In the Middle Ages, spices were valued commodities, but not, as most people assume, for their ability to preserve meat. Rather, it was because medieval cuisine placed a premium on a variety of flavors. Spices were also thought to have medicinal properties, adding to their allure. These are only...
Workers harvest pepper near Quilon, south India in the 14th century: The desire for flavor fueled building of empires. (Source: Marco Polo's Livre des merveilles)
The control over gold, silver, precious metals and recently oil has been a source of...
Forced to drop out of school at age 14 because his family could no longer afford tuition, William Kamkwamba of Malawi set out to study energy and build windmills on his own. “Energy poverty” limits development, economies and jobs in the world’s poorest nations, explains Sarah Childress for the Wall...
MASITALA, Malawi – On a continent woefully short of electricity, 20-year-old William Kamkwamba has a dream: to power up his country one windmill at a time.
So far, he has built three windmills in his yard...
A bloodless coup transformed Thailand’s absolute monarchy into a constitutional system in 1932, yet the country does not enjoy full democracy today. Thailand’s elite do not trust citizens with decision-making, and there is a “reinvention of modern-day authoritarianism in the form of a triumvirate...
Governments and researchers try to figure out the appeal of far-right populism and extreme views that resist compromise and cooperation, immigration, education, climate change mitigation and more. It turns out, for Germany, Russia is behind propaganda that has made Alternative for Germany the...
More women pause before rushing into marriage. Historically, the institution represented women's only path for financial security, but social and economic pressures have subsided in advanced economies. Research studies along with cultural and demographic trends support decisions to delay...
Singular happiness: Single American women enjoy an evening out, while one in seven Japanese women remain single
NEW YORK: Evidence concerning the state of marriage strongly suggests that women should give serious thought before making the momentous...
尽管存在着内部分歧，欧洲还是轻松地领导了利比亚军事行动，肩负起长期以来由美国承担的“世界警察”义务。自1949年以来，北约组织的宗旨发生了变迁与扩展，成员国对危机与战略问题的认识也不尽一致。本期的耶鲁全球系列文章分析了利比亚危机所带来的北约联盟的嬗变。在该系列文章的下篇中，“欧洲改革中心对外政策与防务部”主任托马斯•维拉瑟克（Tomas Valasek）解释道，成员国拥有共同的目标，联盟关系也因此成为各国间灵活交易的契约。他认为，北约成员国认定、评估威胁，且“参与共同行动，并非因为他们感受到了共同的威胁，而是为了换取其他成员国未来的援助。” 维拉瑟克认为，对于各成员国而言，...
伦敦：利比亚战争将因其结局而被历史铭记，并非其缘起。并且，现在谈论成败还为时过早。
然而，从这场战争的发端，我们可以得出三点重要结论：巴拉克·奥巴马成功地甩掉了世界警察的担子。同时，我们也可以看到，一直在自我约束的欧洲，愿意并且也有能力领导一场运动来避免班加西（Benghazi）流血事件的发生。最后一点，北约仍然是欧洲和美国进行战争的主力平台。而联盟也变得更像一个交易场所，在这里，各成员国可以挑选自己支持的行动。
这场战争给我们上的重要一课便是，奥巴马实现了其外交政策的最高目标之一：...
Since building the Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao has witnessed extraordinary growth in tourism. Now, many policy makers see Bilbao and the Guggenheim as a model for urban renewal. But not all are in agreement.
Tourism is an uncertain industry, and museums are attractive as long as they are unique....
Guggenheim Bilbao
They call it the "Guggenheim effect": the power of a well known brand and spectacular architecture to give a moribund city such as Bilbao a new lease of life.
Bilbao's economic renaissance, following the opening...
The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS, designates boundaries for the seas, sorting out nation’s rights to fish and exploit other resources, including gas and oil. An offshore island, defined as a naturally formed feature with an economic function, is entitled to a 200-nautical-mile...
Scarborough Shoal standoff: Philippines Navy keeps wary eye on Chinese ship (top); anger erupts in Philippines street
CANBERRA: The term “rocky relations” took on new meaning after Chinese civilian maritime enforcement ships confronted a Philippines...
