For two hours and 11 minutes, North Korea’s lead negotiator, General Nam Il, stared at U.S. Vice Admiral C. Turner Joy, chain-smoking and sitting silently. In August 1951, a little over a month into cease-fire negotiations to end the Korean War, talks inched forward at an agonizing pace. Hatred hung in the air like the general’s […]
The reality is China’s official urban unemployment rate has long been a near-worthless measure. Even during the global financial crisis in 2009, when tens of millions of workers in China’s export factories lost their jobs, the official rate barely stirred, and it has been moving between just under 4 percent and 4.3 percent for most […]
Is cybercrime, cyber espionage, and other malicious cyber activities what some call “the greatest transfer of wealth in human history,” or is it what others say is a “rounding error in a fourteen trillion dollar economy?” Read Here – csis.org
The region is currently paying a high social cost for the lack of attention paid to public health, and these costs will grow ever more severe in the absence of concerted action. Obesity is nearing epidemic proportions in MENA, with some of the highest rates in the world. Read Here – Al Jazeera
China bans construction of opulent government buildings for five years — not because it has built enough — but because it feels the move will lower corruption and excesses among officials. Read Here – The Atlantic
In April, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, at the age of 75, abdicated, followed this week by the 79-year-old King Albert II of Belgium, who declared he was too old. At 87, Queen Elizabeth II shows no sign of stepping down, and polls show the British people aren’t asking her to. Read Here – The New York Times
The United States and India are headed for a trade war over protectionism and immigration laws. Can the two countries stop themselves before it gets too late? Read Here – Foreign Policy
China’s economy has shown signs of not working since the fall of 2011, but most economists and analysts chose to ignore them. Now, just about everyone is commenting on Chinese economic weakness. Expert opinion never seemed more synchronized. Read Here – WorldAffairsJournal
Russia’s security differences with NATO countries have been encouraging Moscow to strengthen ties with Asian countries, above all China. These differences range from concerns over U.S. missile defense programs to unease about NATO’s increasingly capable conventional weapons to dissatisfaction with Moscow’s minimal influence on European security issues due to Russia’s non-membership in NATO. Read Here […]
Iran’s strategic ambitions are not limited to looking West into the Arab world and the war in Syria. It is also looking East, where it has an active alliance with China and a working relationship with India, but closer to its borders, Iran is working hard to build its influence in Afghanistan. Read Here – […]
