Ownership Dispute Michelangelo Marble Statue
Michelangelo’s famous marble statue, David, is displayed at the Florence’s Accademia Gallery
Russia gives Iran nuclear leap forward
In this photo, the reactor building of Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant is seen, just outside the port city of Bushehr, 750 miles south of the capital, Tehran, in this Nov. 30, 2009, file photo. Russia’s nuclear agency spokesman, Sergei Novikov, said Friday fuel will be loaded into Iran’s first nuclear power plant next week,…
The Supermodel Shines Light on War Crimes Trial
Editor`s note: Christopher Santora worked as a prosecutor for the Special Court for Sierra Leone from 2002 to 2005 in cases against various faction leaders from the country’s 11-year war. He also served as prosecutor from 2007 to 2010 in The Hague, Netherlands, in the case against former Liberian President Charles Taylor, and was involved…
American dillema over India Kashmir Pakistan relationships
India and Pakistan’s failure to resolve Kashmir could see a huge escalation of violence, and derail an Afghan settlement Reviving tension over the divided territory, claimed in its entirety by both sides and the spark for two previous wars, has already upset Indo-Pakistan peace talks. More importantly for Britain and the US, a new Kashmir…
3 FLASH POINTS: How we experience Art
Secrets of Art Appreciation “Some people say modern art is pretentious, but if you look at it like this…” I am not an “art critic.” I can tell you how I feel about a given work of art, but I may feel differently over time or if I see the same work in another space….
Zimbabewe Sells Blood Diamonds to Russia, India, Israel, Lebanon
Corruption concerns remain as buyers jet into Harare to view rough stones. A stash of gemstones that human-rights organizations allege were mined by virtual slaves who were threatened with death goes on sale today in Zimbabwe, having been approved by an international regulator. About 900,000 carats in rough diamonds from the Marange field were brought…
Afghanistan: Boots on the Ground Assessment
Reflecting on my coverage of the latest UN report released on Tuesday showing a 31 per cent increase in overall Afghan civilians casualties, a couple of questions raised in my mind about the overall chances for success by the US-led coalition. Number-crunchers from the UN’s Assistance Mission Afghanistan (UNAMA) now say the Taliban and other…
Islamophobia rages in New York City
A fierce controversy is raging in the United States over plans to build an Islamic community and outreach centre, including a mosque, in Lower Manhattan, several blocks from “Ground Zero” – the site where the World Trade Centre stood when it was attacked on September 11, 2001. The controversy started when the Cordoba Initiative, led…
SpyTalk: North Korean missles to Taliban
Ex-spies ponder N. Korean missile sale to Taliban CIA-supplied Stinger missiles proved to be a game-changer for mujaheddinAccording to one of the intelligence reports obtained by WikiLeaks, one of the Afghan insurgency’s most powerful figures, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, traveled to North Korea in 2005 with a top aide to Osama bin Laden and purchased ground-to-air missiles….
Khodorkovsky Message from Prison
Mikhail Khodorkovsky sits in a defendant’s cage in a Moscow courtroom in this June 16, 2004 file photo. In a lengthy interview published in this week’s issue of SPIEGEL, he argues: “I was not a rober baron in the past, just as I’m not a martyr today.” SPIEGEL interview, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, 47, the former Russian…