Europe

Last week the Obama administration passed the largest government spending bill in the history of the U.S. – a $789 billion fiscal stimulus as well as a financial rescue plan. Will it work? One reporter’s editorial overview.

Taking the road less travelled need not amount to a lot of money people don’t have during the recession. You might be surprised to learn that seeing new sights close to home can totally change your outlook on the world and the people who inhabit it.

By Fariz Ismailzade – July 2006
            July marked a very historic milestone in the modern, post-Soviet history of Azerbaijan. A Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline running for 1,000 miles through three countries between the Caspian and Mediterranean seas was finally completed and officially inaugurated by the Presidents of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey as well as high ranking [...]

By Elina Beketova, Ukraine
            A new urban extreme sport called Parkour is getting a bounce from the most unlikely places.  Featured in the upcoming James Bond film (due out later this year), parkour is also getting celebrity attention from Madonna who has adopted some of its basic gymnastic moves to her fitness routine.  But parkour [...]

By Dariya Fadeeva, Russia – July 2006
            When Vladimir Putin became Prime Minister in 1999 he swore (literally using locker room language unfit for printing in a family newspaper) to wipe out Chechen terrorists.  After Chechens attacked the village of Beslan (Sept. 1, 2004) killing 331 men, women and children, President Putin put a $10 [...]

By Atul Singh, England – July 2006
            Although he was feted in the US as a world statesman, Tony Blair has lost the confidence of the British public and will step down as Britain’s three-term Prime Minister some time in the next year.  Internal party wrangling coupled with the public’s disenchantment with a leader seen [...]

By Raushan Kerimalieva, Kyrgyzstan – July 2006
When  18 year old Nazik received a scholarship to attend the International University in Moscow she was so happy.  But her happiness was short-lived. Soon after she arrived from her home in Kyrgyzstan, she started to hear angry words directed at her. “Ponaehali tut vsyakie!” or “uidi s dorogi, [...]