi is Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and the NIOC Chair in Petroleum Engineering at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. In addition to his scientific work, Dr. Sahimi is a well-known analyst on Iran’s political developments and its […]
Recent events in Egypt have been tumultuous, to say the least. The country’s first elected president in history was deposed by the military three days after his first anniversary in office. The International Crisis Group’s description of current Egyptian politics gives the impression of a grand competition in short-sightedness. What happens next will depend on […]
This year’s session of the annual U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue, which brought Secretary of State John Kerry to New Delhi two weeks ago, produced few headlines. The gathering was preceded by low expectations as well as talk (here and here) about how bilateral affairs have plateaued in the years since the nuclear cooperation agreement between President George W. […]
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Wednesday Japan “cannot accept” China’s drill rig near a gas field disputed between the two countries, according to BBC News. The Chinese drill is the latest episode in the long-running series of conflicts over the disputed Pinnacle Islands. The drill is actually on the Chinese side of the territory, […]
Popular from Press
