Japan may soon overhaul its relationship with ASEAN. The country is expected to sign the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation at an upcoming summit, an act that will deepen Japan's role in regional political affairs. According to this editorial in The Jakarta Post, Japan is concerned that its...
The diplomatic fallout from the Bali ASEAN summit is still being felt in the region, as Japan prepares to host a summit with the 10 members of ASEAN early next month. It is reported that during such a meeting Japan will express its intention to...
In an apparent last-minute save, Germany's transportation minister persuaded his Italian counterpart to join Berlin in blocking other EU countries from granting more authority to Brussels over transportation rules. The German government fears that if the EU Commission acquires more authority...
Germany appears to have stopped - for now - a proposed European Union directive that could have paved the way for the EU Commission to eventually undermine bans on heavy trucks operating on Sundays in...
From outward appearances, soccer epitomizes globalization by enjoying worldwide appeal and trading players internationally. The culture of soccer, however, refuses to homogenize across borders or even across towns. Instead, says this article in the New York Times, local soccer teams come to...
Click here for the original article on The New York Times website.
China’s investment in the historic port of Piraeus has lifted Greece’s economy and dampened populist opposition to foreign investment. “Situated at the edge of Athens – a short sail from the Middle East and Africa – the port has been a strategic jewel for nearly 2,500 years, ever since the...
A rising China since 1980 has changed the global trade landscape. The world’s leading manufacturer, the largest trading nation and second largest economy has displaced the United States from its traditional dominance. Roland Rajah and Alyssa Leng analyzed bilateral trade data from the International...
The growth of cities across the globe has obscured the line between night and day. Artificial lights that regularly brighten the night sky for human activity in metropolises and their suburbs has repercussions on humans and other living organisms that are only now beginning to be understood....
Click here for the article on National Geographic Magazine.
Pakistan was a source of nuclear secrets released to North Korea, Iran and Libya during the 1990s, but the Pakistani government long denied official knowledge of nuclear smuggling operations. A statement and documents released by Abdul Qadeer Khan, founder of Pakistan’s nuclear program, suggest...
Click here for the article in The Washington Post.
Almost any task performed by humans could be automated, and development of robots could soon replace most human jobs. Computer scientists Moshe Vardi of Rice University and Bart Selman of Cornell University warned the American Association for the Advancement of Science, that “governments – and...
Read the article from Financial Times.