POOR countries have long been a popular destination for the rich world’s toxic trash. In 1987 an Italian importer sparked international outrage by dumping 8,000 leaky barrels in the Nigerian village of Koko. On January 9th Nigeria fined importers $1m for trying to bring in two 12-metre containers full of defunct televisions, computers, microwaves and […]
On Friday, China’s National Bureau of Statistics announced that income inequality in the country exceeds a warning level set by the United Nations. China’s publication of its Gini coefficient – a widely used measure of economic equity – drew attention for a number of reasons. For one, China has not published its Gini coefficient since 2000. More […]
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who will leave her post on Friday, has said that the United States wants to see a cooperative, comprehensive and positive relationship with China. Clinton said that together, the two countries will defy history. “Historically, a rising power and a predominant power have had clashes, whether they were economical […]
Whether East Asia’s politicians and pundits like it or not, the region’s current international relations are more akin to nineteenth-century European balance-of-power politics than to the stable Europe of today. Witness East Asia’s rising nationalism, territorial disputes, and lack of effective institutional mechanisms for security cooperation. While economic interdependence among China, Japan, South Korea, and […]
Cambodia has never enjoyed the kind of political clout its neighbors Thailand and Vietnam have been able to assert on the international stage. This issue does not sit well with Prime Minister Hun Sen, who wants to see his country’s standing improve significantly. But the key to raising Cambodia’s stature is Hun Sen’s own success. […]
As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton prepares to hand the reins of foreign policy over to Senator John Kerry, her legacy is a matter of hot debate. To be sure, with much of the Middle East in turmoil and U.S. relations with Russia and China shifting, broad assessments of her tenure, no matter how heated, […]
U.S. President Barack Obama’s second inaugural address is now history. It has been labeled “progressive,” “partisan,” “one of the best ever” and “pedestrian.” Whatever the positive or negative take on its content, the speech was largely about America’s domestic concerns. The limited internationalism highlighted in the speech lacks significant support from the American people, especially those who […]
The general mood was at its most upbeat since January 2007, when the financial system was as frozen as the Davos streets. Relief that most experts judged the financial crisis to be over at last outweighed concern that economic growth and job creation seems likely to remain sub-par for the forseeable future. (Christine Lagarde, boss […]
President Barack Obama’s nomination of Senator John Kerry to be secretary of state won approval today from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The panel’s action by voice vote sends the nomination to the Senate floor, where a final vote is scheduled for later today. Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat who is chairman of the committee, showed […]
Almost all ethnic armed groups have successfully signed ceasefire agreements with the Burmese government. The Kachin Independence Organization, with its armed wing, the Kachin Independence Army (KIO/KIA), is the only major armed group still battling the Burmese army. Along with the Chins, the Shans and the Burmans, the Kachins signed the historic Panglong agreement to […]
