In Russia, a Return to Arms Could Russian nuclear missiles soon be returning to the foreign soil of Eastern Europe? That may be Moscow’s response to U.S. plans to deploy anti-missile-defense radars and missile batteries in Poland and the Czech Republic. Russia’s ambassador to Belarus, Aleksandr Surikov, said last week that Russia and Belarus were preparing “a response to Washington” that could include “nuclear facilities” in Russia’s tiny but loyal western neighbor. The last Soviet-era missiles were removed from Belarus, Ukraine and Kazakhstan more than 10 years ago, as part of a U.S.-backed disarmament program created by Sens. Richard Lugar and Sam Nunn. But Russia has changed vastly since those humiliating post-Soviet days, and the Kremlin is now in the mood to arm, not disarm.
Russia’s military budget has tripled in the seven years since Vladimir Putin came to power. Some of that money has gone for a new generation of missile submarines and ICBMs with warheads that Russia claims can maneuver in flight to evade the proposed U.S. anti-missile defenses. Russia has also been stepping up cold-war-style drills. Russian Tu-95 “Bear” long-range bombers—designed to deliver nukes—have resumed regular patrols along the U.S. East Coast. In recent weeks, Bears patrolling the North Sea and the Pacific have prompted NATO and U.S. commanders to scramble jets at bases in Scotland and on Guam.
What’s behind this rush to rearm? “It’s rather a crude way to get attention,” Lugar told NEWSWEEK while in Moscow last week to try to revive the disarmament process. “Putin is saying, ‘We’re rich, we’re back’.” But Sergei Rogov, head of Moscow’s Institute for the USA and Canadian Studies, insists that while Putin seeks to “get respect,” he doesn’t want “real confrontation.”
Contradictory? Yes, but better than a new cold war. —Owen Matthews
After a decade of blockbuster survey shows of contemporaryAfrican art in cultural capitals around the world, one has finally made it to Africa. Originally, “Africa Remix,” which includes the work of 83 artists from 25 countries and embraces media ranging from digital photography and video to recycled materials and found objects, wasn’t coming to Africa at all. But Johannesburg Art Gallery director Clive Kellner made it a priority to lure it home. So far, the show has drawn the biggest crowds in the gallery’s 92-year history. One of those visitors who had also seen the show earlier in Britain explains the draw: “Here we are looking at Africa from the inside; in London, we were looking in from the outside.” You can catch “Africa Remix” in Johannesburg through Sept. 30. —Kim Gurney
Popular Fronts For some time now, Indonesian Islamists have been copying Hamas, which gained popularity in Gaza by providing social services, such as disaster relief and aid to the poor, that the Palestinian Authority failed to deliver. Now the Indonesians seem to be expanding that strategy to piggyback on the work of mainstream environmentalists. In July, an umbrella group of Islamists that advocates a Sharia state in Indonesia—and whose leaders have publicly supported Osama bin Laden—hoisted placards bearing the name Friends of the Earth- Indonesia at a rally protesting a U.S. mining company and the Bush administration. That led to accusations from politicians and the media that the environmental group had joined up with Muslim radicals. Friends of the Earth denounced the unauthorized use of their logo and denied any links. But don’t be surprised if radical Islamists make more attempts to cloak their work in the garb of social activism. —Joe Cochrane
By the Numbers When the Venetian Macao Resort Hotel opened last week, it took the title of world’s largest casino. But its 51,097 square meters of floor space isn’t Macao’s only big number.
70 The percentage of Macao’s government revenue that comes from the taxes paid by gambling casinos
26 Number of new casinos that have opened there since the old monopoly system ended in 2002
2.43 Billions of dollars in revenue generated by Macao’s casinos in the second half of 2007
50 Percentage increase in those revenues compared with casino revenues for same period in 2006
Reality Check The way one processes guilt may be the key difference between impulse buyers and careful consumers, says a new study. By observing college students who had been categorized as either impulsive or prudent on a personality test, researchers found that while both groups felt an immediate rush of guilt after acting impulsively, the guilt lasted twice as long for those in the prudent group, and they were also more likely to follow their hasty act with a practical one. —Jeneen Interlandi
