Italy’s Mario Monti, the highly respected international economist who will take the reins of Italian government, is widely described as careful and reserved — the near polar opposite of Silvio Berlusconi, the flamboyant, jet-setting tycoon he would replace. Monti, a 68-year-old technocrat, heads Milan’s prestigious Bocconi University. A former top European commissioner, he is to […]
Italy’s Monti Poised for PM Nomination
Posted November 13th, 2011 at 1:50 pm (UTC-5)
Italy’s Mario Monti, the highly respected international economist poised to take the reins of Italian government, is widely described as careful and reserved — the near polar opposite of Silvio Berlusconi, the flamboyant, jet-setting tycoon he would replace. Monti, a 68-year-old technocrat, heads Milan’s prestigious Bocconi University. A former top European commissioner, he is […]
Liberia’s ‘Iron Lady’ Reelected to Second Term
Posted November 10th, 2011 at 6:35 pm (UTC-5)
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, known as Liberia’s Iron Lady, has been re-elected president, just weeks after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. The 73-year-old grandmother rose to international prominence in 2005 when she became Africa’s first democratically elected female leader. Mrs. Sirleaf took office after a bloody civil war that killed a quarter of a million people […]
New Greek PM Is Widely Respected Economist
Posted November 10th, 2011 at 9:25 am (UTC-5)
Greece’s new interim prime minister is a widely respected economist who has spent his life moving easily among prominent teaching positions at U.S. universities and high-level financial jobs in Europe. Lucas Papademos is 64, and has never sought electoral office. But now he will replace Greek socialist Prime Minister George Papandreou as head of a […]
Prospective Greek PM Is Widely Respected Economist
Posted November 8th, 2011 at 4:50 pm (UTC-5)
Lucas Papademos, the man slated to become Greece’s interim prime minister, is a widely respected economist who has spent his life moving easily among prominent teaching positions at U.S. universities and high-level financial jobs in Europe. The 64-year-old Mr. Papademos has never sought electoral office. But news accounts in Greece say he will replace Greek […]
Self-Made Berlusconi: Power, Pizzaz and Faux-Pas
Posted November 8th, 2011 at 2:20 pm (UTC-5)
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is no stranger to the spotlight. The self-made media mogul has been elected prime minister three times, recently telling political supporters Italy had “no alternative” to his leadership, though he also said being prime minister was a “burden that I personally would be glad to be rid of.” Through it […]
Greek PM Fought to Keep Country from Bankruptcy
Posted November 6th, 2011 at 8:20 pm (UTC-5)
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou took power in 2009 with promises to create jobs, help the poor and pump life into a sagging economy. Instead, he found himself fighting to keep the country from sinking into bankruptcy and taking the entire global economy down with it. Mr. Papandreou’s grandfather, George, and his father Andreas, also […]
Assange – Campaigner For Truth or Criminal?
Posted November 2nd, 2011 at 2:55 pm (UTC-5)
Julian Assange is the founder of WikiLeaks, a website that makes classified and secret documents available to the public by posting the documents on the Internet. Assange defends people’s right to know what leaders, corporations and other powerful figures are doing. His fans call him a campaigner for truth, while critics decry him as a […]
Gadhafi’s 42-Year Reign Marked By Controversy
Posted October 20th, 2011 at 8:20 am (UTC-5)
Moammar Gadhafi was in power from 1969 when he deposed the nation’s king in a military coup until National Transitional Council fighters overran his compound in August. National Transitional Council officials say the former Libyan leader died Wednesday as transitional fighters took control of Gadhafi’s hometown. Sirte was the last remaining bastion controlled by Gadhafi […]
Saudi Envoy to US Al-Jubeir Targeted in Alleged Iranian Bomb Plot
Posted October 11th, 2011 at 7:10 pm (UTC-5)
Saudi Ambassador to the United States Adel Al-Jubeir, a target of an alleged Iranian-backed assassination plot, is a seasoned diplomat well-known in the West. Born in 1962 in Al Majma’ah in Saudi Arabia, Al-Jubeir attended schools in the kingdom, Germany, Yemen, Lebanon and the United States. In 1987, he joined Saudi Arabia’s diplomatic service and […]
