Despite its moniker, the 1918 “Spanish flu” pandemic almost certainly did not originate in Spain. The belligerents of World War I suppressed reporting on the outbreak in order to avoid harming morale, while Spain, as a neutral country, had a media free to report openly on the extent of the disease. Since most media coverage of the outbreak came from Spain, so too did its origin story.
One fall day in 2006, Alexander Litvinenko, a Russian defector who once worked in Moscow’s secret intelligence community and who became a prominent Kremlin critic in the United Kingdom, ate sushi for lunch before meeting with two former colleagues from his spy agency days at the Pine Bar in London’s Millennium Hotel.
Preface: In response to legislation passed in 1985, the Department of State on July 30, 1986, submitted to Congress a document titled Active Measures: A Report on the Substance and Process of Anti-U.S.
Since its inception in 1901, the Nobel Peace Prize has primarily recognised contributions to four broad areas: arms control and disarmament, peace negotiations, the advancement of democracy and human rights, and efforts to build a more orderly and peaceful international system. In the 21st century, the Nobel Committee has also expanded its scope to include initiatives addressing climate change and environmental threats, viewing them as integral to global peace and stability.
Review by Banditarani Behera (November 29, 2024): Dr S. Jaishankar, India's current External Affairs Minister, exemplifies the rare combination of a seasoned diplomat and a thoughtful public intellectual.