In The News

Looming Water Crises: New York Times

Somini Sengupta and Weiyi Cai August 6, 2019
About 25 percent of the world’s human population confronts severe water shortages. The Water Resources Institute reports that 17 nations are under extremely high water stress. Reasons for shortages vary including waste, pollution and excessive reliance on groundwater. “Climate change heightens the risk,” report Somini Sengupta and Weiyi Cai for the New York Times. “As rainfall becomes more...

China's Central Bank Saves the Day: Forbes

Kenneth Rapoza August 6, 2019
A trade war and US tariffs have eroded the value of China’s currency. The US president announced tariffs and global stock markets declined. The US Treasury Department designated China as a currency manipulator, and China’s central bank announced removing about 30 billion yuan, or $4.2 billion, from the Hong Kong market. China denies the currency manipulation charge. “Many emerging market central...

China Hits Back at US on Trade: Bloomberg

Malcolm Scott, Kevin Hamlin and Tian Chen August 5, 2019
The trade war is not ending quickly and tensions grow after the US president announced a new round of tariffs as of September 1. China let the yuan tumble to seven per dollar, the lowest level since 2008. Donald Trump had accused China of currency manipulation, but China may be giving him a lesson in market forces - despite the risk for capital flight. China’s state-owned enterprises will also...

India’s Move on Kashmir Will Fuel Resentment: BBC

Andrew Whitehead August 5, 2019
The special status assigned to Jammu and Kashmir reflects an agreement between India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Kashmir's political leaders. “India's BJP-led government has now unilaterally torn up that special dispensation,” reports Andrew Whitehead for BBC News. “It's the biggest change in Kashmir's constitutional status since the 1950s.” The government...

Human Rights, Women, Globalization: Eurasia Review

Rajkumar Singh August 2, 2019
Women represent nearly half the world’s population yet confront inequities that include dowry requirements, female infanticide and sex-elected abortions as well as with health, poverty, education and domestic violence. Women should understand that globalization favors self-reliant and self-regulated economic enterprises, suggests Rajkumar Singh, a professor of political science. Securing human...

Burqas Banned in Some Dutch Buildings: DutchNews

August 1, 2019
The Netherlands joins France and Belgium in imposing a ban on wearing garments that cover the face, including burqas, niqabs and ski masks, in public buildings and transport. Denmark, Germany, Spain and Italy impose partial bans. In the Netherlands, “The ban has been 13 years in the making and dates back to the time Geert Wilders’ anti-Islam PVV party propped up a minority government formed by...

Restrictions on Mainland Tourism to Taiwan: Caixin

Teng Jing Xuan August 1, 2019
Political tensions spill over to trade and other areas. China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism will allow Chinese mainland citizens to travel to Taiwan only with group tours. “Travelers from 47 Chinese cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou have been allowed to apply for permits to visit Taiwan individually under a program that began in 2011,” reports Teng Jing Xuan for Caixin. “Once...