During the Korean War, hundreds of thousands of Chinese soldiers came to the aid of North Korea in battling US forces. Over fifty years later, it is clear that history will not repeat itself: China is not prepared to make sacrifices for a regime that has become a political embarrassment and a...
In a studio off Beijing's fashionable Factory 798 cultural precinct, a Chinese military artist, Xing Junqin, has finished a huge oil painting, destined for a lobby in the country's new defence headquarters, showing...
For some it is simple economics - cheap labor and fewer restrictions on pesticide use can easily lure US cigarette manufacturers to Brazil, Argentina, or Zimbabwe. But US tobacco farmers see it as a betrayal at the hands of the same people they stood by during the tobacco wars. Now their surprise...
Click here for the original article on The New York Times website.
In analyzing any economic period, one can focus on wages or employment levels – or delve deeper into a society’s potential, examining education and innovations. David Leonhardt takes the latter approach in comparing the current crisis with the Great Depression, when television, autos, aviation,...
Click here for the article in The New York Times.
Brazil, the world's second largest producer of soybeans and one of the world's most important agricultural exporters, has traditionally outlawed genetically modified (GM) crops. Now, populist president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has shifted policy, choosing to allow modified soybean seeds...
Click here for the original article on The New York Times website.
The United States is gradually lifting restrictions on trade with Cuba and abandoning the lingering hostility after the end of the Cold War. Cubans, after enduring decades of a controlled economy and hardship, have pent-up demand and look forward to diverse products and business opportunities...
Newspaper headlines suggest globalisation is in trouble if not nearing its end, as trade and global connectivity face strong headwinds in the developed west. But something very different seems to be happening among Cold War survivors, who for long...
Iran, Iraq, and North Korea comprise the 'Axis of Evil' named by US President George Bush as the three most significant threats to world stability in general and the US in particular. With inspections of Iraq's weapons program not progressing in a clearly useful manner, pressure is...
Click here for the original article on The Economist's website.
More than 13,000 people crossed the Mediterranean, leaving Libya for Italy during the third week of May. At least 800 have died with the sinking of three vessels, reports the UN refugee agency. “The full details of the disasters emerged slowly because of the chaotic nature of the situation,”...
Read the article from the Guardian.
The spread of the internet in China has played a large role in that country's economic growth, as well as provided a cheap form of entertainment, communication, and learning for those who have web access. But the internet's popularity has not resulted in the open discussion and political...
Click here for the original article on the Knight Ridder Washington Bureau website.