| Yemen crisis: Does Saudi largess square with military campaign? Posted: 02 Apr 2018 12:54 PM PDT ![Yemen crisis: Does Saudi largess square with military campaign?]( "Yemen crisis: Does Saudi largess square with military campaign?") By the third anniversary of Saudi Arabia's intervention in Yemen last week, the coalition it leads – backed by the United States and Britain – had carried out 16,749 airstrikes against one of the poorest nations on earth. Shiite Houthi rebels marked the three-year anniversary of a war the UN blames for creating the "worst man-made humanitarian crisis in the world" by launching seven missiles deep into Saudi territory. Recommended: How much do you know about Saudi Arabia?
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| Why the US undervalues nuts and bolts diplomacy at its peril Posted: 02 Apr 2018 12:25 PM PDT ![Why the US undervalues nuts and bolts diplomacy at its peril]( "Why the US undervalues nuts and bolts diplomacy at its peril") With two nuclear-proliferation standoffs to be dealt with in the weeks ahead – North Korea as well as Iran – a reality check is timely. Many have spent years studying the politics, economics, history, and language of the countries in which they specialize.
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| With Russians feeling besieged, some give Putin a loaded title: vozhd Posted: 02 Apr 2018 12:12 PM PDT ![With Russians feeling besieged, some give Putin a loaded title: vozhd]( "With Russians feeling besieged, some give Putin a loaded title: vozhd") The current issue of Time Magazine features a Rodney Dangerfield-esque Vladimir Putin on the cover, with an insouciant smirk on his face and a tiny imperial crown perched upon his head. Mr. Putin has labored long and hard to project himself as a normal, modern president who wins elections and abides by constitutional rules. The word that keeps cropping up is vozhd, an ancient term imbued with mythic connotations that signifies a chieftain who stands above history, one who embodies the enduring will of the entire nation.
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| What to make of a North Korean apology Posted: 02 Apr 2018 11:57 AM PDT ![What to make of a North Korean apology]( "What to make of a North Korean apology") On April 1, Kim Yong-chol, head of the Workers' Party of Korea's United Front Department, offered an apology to South Korean journalists after they were excluded from a concert where the North's leader, Kim Jong-un, was watching a performance of musicians from the South. The power of apology could be the missing link in the North Korean saga.
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