ASIA’S economies have long wowed the world with their dynamism. Thanks to years of spectacular growth, more people have been pulled from abject poverty in modern Asia than at any other time in history. But as they become more affluent, the region’s citizens want more from their governments. Across the continent pressure is growing for […]
With China throwing its weight around the South China Sea, and snapping at Japan for its plans to buy disputed islands, the waters of the Pacific are looking a little choppy these days. Time for a little high-level diplomacy, you might think — something that not only eases tensions but also refocuses the nations of the Asia-Pacific […]
The world’s largest energy exporter plans to construct an oil refinery on the Pacific coast and may send grain eastward asToyota Motor Corp. (7203) and Mazda Motor Corp. (7261) consider building Russian plants. The government has spent more than $20 billion to showcase Vladivostok, 4,000 miles east of Moscow, as leaders gather for this week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation […]
In what seems an odd juxtaposition, global military spending is slowing down while the global trade in weapons is on the rise. The data are clear about these trends. For the first time in 14 years, global military spending did not increase last year, part of an overall slowdown in global military spending that began in […]
South America’s Triple Frontier, where Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay meet at a bend in the Paraná River, has long served as a hub of organized crime and narcotics, weapons, and other contraband smuggling. For decades, these borderlands have been home to a large and thriving Arab merchant community. Read Here – Foreign Affairs
The US hopes a new democratic era will begin as the occupation ends, but many people worry a power vacuum will emerge instead, leaving political rivals to fight it out as the Taliban closes in on Kabul. Read Here – GlobalPost
India: Another gaffe from the PM’s office — a defense of the one-sided story Read Here – GlobalPost
The Washington Post story has made many in India unhappy, but let’s be honest: India is a free country and people have a right to express themselves. Why go after Washington Post when the local media itself has been tough on the government and the Prime Minister? Read the Washington Post story here A while […]
The unrelenting negative reports about Facebook Inc. (FB) are enough to rattle even the true believers among us. Yet it would be premature to despair over the company’s long-term viability and health. Facebook is still potentially the most valuable information-based business. It had 955 million monthly active users at the end of June, and benefits from a tremendous […]
For reasons quite inexplicable, an important initiative of the government of India has gone completely unreported in the media. A new body for governing India’s outgoing development assistance, called the Development Partnership Administration (DPA), has been set up under the Economic Relations Division of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). Read Here – The Hindu
