North Korea
Not surprisingly, it turns out that people shouldn’t trust Dennis Rodman with secrets. In an interview with a British newspaper, Rodman told the paper about how Ri Sol Ju, Kim Jung-un’s wife, kept talking about “their beautiful baby daughter.” Prior to this statement, no one had really known much about Kim Jung-un’s personal life, except that he married Ri Sol Ju last year. The former NBA star visited North Korea last month and claims to have become good friends with Kim Jung-un, the rogue state’s young leader who probably won’t trust Rodman with any more state secrets.
England
One of Russia’s most famous political dissidents was found dead in England on Saturday, March 23. Boris Berezovsky, a billionaire who made his fortune by acquiring many previously state-owned shares of oil companies during the chaotic privatization process that occurred after the collapse of the Soviet Union, had always been politically well-connected. However, after acting as kingmaker in Putin’s ascendance to power, Berezovsky found himself without Putin’s favor. Following his fall from grace, Berezovsky faced numerous court cases in which he was accused of fraud; Berezovsky would continue to claim that these cases were politically motivated. These court cases caused him to leave the country in a self-imposed exile in 2000. Despite his distance from the country, Berezovsky has continued to critique Putin, accusing him of setting up a new dictatorship in Russia. Subsequently, Putin’s spokesperson has recently referred to Berezovsky as one of Putin, and Russia’s, enemies. All of this makes Boris Berezovsky’s death at the age of 67 very shadowy.
Cyprus
The small Mediterranean island-nation rejected a bailout proposal last week, bringing many to fear for the nation’s economic well-being. The island had been divided into two countries because of an invasion by Turkey in 1974, with one nation more aligned with Turkey and the other with Greece and the rest of Europe. The Eurocentric nation is a member of the Eurozone, which makes its currently bleak economic situation dangerous. It has been facing the brink much like Greece and Italy have in the past few years, and desperately needs the assistance of the Eurozone’s institutions if it is to avoid collapse.
