The 1945 Ethridge Mission to Bulgaria and Romania and the Origins of the Cold War in the Balkans

In autumn 1945, US Secretary of State James Byrnes deadlocked with Soviet Foreign Minister Viacheslav Molotov over the governments of Bulgaria and Romania. To escape, Byrnes dispatched Mark Ethridge, a liberal newspaperman, on a fact-finding mission. Contrary to Byrnes' hopes, Ethridge found conditions as bad as reported, and went to Moscow to convince the Soviet government to moderate Communist behavior. Ethridge's damning report on political repression had little effect on Byrnes, who grabbed a face-saving Soviet offer. President Harry Truman, though, read Ethridge's report and became convinced of the failure of Byrnes' soft-line and the need to stand up to the Soviet Union.     

Trade marks, language, and the net

The rise in the popularity of the internet has fuelled a boomin cross-border communication, and brand owners have both sufferedand profited as legal systems have struggled to keep up. Ifa Singaporean entity advertises its goods on the internet, canit infringe a French registered trade mark? Does it matter ifthe Singaporean website is in French? After several halting starts, many of the