|
|
Going Rogue – Despite reports in China’s Global Times that North Korea had dismissed the possibility of an imminent nuclear test, Yonhap news agency in South Korea reported officials there as saying its neighbor was “technically ready” for a third atomic test. “North Korea will make a decision on conducting a nuclear test based on [...]
Summit Struggle – Ahead of Wednesday’s crunch E.U. summit, Der Spiegel reports that new French President François Hollande will pressure German Chancellor Angela Merkel to agree to euro bonds, which she has so far strictly opposed. “Italy and Britain are expected to back Hollande in a further sign that Merkel is increasingly isolated in Europe with [...]
President Barack Obama huddled with President Hamid Karzai in Chicago on Sunday, urging Afghanistan’s leader to accelerate negotiations with the Taliban over a political solution to the longest war in America’s history. But the prospect for Karzai negotiating successfully with the insurgents is clouded by a question raised by Josef Stalin, on the eve of [...]
Spillover – Lebanon’s Daily Star reports on escalating violence inside the country after soldiers shot dead a prominent anti-Bashar al-Assad Muslim preacher Sunday. “The gravity of the incident… prompted leaders on both sides of the political divide to call for calm and restraint to prevent the country from sliding into sectarian strife as a result [...]
Total direct spending, in U.S. dollars, on the war in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2013, according to Congressional Research Service and Office of Management and Budget figures reviewed by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Family Business – The New York Times explores at length how China’s so-called ‘Princeling’ generation — the descendants of Communist Party leaders — use family ties to gain jobs, wealth and influence. “Evidence is mounting…[they] have also amassed vast wealth, often playing central roles in businesses closely entwined with the state, including those involved in [...]
An American official, speaking to the Washington Post on the condition of anonymity, about a secret U.S. program that releases high-level insurgents in exchange for pledges of peace.
When U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton decided to make Kolkata her first port of call on her visit to India this week, it took more than few people by surprise. Even in India, it wasn’t the most obvious choice for the in-demand diplomat to spend a day of her tight schedule in country’s eastern metropolis. But in [...]
Mid-Term Blues – The U.K.’s two ruling coalition parties, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, both suffered setbacks in local elections Thursday. The Guardian is live-blogging the results — including for the London mayoral race. Its assessment: “Labour has soundly beaten the Conservatives in the local elections in a result that has been welcomed by [...]
To understand the historical significance of President Barack Obama’s visit to Afghanistan on Tuesday, imagine that President Richard Nixon had, in the spring of 1972, flown to Saigon to signal American voters that the Vietnam war was coming to an end — and to ink a deal with President Nguyen Van Thieu codifying a long-term [...]
