The Cold War wasn’t just fought in the White House and the Kremlin. In American and Soviet homes, the capitalism-communism divide was a topic of conversation at many a kitchen table — and, most famously, in one model kitchen.

On July 24, 1959 — 60 years ago Wednesday — U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev brought the Cold War home. In what’s since been famously dubbed “the kitchen debate,” the world leaders debated the merits of American-style capitalist consumerism and Soviet-style communism against the backdrop of an American exhibition in Moscow’s Sokolniki Park. Cold War historian Brian Dooley says it was a “monumental moment in the battle of ideas in the Cold War, exposing the publics on either side of the Iron Curtain to a discussion based on ideology rather than military strength.”

One of the key areas in which they competed was the promise of their respective systems to design a kitchen and produce labor-saving appliances that could liberate ..

(LONDON) — Boris Johnson became Britain’s new prime minister Wednesday, vowing to lead the U.K. out of the European Union, “no ifs, ands or buts.”

Standing outside the shiny black door of 10 Downing St., Johnson said that “after three years of unfounded self-doubt, it is time to change the record.”

He derided “he doubters, the doomsters, the gloomsters” who believe the ebullient but chaotic Johnson cannot succeed in breaking the Brexit impasse that defeated his predecessor, Theresa May.

Johnson has just 99 days to make good on his promise to deliver Brexit by Oct. 31, come what may.

The former mayor of London and foreign secretary is getting Britain’s top job in politics after winning a contest to lead the governing Conservative Party.

Famed for his bravado, quips in Latin and blond mop of hair, Johnson easily defeated Conservative rival Jeremy Hunt, winning two-thirds of the votes of about 160,000 party members across the U.K.

He replaces May, who announced her resignation last ..

(LONDON) — New Prime Minister Boris Johnson seems to be clearing out top ministers, firing several members of former leader Theresa May’s Cabinet.

So far, May’s secretaries in defense, business, education, transport, local government and international trade have all announced they are leaving government. That comes hours after Treasury chief Philip Hammond, Justice Secretary David Gauke, International Development Secretary Rory Stewart and May’s de-facto deputy, David Lidington, resigned.

Some of those leaving had said they would rather go than serve under Johnson, who wants to leave the European Union even if no Brexit agreement is in place to ease the transition. Johnson insists the country will leave the EU by Oct. 31 — “do or die.”

However many British lawmakers, including some in Johnson’s Conservative party, worry that the shock of severing decades of frictionless trade would devastate the country’s economy.

(BEIJING) — China said it will not renounce the use of force in efforts to reunify Taiwan with the mainland and vowed to take all necessary military measures to defeat “separatists.”

In a national defense white paper released Wednesday, China listed among its top priorities its resolve to contain “Taiwan independence” and combat what it considers separatist forces in Tibet and the far west region of Xinjiang.

The paper, published every few years, is an outline of China’s national defense policy. Wednesday’s report highlighted China’s “defensive” approach, but also pledged to “surely counterattack if attacked.”

Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said the threat of Taiwan separatism is growing and warned that those who are seeking Taiwan independence will meet a dead end.

“It anyone dares to separate Taiwan from China, the Chinese army will certainly fight, resolutely defending the country’s sovereign unity and territorial integrity,” Wu said.

Taiwan, a democratically-governed islan..

China said the U.S. should remove its “black hand” from Hong Kong’s protests, in some of its most pointed criticism yet against what it says is American interference in the city’s affairs.

There are “signs of foreign forces behind the protests,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters Tuesday in Beijing. “I wonder if these U.S. officials can truthfully answer to the world the role the U.S. has played in recent events in Hong Kong.”

Her comments came after the U.S. State Department on Monday said attacks on protesters and other bystanders by criminal gangs was “particularly disturbing,” according to a Voice of America report. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had blamed the “black hand” of Western forces for stirring up trouble in Hong Kong last month, without singling out the U.S.

“This is a ridiculous statement,” Harvey Sernovitz, a spokesman for the U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong, said Wednesday. “The ongoing demonstrations in Hong Kong reflect the sen..

A week to the day before Boris Johnson became U.K. Prime Minister, he was on stage waving a smoked fish above his head.

“I want you to consider this kipper,” Johnson told his crowd, punctuating each word with a shake. Traditionally eaten by Brits at breakfast time, the fish was now being used by Johnson to make a point about Brexit. British kipper manufacturers, Johnson said, were having their costs unfairly pushed up by E.U. regulations. When Britain finally leaves the political and economic bloc, Johnson told his crowd, such regulatory nonsense would be a thing of the past. “We will,” he concluded, “get our mojo back.”

It was classic “Boris,” as he is universally known — soaring rhetoric on gently nationalistic themes, delivered with an attention-grabbing stunt. The fact that the rules governing kipper shipments are in fact set by the U.K., not the E.U., was also characteristic of the man now headed to 10 Downing Street, who has a long history of putting compelling narratives ahead..