Of all the things to envy about Alexander Lebedev – his billions, his international media empire, his mansion on the grounds of Hampton Court Palace – what most Russians are really jealous of is that it was he and not them who knocked out Sergei Polonsky. Sergei who? Now internationally ridiculed as the man who split […]
In November 2010 the presidents of Latin America’s two largest economies pledged to hash out a free trade agreement. Per logic, Mexico has a consumer class of 100-plus million, Brazil twice that: each country stands to benefit. Yet free trade by numbers went out of vogue in the 1990s. Still, each country had implicit motives. […]
It is a well know fact that China undervalues its currency, by pegging the renminbi (RMB) to the dollar at an artificially low level. This, along with other subsidies and mercantilist trade policies, keeps Chinese exports cheap, and thus more attractive to consumers in the U.S. and Europe. Because China is the manufacturing hub for […]
South Korea plans to propose talks with Japan over women coerced by the Japanese Imperial Army and Navy to serve as sex slaves during World War II. This comes after a ruling from South Korea’s constitutional court ruled that the government had violated the women’s rights by making no effort to take on Japan over […]
Democrats are apparently panicking, well, at least according to several news outlets who are using this week’s congressional race as a barometer of President Obama’s popularity among Jews and the pro-Israel community. In a special election held this week to replace ousted Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) in a heavily Jewish neighborhood, Democrats lost the seat for the […]
President Michel Martelly, among other world leaders, joined the list of heads of state speaking at Columbia’s World Leaders Forum, officials said yesterday. In addition to Martelly, King Abdullah II IBN Al Hussein of Jordan and Atifete Jahjaga, president of the Republic of Kosovo will also speak at the world-renown event that provide a platform […]
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Turkey would be downgrading its diplomatic relations with Israel and cutting all military ties with the state. A few days after the announcement, he stated that there would also be an increase in Turkish ships patrolling the Eastern Mediterranean to ensure the safety of maritime navigation, implying […]
While all eyes are on a likely Turkish land incursion against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq, Turkey faces the prospect of another security and ideological challenge in the Kurdish hinterland across its border, this time in Syria. Syria’s 1.8 million Kurds (10% of the population) have arguably been the most quiescent of […]
Last night I attended the New York Premiere Screening of Back Door Channels: The Price of Peace. Featuring interviews with Leon Charney, Back Door Channels reveals the unlikely confluence of events that produced one of the most significant diplomatic achievements of the 20th Century: the Camp David Peace Accords between Israel and Egypt. The term […]
The Japanese government is giving temporary shelter to nine North Korean defectors who were picked up by the Japanese coast guard Tuesday. Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said Tokyo is in the process of granting permits for the North Koreans to stay in Japan for up to six months. The nine North Koreans–three men, three […]
The IRB Rugby World Cup is under way in New Zealand. The hosts come in as the favorites because, much like Brazil in football, the All Blacks pretty much are always the favorites, despite a history of underachievement in rugby’s signature event. The All Blacks have only emerged with one William Webb Ellis Cup, and […]
I remember when Russian haute cuisine was a 10 letter word: mayonnaise. When the first “Western” pizzeria opened in my home town of Murmansk around 1994, its house specialty certainly looked like pizza: a slick flatbread baked in a giant rectangular pan and sliced into plate sized squares. I queued for ages to get my […]
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