Donald Trump won the US presidency with less than a majority vote and governs with a level of support that struggles to reach 40 percent. The administration’s ineffective policies reflect a larger society that thrives on “an unrelenting barrage of crude and voyeuristic entertainments, most of which...
Reality TV presidency: Donald Trump shows his own rubber mask; Willie Robertson, actor with reality TV show Duck Dynasty, addresses the Republican National Convention
LAFAYETTE, INDIANA: Even now, polls suggest that about 40 percent of Americans...
More than 100,000 UN blue-helmeted soldiers and civilians are based in 14 nations as peacekeepers to maintain security. “Peacekeepers set out to protect civilians, train police forces, disarm militias, monitor human rights abuses, organize elections, provide emergency relief, rebuild court systems...
Crises tend to identify leaders while exposing the strengths and weaknesses of organizations. The Covid-19 pandemic should have been a straightforward apolitical challenge, with societies rallying around the world’s top public health recommendations. Yet masks and social distancing have polarized...
One threat, divided response: A close relationship between World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Chinese President Xi Jinping is among the reasons for deadlock at the UN Security Council (Source: Naohiko Hatta, AP...
China continues to build up islets as military bases, moving slowly to press claims in the South China Sea. ASEAN, traditionally focused on trade, no longer sits back, and the 10 nations joined the US Navy in maritime drills that extended into the South China Sea. ASEAN may worry that the Trump...
In his presidential campaigns, both 2008 and now, Barack Obama has blasted outsourcing and offshoring of US jobs. Such political attention unnerved India’s IT industry, which relies on skilled labor and large numbers of temporary work visas, particularly the H-1B for the US. That visa allows...
Home abroad: Indian engineers for Wipro work at an Atlanta office (top); Indian programmers on work visas at US Infosys office (below)
WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama’s 2008 election worried India’s offshore outsourcing industry, after a campaign...
Some forms of globalization tend to be appreciated more than others, and economist Arvind Subramanian delves into why cross-border financial exchanges are more widely accepted than trade or migration despite having “regularly wreaked havoc on rich and poor economies alike over the last 40 years.”...
Valve, the developer of the popular video game “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive,” announced that players wouldn’t be allowed to trade the in-game currency that could be used for buying virtual knives, guns and skins. That was an abrupt action against the rising trend of money laundering by video...
Six centuries ago, Chinese Admiral Zheng He embarked on the first voyage of a career that encompassed destinations as far as India, Persia, Arabia, and Africa. Though his achievements were forgotten for centuries, a re-emergence of interest in his story coincides with China's dramatic rise....
A Dubious Legacy: Was Admiral Zheng He the first to discover America?
SINGAPORE: Six hundred years ago this autumn, a large Chinese fleet led by a famous Chinese admiral sailed from Nanjing on an unprecedented...
