Tag: Featured

Swiss cuisine: cheese, chocolate and beyond

| April 20, 2014 | 0 Comments
Swiss cuisine: cheese, chocolate and beyond

Switzerland has existed for centuries as a small, compact, alpine country nestled amongst France, Germany, Austria and Italy. As Ambassador Ulrich Lehner notes: Originally Switzerland was a poor country of farmers who were employed as soldiers beyond their borders by foreign powers. The Vatican’s Swiss guard was one such force and remains the only one dating […]

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South Africa’s time of trouble

| April 20, 2014 | 0 Comments
South Africa’s time of trouble

CAPE TOWN: Nelson Mandela’s death leaves political South Africa without any living moral compass. Symbolically, but tellingly, President Jacob Zuma was roundly booed when he spoke at Mandela’s memorial service. The country’s vibrant media carry constant stories about the declining popularity of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), Mandela’s party and the nation’s historical liberation […]

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Understanding Ukraine

| April 20, 2014 | 0 Comments
Understanding Ukraine

The political crisis that led to the downfall of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych stemmed from Ukraine’s inability to make a permanent transition to a stable democracy since it became independent in 1991. To understand this difficulty, we must examine three factors: Ukraine’s history, the role of the EU and the influence of Russia. The transition […]

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Iran’s other side: the South Caucasus

| April 20, 2014 | 0 Comments
Iran’s other side: the South Caucasus

The recent loosening of anti-nuclear economic sanctions against Iran will change its role along its northern frontier, which faces the South Caucasus, the Caspian Sea and Turkmenistan. Iran will be able to sell more oil, and the ensuing revenues, linked with new means of transportation, will allow it to throw its weight around, to bring […]

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Poland’s amazing accession

| April 20, 2014 | 0 Comments
Poland’s amazing accession

The past 25 years of regained independence after the fall of communism were the most successful in the last 400 years of Poland’s history. To a large extent, that’s thanks to entering into the EU. This is why 2014 will be a special year for my country. It is an opportunity to celebrate the anniversary […]

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An historic EU enlargement

| April 20, 2014 | 0 Comments
An historic EU enlargement

When 10 Central and Eastern European countries joined the European Union on May 1, 2004, enlarging the union from 15 to 25 member states, a new chapter in Europe’s history books was written with the new members claiming their rightful place within the European family. It was an historic development and the most ambitious initiative […]

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EU Enlargement: Ten years later

EU Enlargement: Ten years later

In May 2004, the EU embarked on its largest expansion, with the admission of 10 new member states, eight of them previously part of the Soviet bloc. In a Brussels speech two years earlier, European Commission president Romano Prodi predicted this move would be “one of the most successful and impressive political transformations of the […]

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Resource Wars

| April 20, 2014 | 0 Comments
Resource Wars

It is an article of faith among large sections of the left-leaning intelligentsia that the United States invaded Iraq in 2003 simply to secure the country’s oil reserves. It’s one thing to hear this line from Noam Chomsky, but another thing to hear it from a figure such as Sir David King, Britain’s former chief […]

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Temporary visa versus refugee status reforms

| April 20, 2014 | 0 Comments
Temporary visa versus refugee status reforms

The beginning of the 20th Century ushered in the increased need for global travellers to obtain a visa before entering another country for a temporary period. The visa is a means of pre-screening to ensure people who may be inadmissible for health, security or criminal reasons are prevented from arriving at a port of entry. […]

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Irwin Cotler: Human rights crusader retires as MP

| April 20, 2014 | 0 Comments
Irwin Cotler: Human rights crusader retires as MP

Irwin Cotler, who has been called the “pre-eminent voice in the fight against oppression,” is retiring after 16 years as an MP, a job he didn’t really want, at least in the beginning. As the tireless crusader for human rights, freedom and democracy, tells Diplomat’s editor, Jennifer Campbell, he has no plans to change his […]

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