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From Armenia to France and Back – Francis Kurkdjian
Fragrances from the Past Though born in France, celebrated perfumer Francis Kurkdjian has remained in close touch with his Armenian roots. On the most recent of his many visits to Yerevan Mr Kurkdjian was received by Minister of Diaspora Affairs
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George Ryan: A Flawed Man Taking on a Flawed System
George Ryan is a hero tainted by scandal. As governor of Illinois, Mr Ryan followed in the wake of two of his three predecessors and was convicted, in 2006, to over six years in prison for taking bribes. He was
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From Somalia to the United States – Ayaan Hirsi Ali
The Big Questions of Our Time Barely twenty years ago, Ayaan Hirsi Ali aged 23 at the time, arrived in The Netherlands to apply for political asylum and eager to make her mark on a society she considered both “surprisingly
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From Germany to South Africa – The Oppenheimers: Diamonds Are Not Forever
“I’m a philistine.” Nicholas F Oppenheimer, worth some $6.5bn, is not likely to be spotted at a theatre or opera house anytime soon. The vast library of rare antique tomes his grandfather Ernest (1880-1957) lovingly accumulated over a lifetime remains
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Luther George Simjian: ATM Inventor Misses Out on Fame and Fortune
Born in 1905 in Turkey when that country was still known as the Ottoman Empire, Luther George Simjian became separated from his family in the chaotic aftermath of the Great War and fled to the United States via Beirut and
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Paul Krugman: A Plea for a Return to Basics in Finance
Author of no less than twenty books, over 200 scholarly essays in peer-reviewed academic journals and more than 750 articles as a columnist, Nobel laureate Paul Krugman is not one to hide his mostly liberal opinions. As an economist, Mr
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Nicholas Brady: Soccer Finance and the Pragmatist Who Fixed a Debt Crisis
Back in the days when a top-scoring soccer player could be enticed for a few million, Brazilian attacker Romario set a record when PSV put down all of six million dollars to have him play for the club in Eindhoven,
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John Maynard Keynes – Keynesianism to the Rescue: It Still Works Wonders
When Steve Forbes rallies against someone, as he often does, the world takes (some) note: Libertarians and conservatives are apt to make noises of approval while all others suspect the object of Mr Forbes’ ire to be a person of
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Jacques Delors: Despite Design Flaws Euro Success Assured
Hindsight may offer some comfort and solace from contemporary reality. It is thus that Jacques Delors – aka Mr Euro – concludes that Europe’s much-maligned common currency suffers from a few design flaws. Those imperfections may even have doomed the
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Andy Green: Inspiring a New Generation of Engineers
This is not your dad’s sports car. It bundles the power of about 180 Formula 1 racing cars and aims to shatter the speed record on land. The Bloodhound SSC (SuperSonic Car) is being designed to attain a speed of
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