As sweeping as M.B.S.’s economic and cultural reforms may be, he has expressed no interest in liberalising the country’s political system. Indeed, the model that seems to best conform to his vision is China, with its dynamic economy, literate population, and authoritarian rule. Experts on the Saudi system, including those who admire M.B.S., say that […]
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman is currently deep into a coast-to-coast U.S. charm offensive. Leading figures from the worlds of politics, business, entertainment and media are being lined up and are lining up to meet the most influential figure from the world’s leading oil exporter. But who exactly has made the cut? Read Here – Deadline Hollywood
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met with the Chinese President on a surprise trip to Beijing this week, state media in both countries confirmed Wednesday. It his first visit abroad since he took power in 2011. Kim traveled to the Chinese capital because he felt compelled to personally inform President Xi Jinping of the rapid […]
The mysterious armoured train that arrived in Beijing on Monday night is one of the main pieces of evidence to support the theory that Kim Jong-un is making a historic visit to China. While Beijing has yet to confirm Kim is in Beijing, the arrival of the train coupled with reports of heightened security at a […]
For about four years now, since Russia’s occupation of Crimea and China’s launch of the Belt and Road Initiative, there has been much speculation about whether another Cold War between East and West is coming. In the last month alone, headlines have proclaimed that “The New Cold War Is Here,” heralded “Putin’s New Cold War,” and warned that […]
In early 2009 the attendees of a conference published a statement of principles in the prestigious journal Science. In light of the role of social scientists in the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica debacle—slurping up data on online behaviour from millions of users, figuring out the personalities and predilections of those users, and nominally using that knowledge to influence elections—that article turns […]
China is the world’s biggest importer of soybeans, most of which are used for animal feed. In 2017, it was also the second-largest importer of US agricultural products, buying US$19.6 billion of goods, with 63 per cent of that money going on soybeans. Any punitive tariffs on soybeans would have a huge impact on American […]
Two years and four months after Facebook found out that Cambridge Analytica might have illicitly pulled user data from its platform, and five days after the latest round of stories about the political consultancy’s electioneering, Mark Zuckerberg finally made a statement about the situation. Read Here – The Atlantic
4,500 U.S. troops died in Iraq, and countless more returned home with physical and psychological wounds they—and we, as a society—will deal with for the rest of their lives. As a nation, we have sunk over one trillion dollars into Iraq so far— one trillion dollars you see missing every day in unpaved roads, underpaid teachers, and […]
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang rejected suggestions that China was leveraging its economic strength to gain political influence on the world stage…The United States, Germany, India and Australia have all raised concerns about China’s growing influence, which has expanded significantly through its trade and infrastructure development plan known as the “Belt and Road Initiative”. Read Here […]
looking beyond borders 