Johnny Harris, Vox
The US and Cuba signed an agreement on Tuesday to restore commercial flights between the two countries. But the good news is you don't have to wait for these flights to visit the island. You can go now! And you should. If you need convincing, we made a 2-minute video for you:
Mac Margolis, BV
Between a sharp economic downturn and corruption scandals, Chileans haven't had a lot to celebrate lately. So when Chilean authorities announced that China had become the country's biggest buyer of fine wines, it was welcome news indeed.
Ali Rizk, Al-Monitor
A frequently asked question in Lebanon has been how the Iranian nuclear agreement might affect Iran's ties with Hezbollah. But party officials and independent Lebanese observers paint a picture of an unbreakable bond between the two. They believe the geopolitical dynamics taking shape in the region and beyond, now that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action is being implemented, further strengthen Hezbollah.
Jan-Werner Muller, New York Review of Books
Central Europe’s authoritarian turn has come as a surprise to many Western observers. Why, they ask, has it happened in countries that after 1989 were at the vanguard of the movement to transform Communist dictatorships into liberal European democracies? Why Poland, which is the only major European economy that came through the Great Recession of 2008 with continuous economic growth and which has been the largest beneficiary of subsidies from the EU? Читать дальше...
Nicholas Opiyo, NY Times
In Uganda, we hold elections on Feb. 18, and our eight candidates for the presidency are fiercely vying, too. But their ferocity is different; it may put at risk the lives of many Ugandans — our gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual and transgender-intersex people.
Cajsa Wikstrom, Al Jazeera
High in the Swedish mountains, a hotel had opened its doors to refugees – but now it is time for them to leave.
Tom Rogan, National Review
Slaughter: At present, that’s Russia’s primary focus in Syria. Assessing the collapse of U.S. resolve — first on Assad’s use of chemical weapons, then on supporting the Free Syrian Army, then on demanding that Assad step down — President Putin sees opportunity in the slaughter of civilians in western and northern Syria. He sees opportunity for two reasons.
Kim, Reuters
Varoufakis’s vision is to begin with concrete demands, such as pushing EU institutions to become more transparent, then develop detailed policy proposals, eventually convening a “constitutional assembly” where citizens will determine how to democratize the European Union by 2025.
Liz Sly, Washington Post
Russian warplanes are bombing from the sky. Iraqi and Lebanese militias aided by Iranian advisers are advancing on the ground. An assortment of Syrian rebels backed by the United States, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are fighting to hold them back. Kurdish forces allied both to Washington and Moscow are taking advantage of the chaos to extend Kurdish territories. The Islamic State has snatched a couple of small villages, while all the focus was on the other groups.
M. Newland, National
In the UK for instance, where recently it used to be impossible to insert a cigarette paper between the main party leaders in terms of background, policy and even personal appearance, the Labour Party is now led by Jeremy Corbyn, a disciple of renationalisation and ardent unilateralist who recently suggested the UKs nuclear-armed submarines could put to sea without nukes on board. Her Majestys most loyal opposition is now led by a convinced republican.
Mark Valencia, Japan Times
KANEOHE, HAWAII – An old joke has it that there are three common disingenuous statements: “Of course I will respect you in the morning,” “The check is in the mail” and “I’m from the government and I’m here to help you.”
H. Zeffman, NS
Of course, our Supreme Court has a much narrower jurisdiction than America’s. The UK Supreme Court cannot overturn primary legislation (that is, Acts of Parliament), though it can strike down secondary legislation in some cases. Though the UK Supreme Court can declare legislation incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights, it is up to the government whether it accepts that declaration and how it proceeds. By contrast, the US Supreme Court can revoke any legislation on grounds of it being unconstitutional.
Robert Kaplan, Foreign Affairs
China and Russia may forge a tactical alliance based on their compatible authoritarian systems and aimed at managing their frontier areas and standing up to the West.
K. Pollack & B. Walter, WSJ
Focusing on Islamic State alone leaves the contagion of civil wars to drag the region deeper into disaster.
T.N. Ninan, Quartz
The question has often been asked, what lessons can India learn from the Chinese success story? Can they be applied to India—or is the national genius, or DNA, so different that copycat strategies won’t work?
Alex Decina, Daily Beast
If Riyadh and its partners actually intend to send troops to Syria, it will be an incredibly risky move that will prolong the civil war.
Marc Champion, Bloomberg View
Syria's cease-fire deal was born in Munich, in the early hours of Friday morning -- and pronounced dead in the same town within a day, a development that exposed just how little influence the U.S. now has over the conflict.
Leif Wenar, New York Times
London, 1665. The capital smelled of death in its last large outbreak of the Plague, the worst since the Black Death of the 14th century. The diarist Samuel Pepys mourned, “Every day sadder and sadder news of its increase. In the City died this week 7,496; and of all of them, 6,102 of the Plague. But it is feared that the true number of the dead this week is near 10,000 — partly from the poor that cannot be taken notice of through the greatness of the number.”