Economy key to Malaysia polls

A recent crackdown on demonstrators has dampened the prospect of parliamentary elections in Malaysia as early as June, with September now being touted as a likely time for voting. By then the state of the economy could trump political or human-rights i…

China’s fishermen charge enemy lines

Crew of Chinese fishing vessels increasingly embroiled in South China Sea confrontations are portrayed by Beijing as brave defenders of territorial rights, but rival claimants see their actions as low-intensity warfare. While some critics believe these…

Bacterial magnets and the bio-computer era

Scientists plan to use the billions of years of evolution in the machinery of living beings to create nature-based super technologies, with tiny bacterial creatures that generate magnetic crystals potentially set to revolutionize medicine, computing an…

Iran nuclear talks primed for failure

Infighting and overconfidence, tendencies that could sink any chance of ending the impasse over Iran’s nuclear program, are on full display in the capitals of Iran and the United States as attention turns to crucial international talks in Baghdad. In T…

China eases bank lending

China’s decision to ease bank lending follows unexpected weakness in the economy, as production growth falters along with fixed-asset investment. The one bright spot is a further dip in inflation. – Robert M Cutler

Tehran seeks to reset relations

Former French prime minister Michel Rocard’s high-profile meeting in Iran with top officials and lawmakers has raised eyebrows in the United States and Israel, which are concerned that Paris may no longer toe Washington’s line, especially with regard t…

Middle East calm in the eye of a storm

An « interim » agreement in the West’s nuclear talks with Iran and the entrance of less hawkish elements into Israel’s government offer a rare glimpse of clear skies in the Middle East. However, the promise of peace is burdened by the reality that Tehran…

ALL CHANGE IN FRANCE … : China takes on new importance

New French President Francois Hollande faces daunting eurozone challenges, but is clearly focusing on opening a new chapter in relations with China, the 21st century’s most important factor of change, to define his presidency. In his bid to strengthen …

US drops plan for Pakistan border jobs

The United States appears to have dropped a plan to help set up factories in Pakistan’s tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan, aimed at creating employment in areas where a lack of job opportunities means more idle time for potential young ext…

CREDIT BUBBLE BULLETIN : Tighter days ahead

JPMorgan’s self-flagellation over its US$2 billion loss obscures the fact this amounts to a « rounding error ». More important, it indicates that writing credit and market risk insurance has again become a risky proposition – with attendant tightening of…

SPENGLER : Zombies remind us that death is social

The improbable and growing popularity of zombie movies is indicative that amid the weakening of the foundations of tradition and culture, our lives and deaths have no meaning. We have dismissed the Jewish and Christian hope of eternal life as superstit…

Putin returns to the wild east

Russia’s exploitation of natural resources in its far east is central to the country’s future wealth, yet President Vladimir Putin appears determined to press ahead with policies that maintain the biggest obstacle to success – Moscow’s own inefficient …

Fundamentalism at the US’s corps

The instructor at a United States military graduate school caught teaching students that the US is at war with Islam, not terror, was merely expressing the same neo-conservative ideology and Christian fundamentalist ire that rehabilitated the US Army a…

Kashmir mufti takes aim at Ahmadiyyas

Kashmir’s grand mufti has called for legislation that deems all Ahmadiyyas – an Islamic reformist movement founded in British India – non-Muslim. This is the latest sign of rising intolerance since religious leaders this year sought the expulsion of Ch…

The sea rises in China

Chinese pot-shots at the Philippines over the Scarborough Shoal stand-off reveal that the former’s nationalism sometimes reflects a desire to prevent past humiliations rather than expansionism. While sensitive to the public’s angry demands over integri…

Nabucco project doubts grow

Hungary’s reluctance to continue its involvement in the Nabucco pipeline – it is one of six consortium members – further undermines the Caspian-to-Europe gas project and boosts the prospects for Russia’s rival South Stream pipeline. – Vladimir Socor

IAEA refuses Iran cooperation pact

Talks this week over alleged nuclear weapons work by Iran are likely to remain gridlocked after International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiya Amano warned that he will hold up an agreement until Tehran allows the United Nations watchdog’s inspectors …

CHAN AKYA : The Blonde Pimpernel

Boris Johnson, the blonde, unruly and newly re-elected mayor of London, may well be the closest thing to a political voice in Europe who is unafraid of stating obvious necessities to cut government spending, roll back Keynesian policies and let the mar…

America as a shining drone upon a hill

It was one of the great self-congratulatory speeches of our era – Barack Obama’s counter-terrorism « tsar » John Brennan offering a full-throated defense of the administration’s « covert » drone wars. His « shining drone upon a hill » speech, reflects the na…

IT WORLD : Guns aimed at Google

India’s Competition Commission has joined the growing number of authorities targeting Google and its strategy of maximizing revenues from search, the complaint this time originating with the treatment of a matrimonial website. Martin J Young surveys th…

India’s Maoists are no rag-tag rebels

Recent interrogations of top-level Maoist leaders in India have revealed that the insurgency now boasts a well-equipped force of some 46,000 combatants organized into companies, platoons and special action teams. Despite the group’s swelling numbers an…

Clinton draws Dhaka into the Great Game

Hillary Clinton this week highlighted the benefits that will flow to Bangladesh as a neighbor to reforming Myanmar. Her trip to Dhaka, rare for a US secretary of state and coinciding with a gift-bearing visit by India’s finance minister, also defined t…

Bloody new campaign to oust Assad

New clouds from a wave of decisive, bold and portentous bombings hang over Syrian cities in response to President Bashar al-Assad’s systematic routing of rebel strongholds in Homs, Idlib and Deraa. Authorship is unclear – though possibly directed by Ir…

BOOK REVIEW : Mainstream political science masks Western clientelism

The Rise and Fall of Arab Presidents For Life by Roger Owen
This study of repressive modes of governance in the Arab Middle East falls flat due to a failure to examine the West’s historical role in perpetuating those authoritarian regimes. By whitewash…

Vietnam floats between China and US

Joint naval activities offer the latest evidence of a changing relationship that gives the United States legitimacy for its military presence in Asia and allows Vietnam to stand a little bolder in China’s muscular shadow in the South China Sea. In the …

« Page précédente | Page suivante »