Over the past week, Japan has made it a priority to salvage its economy, as might be expected from a prime minister who was the former finance minister. Japan will raise taxes, sell its stakes in Japan Tobacco, and take drastic measures to halt the rising strength of the yen. Japan’s long-stagnant economy was further […]
Over 150 people have been killed throughout parts of Southeast Asia over the past two months as the region has been inundated by the worst flooding to hit the area in years. From Northern Thailand and neighboring Cambodia, all the way to Vietnam, the Mekong River Delta has turned poor, rural communities and even major […]
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Syed Yusaf Raza Gilani convened a grand All Parties Conference (APC) in Islamabad on September 29 to develop consensus on a national stance in response to Admiral Mike Mullen’s allegations about links between Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Directorate and the Haqqani Network. According to the 13-point joint resolution, the “APC rejected the […]
The hurly-burly of two dozen supporters of former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier shouting obscenities and paralyzing an Amnesty International press conference rattled the civil community, rights and advocacy groups. “It was a chilling reminder of the intimidation tactics the 1957 regime used against opinionated citizens,” wrote the Platform of Haitian Human Rights Organizations (POHDH) in a […]
Nostalgia is everywhere these days, a far cry from the good old days when we used to live for the future. Woody Allen. South Africa politicians. Even Mad Men are in on the act. But nostalgia for the Soviet war in Afghanistan? “Car bombs and suicide attacks, which have become a permanent threat in today’s […]
India’s Afghanistan policy is a classic case displaying the pros and cons of soft power approach in international relations. Soft power is fruitful as a continuum of the smart power strategy where hard power is purposefully used. Soft power is helpful in creating space for and sustaining hard power options. A strategy that rests only […]
Last week, President Obama gave a speech to the UN. In it, he spoke about keeping nuclear weapons from Iran and working with the Israelis and the Palestinians to reach peace through negotiations, not through half-measures and paperwork filed at the UN. He came out hard against Palestinian recognition of statehood in the UN General […]
The respective security roles that the United States and India traditionally play in East Asia seemed to switch last week. By deciding not to supply Taiwan with the new fighter aircraft it has requested, the U.S. appeared to defer to China, which had cautioned that the sale was a “red line” that must not be […]
A Turkish oil and gas research ship is exploring off southern Cyprus in an area near the exploration rig operated by U.S. independent Noble Energy Inc., a Turkish foreign ministry official said, in a further escalation of a conflict over drilling rights. Turkish officials said Tuesday the research vessel Piri Reis started its search under […]
Starting Sunday, September 25, the Kyrgyz government introduced a ban on all foreign news broadcasting for the duration of the presidential campaign – until election day on October 30, 2011. During the five week moratorium, Kyrgyzstan’s television stations and cable operators are barred from rebroadcasting foreign news bulletins, reports EurasiaNet. The motivation behind the law […]
Let’s not treat the current diplomatic standoff between the United States and Pakistan as the complete end of all ties. Both the countries have only punctuated the terms and conditions of their decade-old alliance. Had they spared a modicum of time back in 2001 to understand and respect the limits and ‘national interests’ of each […]
Did you know that Skype comes from Estonia? Ok, smartypants. But did you know Skype loves the Soviet Union? Well, maybe not loves exactly, but at least gives credit where credit is due. For some reason, Baltic people are not exactly what you’d call nostalgic for their former Slav overlords. So I was surprised to […]
Since the recession, bashing the European Union has become a sport for U.S. commentators. Just skim the most recent headlines, and one is led to believe that the old continent is on the brink of economic, political and social collapse. The truth is that very few commentators really seem to grasp the revolutionary character of […]
On Saturday Agustin Carstens announced a hands-off approach to the Mexican peso: “A neutral monetary policy is the right stance right now.” In normal times such a statement by a central banker rarely qualifies as news, even to the financial news wires. When conducted by an independent central bank monetary policy is a slow, bland […]
Today, John Duncan, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, and Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health and Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, announced that the government would begin requesting design proposals for the Canadian High Arctic Research Station (CHARS). The station is a key part of Canada’s Northern Strategy. In the press release, John […]