“The Soviet and Mongolian soldiers fought for the right cause,” the Agence France Presse quoted Medvedev as saying.

The news agency also interviewed 100-year-old Mongolian veteran Damdinzhav Tsagaan, who said: “I believe that our two countries will be united forever.”

The two presidents met earlier this week to discuss development of minerals and other resources in Mongolia.

Dr. Doron Ben-Ami, the director of the excavation, told United Press International:

“Even though we do not have the complete dimensions of the structure, we can modestly estimate that its territory sprawls across about 1,000 square meters,” said Ben-Ami. “In the center there was a large garden which was enclosed by columns. Balconies revolved amid the rows of columns and rooms that bordered the garden. The rooms’ ceilings rose to the height of two stories and were covered by tile roofs.”

Despite the discovery, the Jerusalem Post also adds though, that “archeologists, Jewish new residents and veteran Palestinian residents vie for space on the crowded hillside.”

The paper notes:

Palestinians residents have protested the extent of excavations within the Silwan neighborhood, which is intertwined with the archeological park, claiming the digging has weakened the structural integrity of their houses and is being done for political, rather than archeological reasons.

But in order to get this translation done this year, Holyrood (the Scottish Parliament) turned to the UK-based company, Format Design. That company, in turn, outsourced the translation to an Indian company, which offered “to carry out the translations for 6p a word - undercutting rivals by 40 per cent,” according to the UK newspaper, The Sun.

This meant, the paper added: “Based on last year’s 12,317-word report, the translation would cost £740 instead of around £1,200 [1414€].”

But here’s the thing: as there aren’t too many Scottish Gaelic speakers in India, the unnamed Indian company then had to hire a sub-sub-contractor in the Western Isles of Scotland to actually do the work.

In a related story, Herald Scotland reports that “First Minister Alex Salmond yesterday announced an extra £800,000 in funding for Gaelic education, bringing the total above £2 million this year.”

The “Chinggis Khaan Statue Complex,” which opened last fall, is a huge area located in Tsonjin Boldog, about 50 kilometers outside the capital, Ulan Bator. The Genco Tour Bureau, a Mongolian tourism company found in 1997, spent $4.1 million on the statue, which towers in 40 meters of steel above the surrounding plain.

The Times reports on the activities available to tourists besides the huge statue itself:

Inside the two-story base of the statue, which opened last September, visitors can see a replica of Genghis Khan’s legendary golden whip, sample traditional cuisine — heavy on the horse meat and potatoes — and experience some decidedly un-nomadic customs, like billiards.

Although there is no evidence to back up its claim, the company contends that the site is where Genghis Khan found the whip, traditionally considered an auspicious omen, that inspired his future conquests. Like Genghis Khan, the company is intent on expanding its empire. Several miles away at a “13th-century national park,” the more adventuresome can milk horses, spin wool and watch a shaman ceremony. A spa, hotel and golf course are also in the works.

However, the newspaper notes that Mongolia has done very little to explore the complicated nature of Genghis Khan, who is considered by many to be a destructive, imperial force, particularly in Iraq, Iran, and the surrounding areas.

The latest episode incarnation this week involves the US trying to get a Jewish-American hotel owner and “millionaire bingo magnate,” who is trying to turn his Shepherd Hotel (pictured) in East Jerusalem into a block of apartment buildings. The U.S. government is calling for a halt to the project, saying that it represents new settlement on the internationally-recognized Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem.

Irving Moskowitz, a longtime supporter of conservative Israeli and American politics and equally long contraversial agent provacateur, pulled the same stunt about 12 years ago — and has a longstanding relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

As if that weren’t weird enough, now, the Israeli foreign minister and ultra-nationalist, Avigdor Lieberman, is calling for a 1941 photograph to be circulated in Israel’s embassies around the world. The photo is of Adolf Hitler meeting with the then-grand mufti of Jerusalem, Amin al-Husseini, and presumably is meant to imply that Palestinians then and now were Nazi collaborators and perhaps have the same moral standing today as neo-Nazis.

Not surprisingly, the Agence France Presse is reporting that “[f]oreign ministry staff opposed the move.”

At the time, Forbes wrote:

Still recovering from the damage inflicted by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, New Orleans has been regaining its population slowly over the last two years after losing 22% of its people from 2005 to 2006. Due to massive rebuilding efforts, the unemployment rate is at a moderate 5.5%, 2.6 percentage points lower than the national average.

One business mentioned in the article, iSeatz, has 80 percent of its staff that are not from New Orleans — according to the company’s founder, Kenneth Purcell.

Part of the allure about New Orleans may also be that there’s just a lot of work to be done.

Tim Williamson, president and co-founder of the Idea Village, a nonprofit that identifies and supports promising local entrepreneurs, agrees.

“New Orleans is attractive because there are lots of opportunities here and less layoffs than in other places like Boston or San Francisco,” Williamson said.

In addition to digital media, Williamson said other hot sectors include green business, those ventures that pursue environmental sustainability, and urban redevelopment.

“Katrina reversed the brain drain, so you’ve seen an influx of new talent and capital coming in,” he said. “If you’re an individual looking to take on the most pressing economic and social challenges, there’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity here with entrepreneurship.”