| Pompeo's dilemma: World and State both need immediate attention Posted: 08 May 2018 01:39 PM PDT ![Pompeo's dilemma: World and State both need immediate attention]( "Pompeo's dilemma: World and State both need immediate attention") When Mike Pompeo was finally able to address State Department employees as the new secretary of State last week, it was only after he had dashed off to Europe and the Middle East within hours of his April 26 Senate confirmation. Mr. Pompeo's delayed arrival to take the reins of the State Department underscores the mix of priorities the Trump administration's top diplomat faces in the coming weeks. On the one hand, Pompeo says his top priority will be to get down to repairing the nation's deeply damaged diplomatic infrastructure – what he likes to call giving US diplomats their "swagger" back.
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| To pay for a 'Russia first' agenda, Putin takes ax to military spending Posted: 08 May 2018 01:00 PM PDT ![To pay for a 'Russia first' agenda, Putin takes ax to military spending]( "To pay for a 'Russia first' agenda, Putin takes ax to military spending") Inaugurated for his fourth official term as Russia's president Monday, Vladimir Putin surprised many by declaring what sounds like a "Russia first" program: a relentless focus on domestic development, to be partially paid for by sharp cuts in defense spending. It may sound contrary to Western perceptions of Russia's global intentions.
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| What happens after an anti-corruption victory Posted: 08 May 2018 12:57 PM PDT ![What happens after an anti-corruption victory]( "What happens after an anti-corruption victory") Armenia has now joined a string of other nations from South Korea to Burkina Faso where anti-corruption protests have ousted one leader and led to a new one promising clean governance. As so often happens in such revolutions, the people in Armenia are stunned at the power of their collective virtue. In Armenia, the revolution was led by a former journalist, Nikol Pashinyan, who not only helped bring down a corrupt leader last month through nonviolent means but was then chosen by the parliament on May 8 to become prime minister.
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| Modern dancers go toe-to-toe with Cambodian tradition Posted: 08 May 2018 11:41 AM PDT ![Modern dancers go toe-to-toe with Cambodian tradition]( "Modern dancers go toe-to-toe with Cambodian tradition") Performing a dance in red stilettos is not allowed at Angkor Archaeological Park, but that's not stopping Khun Sreynoch from working on it. As members of Cambodia's first contemporary dance company, Ms. Sreynoch and her closest colleagues have known each other since they were children studying Cambodian classical dance, or Apsara. "If I use high heels to perform Apsara moves [the conservatives] will say I'm destroying Cambodian culture," says Sreynoch.
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