An Irish diplomat who went searching for a portion of the Russian crown jewels 40 years after they were returned to the Soviet Union said he was not able to locate them, recently released state papers reveal.

Following the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989, open societies were triumphant and international co-operation became the dominant creed. Thirty years later, however, nationalism has turned out to be much more powerful and disruptive than internationalism, writes George Soros

At a moment when the prospect of a renewed border on this island stirs old ghosts, Germany — and all of Europe — will, in the coming days, mark the 30th anniversary of the collapse of one of the continent’s most toxic icons, the Berlin Wall.

All over the world, historians are dusting off a phrase that regularly has a sharp, if fleeting, relevance: Pre-revolutionary conditions.

RSM Night Vision enables drivers of agricultural machinery working at night to “see” obstacles or people in the immediate surroundings of the machine, that they would not be able to see with the naked eye.

Europe experienced a truly miraculous few months 30 years ago. At a precipice, blood could have flowed. The floodgates of change opened instead, writes Carl Bildt

While science and technology have vastly improved human lives, they have also given certain visionaries the means to transform entire societies from above, writes Daron Acemoglu.

The former Soviet state recently held free-and-fair elections, but unless it can eradicate corruption it will not gain EU entry and may slip into Russia’s clutches, says John Bruton.

In his article of July 27 Daniel McConnell questions the decision of the Irish Government to force the backstop issue so vehemently in the Brexit negotiations.

The Apollo project gave us the astonishing spectacle of a blue marble rising over the sterile surface of the moon.

They have continued to bomb, kill, and maim, even as they have met with the Afghan government to discuss an end to violence, says Shashi Tharoor.

*Spoiler alert*

Irish placenames bring you on a journey trying to get to the bottom of them. Or just glory in the sheer madness of them, writes Colm O'Regan

In 1989 China had a choice between three different political models but disruption in other nations left just one option, writes Minxin Pei.

A huge decline in farmland birds in Europe is believed to be mirrored here. Another reason, perhaps, why so many extra voters turned to the Green party in the local and European elections.

Seven people have been confirmed dead after a sightseeing boat carrying 33 South Korean passengers and two crew members collided with another vessel and sank in the Danube River in Budapest.

A feature of grandly-titled conferences in the corporate and political worlds — Tomorrow’s Game-changing Solutions for Plasterboard, Democracy, and its New Frontiers — is that they do not always supply in the real world what they promise, certainly not for plasterboard or democracy.

Reactor number four of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant suffered an explosion during a technical test on April 26, 1986. As a result of the accident, in the then Soviet Union, more than 400 times more radiation was emitted than that released by the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima (Japan) in 1945. It remains the largest nuclear accident in history.

Ed Power reviews Chernobyl, the new drama series on Sky Atlantic.

Results from nearly all polling stations show that TV star Volodymyr Zelenskiy has won the Ukrainian presidential run-off vote in a landslide.

President Xi’s repression of Muslim minorities is redolent of the Soviet Union’s gulag and will foster a new generation of Islamist domestic terrorists, says Brahma Chellaney

Last week, the Irish Examiner published an opinion piece from the Russian ambassador marking the fifth anniversary of the annexation of Crimea. Olena Shaloput of the Ukrainian Embassy responds

The people of Crimea expressed their own free will and self-determination when they voted in 2014 to rejoin Russia, writes Yuriy Filatov.

Ahead of National Holocaust Memorial Day tomorrow, we talk to three of the four remaining survivors left in Ireland. Their stories have never been more important, writes Áilín Quinlan.

The influence of law and politics on sport will continue to deepen in 2019. In the second of a two-part series, Jack Anderson looks at some landmark sporting anniversaries that fall this year.

George H.W. Bush was the last person elected president of the United States with any prior foreign policy experience.

Belfast bantamweight Ryan Burnett admitted he’s gutted after losing his WBA title on a fourth-round retirement in Glasgow on Saturday night.

Werner Herzog’s quirky take on Mikhail Gorbachev promises to be one of the best documentaries at Cork Film Festival, writes Richard Fitzpatrick.

The pervasiveness of state-sponsored killings is no excuse for treating murder as acceptable, ever, writes Jeffrey D Sachs.

In light of the violent gun attack in the Greektown neighbourhood of their city the Toronto Film Festival’s CEO Piers Handling and artistic director Cameron Bailey announced this year’s first films today with little fanfare.

Vladimir Lenin’s “useful idiots” were the Western intellectuals invited to the Soviet Union to witness and tell the world about the wonders of the worker’s utopia.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has won a fourth term in office with nearly 77% of the vote - his highest ever score - giving him a mandate to pursue his nationalist policies for another six years.

By Marjorie Brennan

An attack on a Shiite Muslim cultural centre in the Afghan capital Kabul has left at least 35 people dead and 20 wounded.

A Belarusian-born survivor of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster has been appointed to the board of directors of Adi Roche’s Chernobyl Children International charity.

Newly released CIA files show how spooked the Soviets were by Kenney’s assassination and the frightening spectre of nuclear war breaking out, writes Ryle Dwyer

The president cannot be tamed, so it is time to put the national interest ahead of party politics, says Nina L Khrushcheva.  

US President Donald Trump does not intend to block the scheduled release of thousands of secret government documents related to President John F Kennedy's assassination.

The anticipated release of thousands of never-seen government documents related to President John F. Kennedy's assassination has scholars and armchair detectives buzzing.

In 1983, former Cork South West TD Jim O’Keeffe was involved in the discovery of a Russian spy ring in Dublin. His story now features in a new RTÉ documentary, writes Robert Mulhern

A nationalist party that wants Germany to close its borders to migrants, leave Europe's common currency and end sanctions against Russia is predicted to enter parliament for the first time this month.

Wales struck twice in the final 10 minutes to record a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Moldova and boost their World Cup qualification hopes.

If you remove the vestige and emblems of the past, do you erase the memory of what they represented too? asks Clodagh Finn

Russia's intelligence agency said it has foiled a terror plot led by militants fighting for the Islamic State group in Syria.