Sweden: Economist Paul Krugman has won the Nobel Prize for Economics. In their address, the prize committee cited his research of international trade patterns—most of which he conducted in the ’80s and early-’90s—as justification for his award. He will receive over $1.4 million in prize money.
Austria: Jörg Haider, an Austrian politician often credited with reviving the conservative movement in his country, died on Saturday of injuries sustained in a car accident. The leader of the right-wing Alliance for Austria’s Future, Haider achieved notoriety for his charisma and right-wing invective, much of which focused on his distaste for the European Union. He is survived by his wife, Claudia, and two daughters.
North Korea: In line with its pledge to the U.S. and other countries to end its nuclear-weapons capability, North Korea declared Monday that it would resume shutting down its nuclear program. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reports that Pyongyang will also allow U.N. inspectors, who were previously barred from examining their facilities, to monitor the process. The announcement follows a U.S. decision to remove North Korea from its list of states sponsoring terrorism.
Czechoslovakia: Writer Milan Kundera has denied charges that he informed on a Western spy in 1950. According to a state-sponsored report, the renowned author of “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” reported to police that Miroslav Dvoracek, an agent recruited in Germany by the Czech émigré intelligence network, left a suitcase of suspicious documents in his apartment for a pickup. Kundera described his reaction to the charges as “astonished,” and added that he “did not know the man at all.”
Venezuela: The Venezuelan government has ordered nearly all of the McDonald’s restaurants in the country to close for two days, citing irregularities in the company’s tax reports. 118 of 132 restaurant—ncluding all 80 run by Alimentos Arcos Dorados de Venezuela, the largest franchise owner in the country—will submit to investigations of their compliance with federal tax policy. A spokesperson for the franchise said that they had broken no rules.
Kenya: Immigration agents in Nairobi have arrested Jerome R. Corsi, author of the incendiary right-wing polemic “The Obama Nation,” for his failure to produce a valid work visa upon his arrival. Corsi, who was scheduled to speak in a hotel just minutes before his arrest, protested the charges as unfair and politically motivated, and said that Kenyan leaders were unduly influenced by Obama. Kenyan officials have denied any bias in the arrest.
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