The proportion of children born to unmarried mothers hit a record 47.5 per cent last year, according to the Office for National Statistics. The figure has risen from 25 per cent in 1988 and just 11 per cent in 1979. If the trend continues at the current rate, the majority of children will be born […]
Since Nixon’s visit to Beijing, the US has talked to China in every conceivable format, yet relations continue to strain. It’s time for American leadership to show strength rather than conciliation. Read Here – WorldAffairsJournal
Trade is not a cure-all for grinding poverty, but a free-trade deal between Pakistan and India would help foster economic growth and regional peace. And the political timing has never been better. Pakistan‘s new Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, should seize the moment. Read Here – Christian Science Monitor
Is Africa rising? Judging by the buzz and optimism of the young business leaders and political trailblazers from across the continent who gathered in Cape Town for the World Economic Forum on Africa recently, the answer is a qualified “yes.” Read Here – The Hindu
Reports that Beijing is “experimenting” with its Tibet policy have surfaced recently, with suggestions that it was lifting – unofficially at least – a decades-old ban on the Dalai Lama’s image in certain ethnic Tibetan regions. Read Here – The Diplomat
The rejection by Egyptians of their Islamist government marks a turning point — not only for that country, but for the entire Middle East. Over the course of the past couple weeks, the Egyptian people have made a clear and powerful statement that political Islam cannot and should not be allowed to suppress the broader popular […]
The recent financial turmoil in China, with interbank loan rates spiking to double digits within days, provides further confirmation that the world’s second-largest economy is headed for a hard landing. Fueled by massive credit growth (equivalent to 30% of GDP from 2008 to 2012), the Chinese economy has taken on a level of financial leverage […]
By South Asian standards, politics in Bhutan remains exceptionally clean and gentle. The electoral commission forbids even serving beer or yak cheese, chili and rice at campaign meetings. Each night the sole national television channel shows respectful debates between candidates. Policy differences are slight, and parties vie in their adoration for the monarchy. Read Here […]
Myanmar is home to a growing wave of anti-Muslim sentiment, as seen in the troubling 969 movement. The numerical significance of the digits is rooted in Buddhism’s Three Jewels (Tiratana), which comprise 24 attributes: nine special attributes of Lord Buddha, six core Buddhist teachings, and nine attributes of monkhood. Read Here – The Diplomat
When Hassan Rohani won Iran’s presidential election in June, he garnered more votes than his predecessor did when he swept to power eight years before. The 64-year-old lawyer, cleric, and former diplomat will take on an economy that under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was defined by falling oil exports because of international sanctions, accelerating inflation, a […]
looking beyond borders 