This Is Such An Embarrassing Picture For America

Thanks to the standoff in Washington DC, President Obama was forced to cancel a visit to East Asian countries, and to not attend of APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation).

Wonkblog and others noticed this incredibly embarrassing picture of all the world leaders standing on a stage at the meeting, and the US only being represented by John Kerry, who was forced to stand in the back row, and far off to the side (since he's not a head of state, presumably).

Putin, obviously, is loving the prominence.

REUTERS/Dita Alangkara/Pool

Rising China, sinking Russia

LESS than a decade ago little doubt hung over where the newly independent states of Central Asia had to pump their huge supplies of oil and gas: Russia, their former imperial overlord, dominated their energy infrastructure and markets. Yet today, when a new field comes on stream, the pipelines head east, to China. As if to underline the point, this week China’s president, Xi Jinping, swept through Central Asia, gobbling up energy deals and promising billions in investment. His tour left no doubts as to the region’s new economic superpower.

Interview with Bashar Assad: 'In the End, a Lie Is a Lie'

By Dieter Bednarz and Klaus Brinkbäumer

Jeroen Kramer/ DER SPIEGEL

In a SPIEGEL interview, Syrian President Bashar Assad discusses his fight for power, his arsenal of weapons of mass destruction and the special expectations he has for Germany.

Editor's note: The following is the version of the interview with Syrian President Bashar Assad that ran in the Monday edition of SPIEGEL. Earlier on Monday, the Syrian state news agency Sana published its own version of the interview. There are minor differences that reflect changes made by our fact-checkers.

Interview With George Soros: 'Greece Can Never Pay Back Its Debt'

REUTERS

Billionaire investor George Soros

Should Greece have a large part of its debt waived? Absolutely, says George Soros, otherwise the country will never recover. The billionaire investor also warns about the rise of extremist parties if Germany does not change its policies towards Europe.

Legendary US investor George Soros has called for comprehensive debt relief for Greece. "Everyone knows that it can never pay back its debt," he said in an interview with SPIEGEL ONLINE. Greece is close to a primary budget surplus after a lot of pain and suffering, says Soros, whose speculation against the pound forced the UK to withdraw from the Exchange Rate Mechanism in 1992.

Is Iran the Next China?

Posted By Stephen M. Walt  

Thomas Friedman had a mostly sensible column in yesterday's New York Times, in which he endorsed the crazy, dangerous, irrational, doesn't-make-any-sense-at-all idea of seriously negotiating with Iran. Not only did he correctly note that Iran might see a nuclear capability (if not nuclear weapons) as insurance against regime change (i.e., the same reason that other nuclear-armed states got them), but he also made a useful comparison between Iran today and the People's Republic of China. Here's his big question:

Η Ελλάδα και η Κύπρος αλλάζουν στάση για την αναγνώριση του Κοσσυφοπεδίου;

Αλλαγή στάσης αναφορικά με την αναγνώριση της ανεξαρτησίας του Κοσσυφοπεδίου φέρονται να σημειώνουν, σύμφωνα με τους FINANCIAL TIMES, η Κύπρος, η Ελλάδα και η Σλοβακία, μετά από συνάντηση που είχαν οι αντίστοιχοι υπουργοί Εξωτερικών με τον ομόλογό τους Κοσσοβάρο, Enver Hoxhaj («EU Makes Headway on Healing Kosovo Independence Rift»).

Ευρωπαίοι διπλωμάτες ισχυρίζονται πως, μετά τη συμφωνία που πέτυχε η Ύπατη Εκπρόσωπος της ΕΕ για θέματα εξωτερικής πολιτικής και πολιτικής ασφάλειας, C. Ashton, σχετικά με την επίλυση των διαφορών Σερβίας και Κοσυφοπεδίου, οι προοπτικές μιας μερικής επίλυσης του ζητήματος της αναγνώρισης βελτιώνονται επίσης.