Dresden Medal of Honor for Ex-KGB Agent Putin
By Steffen Winter in Dresden
It's a big night for Russian Prime Minister Putin. The former KGB officer will return to his old Dresden haunt for the Semper Opera Ball. There, the man who just turned off natural gas supplies to half of Europe will receive a medal of honor -- handed to him by a man with a communist past of his own.
The medal is of unsurpassed beauty. Handmade by a Dresden jeweller, the decoration is formed of solid 18 carat gold and white gold.
It is a stunning replica of the "Heilige Georg zu Pferde," a work featured in the city's famous Grünes Gewolbe, or Green Vault, the exquisite Baroque collection of August the Strong, who died in 1733. And it is a special symbol: St. George symbolizes the victory of good over evil. The ornament has also been engraved with a seminal line: "Adverso Flumine," or "against the current."
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EU, World Leaders Pledge Aid for Gaza, Call for "Durable Peace"
World leaders assembled in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm al-Sheikh on Sunday for called for a durable peace between Israelis and Palestinians and pledged aid and technical support to shore up a fragile ceasefire.
"Durable Peace"
Benjamin Netanyahu's primer on pro-Israel politics is an updated version of an earlier book, A Place Among the Nations. There's a good reason for the revision, of course: in the years since the first book was published, Netanyahu has served as the prime minister of Israel. Yet A Durable Peace is not a stale politician's memoir. It's a resounding plea for Israel's acceptance as a full member of the world community, as well as a call for understanding its unique security needs.
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