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Though it’s an obvious cliché (and one that has already been used here in a related story last autumn), winning the Elysée may have been the easy part for French president-elect François Hollande. Given the severity of the economic problems facing France and its euro-zone partners—and the hopes of French voters and contrasting fears of [...]
The proportion of Africa’s agricultural land purchased or leased by investors since 2000, according to Land Matrix, a coalition of researchers and NGOs that released Thursday the world’s largest public database of international land deals. The Guardian reports the new portal represents the first time such a comprehensive list has been made public.
The amount, in US dollars, that will be invested in the Arctic over the next ten years, according to a Chatham House—Lloyd’s Risk Insight Report released this month. “Given the high risk/potentially high reward nature of Arctic investment, this figure could be significantly higher or lower,” notes the 60-page document, Arctic Opening: Opportunity and Risk in [...]
Thinly Veiled – Following Monday’s U.N. Security Council censure of North Korea for its recent failed rocket launch, China’s Global Times issued a stern editorial — “Pyongyang must remember to heed China’s advice.” The semi-official mouthpiece continued: “Pyongyang should treat China as a friend as China does it. It will pay the price if it [...]
The increase in world military expenditure in 2011, according to new data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). “It is too early to say whether the flattening of military spending represents a long-term change of trend,” the think tank noted.
Syria on Deadline — Even as Syrian activists reported fresh rounds of shelling Wednesday, the U.N. special envoy Kofi Annan expressed cautious optimism that the Syrian regime would honor the April 12 ceasefire plan. Analysts however remain skeptical. The April 10 deadline for the withdrawal of Bashar al-Assad’s forces from major Syrian cities has passed without much [...]
Mounting Pressure – Hot on the heels of allegations Monday by the BBC’s Panorama program that a News Corp. subsidiary company used a computer hacker to sabotage its biggest U.K. rival, the Australian Financial Review has now published details of a four-year probe into a secret unit within Rupert Murdoch’s company that it claims promoted [...]
Noisy Neighbors – China’s Global Times reacts to the Hong Kong election Sunday, by a small elite circle, of Leung Chun-ying as new Chief Executive with an opinionated ode for the region and the mainland to improve their sometimes fractious relationship. “Both sides need to look at each other rationally … We are both Chinese, and can [...]
More Syria Leaks – Al Jazeera reveals details from confidential Syrian intelligence and security documents handed over by one of the government’s most trusted officials who recently fled to Turkey. The trove shows President Bashar Assad’s strategy to suppress anti-government protests, including orders to stop protesters from getting into Damascus and detailed security plans for [...]
Solo Act — Almost every major news outlet is leading with the reports that a U.S. soldier acting alone allegedly killed at least 16 Afghan civilians, including nine children, on Sunday. The shootings, taking place near a base in the Southern province of Kandahar, ignited fears of increasing anti-Ameirican sentiment and violence. Making the rounds [...]
