In The News

Norway and the Environment: Binge and Purge

January 29, 2009
Along with its Northern European siblings, Norway has long been viewed as a leader in sustainability, a reputation earned by prodigious domestic efforts to become carbon neutral by 2030. The nation is well on its way: gas taxes are high, public transportation is booming, and 99 percent of Norwegian electricity is generated by hydroelectric plants. On the world stage, Norway is a strong voice in...

NATO’s Double Standards Make for a Hollow Alliance

Alexander Melikishvili January 26, 2009
NATO increasingly confronts an existential crisis, reflected by three mutually reinforcing trends – inconsistent and fast-paced enlargement policy, problematic internal cohesion and inadequate military spending. Researcher Alexander Melikishvili offers cases that point to the challenges NATO faces: The separate quests by Albania and Georgia for NATO admission reveal inconsistent admission...

Russian Gas Politics

Yoo Chul-jong January 14, 2009
Russia began supplying gas via pipeline to Western Europe during the Cold War, a result of the contract between n Leonid Brezhnev, chairman of the Soviet Communist party, and Willy Brandt, chancellor of West Germany. “Despite consistent pressure from the United States, Brandt, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971 for his ‘Ostpolitik’ policy of reconciliation with socialist countries in...

Ukraine Says Russia Shuts Down All Gas Supplies to Europe

David Jolly January 7, 2009
Russia ranks first in the proven reserves of natural gas, and Europe relies on Russia for about 20 percent of its natural gas. But that supply is disrupted as the result of a dispute between Russia and Ukraine, with both sides pointing to the other as responsible for shutting down the pipelines that supply gas to Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia and Italy...

Atheist Bus Ad Campaign Provokes Bitterness in Barcelona

Giles Tremlett January 7, 2009
In an age where ideas travel the globe in an instant, atheists in Barcelona have copied a UK ad campaign by posting ads on buses to present a possibility that God does not exist and urge the public to “stop worrying.” Spain is a traditionally Catholic nation, where the church receives some government funding. Some critics of the ad campaign blame the socialist government, with one leader calling...

The Revolt of a Disappointed Generation

Manfred Ertel December 18, 2008
Greek youth have rioted for days in 20 cities and town, distraught about the police shooting of a 15-year-old boy and a society that offers limited opportunities for youth. The shooting unleashed anger about an inept, corrupt political system and spread quickly, explain Manfred Ertel and Daniel Steinvorth in Spiegel Online: “Sympathizers occupied the Greek consulates in Berlin and London,...

Going Off to College for Less (Passport Required)

Tamar Lewin December 11, 2008
Higher education has become a global commodity, and students seek out both great bargains and the very best of brand names, reports Tamar Lewin for the New York Times. “Universities worldwide – many of them in Canada and England – are competing for the same pool of affluent, well-qualified students, and more American students are heading overseas not just for a semester abroad, but for their...