Berlin Wall's Fall (1989)

TRAVEL ON THE CHEAP: Budget Travel Magazine's list of the top 10 budget destinations for 2009 includes Austin, Texas, where there are free cultural events such as the annual South By Southwest festival, Washington, which made the list because of the...

Oscar voters, perhaps with an eye on recent abuses by authoritarian nation-states, bestowed the statuette for foreign language film on "The Lives of Others," a disturbing saga of secrets and lies in the former communist East Germany. Appropriately set in...

One year ago this month I found myself in the unusual position of hosting lunch for Mikhail Gorbachev. It was a work meeting at the L.A. Times, not some kind of rubber-chicken tribute (the former Soviet president was in town to talk up his Green Cross...

I first started working in Kenya when conducting research for my master's degree in 1991 at the University of Nairobi. It was a time of great hope and excitement. With the fall of the Berlin Wall, we saw a resurgence of democracy's "third wave," and it...

BARACK OBAMA is planning a visit to the German capital this month -- reportedly to deliver a major foreign-policy speech at Pariser Platz, the stately, almost perfectly proportioned plaza that has emerged since the fall of the Berlin Wall as the heart...

To: Writers Guild of America, West President Patric Verrone From: Patrick Goldstein Dear Patric: Well, when it rains, it really pours, huh? It's been hard to get you on the phone, but I can imagine you've been a little overwhelmed these last few days,...

Europe is fast overtaking the U.S. as the leading destination for the world's cocaine, and a single Italian mafia is largely responsible. The 'Ndrangheta crime syndicate, a ruthless and mysterious network of 155 families born in the rough hills here in...

It may not be surprising that Prince Charles-Henri de Lobkowicz, a descendant of France's King Charles X (the youngest brother of the executed Louis XVI), wears a black tie every year on Bastille Day. Or that Marc de Gontaut-Biron, a member of an...

A sampling of what students know about U.S. history. Fourth-graders: --66 percent understood the symbolism of the Statue of Liberty --35 percent explained how two inventions changed life in the United States --24 percent explained why people...

ASIA Dazzling, dizzying Chiang Mai, Thailand In Chiang Mai, the old northern capital of Thailand, a construction boom has given the city some of the most stylish hotels and restaurants in Southeast Asia. Galleries and design stores have opened, showcasing...

If there's a war being waged over illegal immigration, then San Diego's border with Mexico is its most militarized battleground. Disputes over the success or failure of the buildup during the past dozen years can be as dramatic as its stature: 14 miles...

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 2ND A NIGHT WITH MICHAEL PENNINGTON Tonight we will be joined by an accomplished British Shakespearean actor, namely Michael Pennington.  We’ll discuss Shakespeare, Pennington’s long and distinguished career, and the one-...