Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, was elected president of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and chairman of the PRC Central Military Commission (CMC) on Thursday. The plenary meeting of the first session of the 12th National People’s Congress (NPC) also elected Zhang Dejiang chairman of the NPC […]
For the past several weeks, thousands have rallied around a single issue: bringing to justice the collaborators who, in early 1971, helped the Pakistani military put down the Bengali nationalist movement. The timing might seem strange, since the demands for justice are coming well over four decades after the tragic events. But they are part […]
China has once again announced a major expansion in its defense spending, leaving outside observers to again debate what this all could mean. Unfortunately, the planned 10.7 percent increase for 2013 posed more questions than it answered: Is it a sign of a more assertive China that wants to pursue regional dominance? Is it an indication of […]
The White House likes a bit of threat. In his State of the Union address, Barack Obama wanted to nudge Congress yet again into passing meaningful legislation. The president emphasized that America‘s enemies are “seeking the ability to sabotage our power grid, our financial institutions, and our air traffic control systems.” Read Here – Foreign […]
At the end of last year, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe fired a loud salvo. In a forceful attempt to kick start Japan‘s economy from its decade-long stupor, Abe leaned on the Bank of Japan to set a 2% inflation target. He threatened to pass a law to limit the central bank‘s independence if it […]
When Prince Turki al-Faisal suggested last year that the House of Saud would join in the U.S.-led sanctions against Iranian oil, by seeking to displace Tehran’s oil exports from the global economy, he was not referring to a novel idea. Indeed, Saudi Arabia has led two prior oil wars against Iran. Read Here – The National Interest
Last month, Oxfam, the international aid organization, launched a campaign called “Behind the Brands.” The goal is to assess the transparency of the world’s ten biggest food and beverage companies concerning how their goods are produced, and to rate their performance on sensitive issues like the treatment of small-scale farmers, sustainable water and land use, climate change, […]
Australia may be set for a record 22ndstraight year of economic expansion, but it will not save the federal budget or Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s job. That was the message from the latest economic data along with an election in Western Australia state, where voters handed Gillard’s Labor Party another drubbing. Read Here – The […]
Nations that want to be taken seriously must match their actions with that aspiration. The refusal to send back Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone — the Marines aboard the merchant ship Enrica Lexie accused of shooting and killing two fishermen off the Kerala coast after mistaking them for pirates — may win the new Italian government brownie […]
Beneath a giant hammer and sickle, the elite at the top of the Communist Party assembled for the country’s annual parliament session last week, all wearing the same unofficial uniform. As they stood to listen to the county’s national anthem, the politicians stood in perfect rows, spaced a few feet apart. Each person had a white […]
