In a book to be published this week, former US Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott tells the story of President Bill Clinton’s personal diplomacy in averting a possible nuclear war in South Asia. The conflict began in May 1999, when Pakistani commandos infiltrated the Indian part of Kashmir in...
On the brink of a catastrophe: Indian artillery pound Pakistani infiltrators in the Kargil region of Kashmir. Pakistan was reported to be readying its nuclear weapons until President Clinton intervened
WASHINGTON: During...
In a move that both brings Russia within the fold of European law and alienates it from the European community, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Chechens could sue the Russian army for crimes against humanity during the war in Grozny and its surroundings. This moves the Russian and...
STRASBOURG: The European Court of Human Rights said Thursday it had agreed for the first time to hear lawsuits brought by Chechens accusing the Russian army of executions, torture and rights violations in Chechnya...
Cross-border immigration accounts for much of the population growth in developed countries with low fertility rates. Such immigration has also become an election issue around the globe. Joseph Chamie, former director of the UN Population Division, urges countries to assess demographic changes and...
Give and take: Immigration accounts for a dominant share of population growth in Canada, where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau welcomed Syrian refugees; desperate migrants defy border walls and armed guards between Morocco and Spain
NEW YORK:...
One measure of an economically secure homeland is women’s willingness to raise children with the expectation of opportunities for good health, education and livelihoods. On that front, Russia confronts a perfect storm – as fertility rates plummeted to 1.2 births per women in the late 1990s and now...
NEW YORK: So much attention is focused on the Russian Federation’s plummeting ruble, evaporating investments and looming recession, following its land grab in Crimea and intervention in Ukraine that most are overlooking the perfect storm brewing...
China has repeatedly harassed foreign ships in the South China Sea. “The harassment of the Liberian registered tanker the Green Aura by Chinese naval and coast guard elements off Scarborough Shoal has generated a huge amount of debate and discussion, especially with regard to the manner in which...
Chile has formed a Constituent Assembly, charged with proposing a new constitution. Bruce Ackerman, constitutional law professor of Yale University, offers guidance and maintains that the assembly should not include delegates who are members of the existing government. “If you allow the existing...
"One of the great ironies of the Chilean situation is that its Constitution was imposed by a military dictator and yet the country has conducted seven entirely fair presidential elections over the past thirty years.” – Bruce Ackerman, Sterling...
Leadership transition in China is an opaque process. New appointments to the powerful standing committee of the Politburo are anticipated in October, as President Hu Jintao relinquishes his post as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and hands control to Vice President Xi Jinping. The...
Strong country, weak party: Chinese People’s Liberation Army shows its muscles (top); protesters in south China’s Wukan village demonstrate against the party
WASHINGTON: The spectacular fall of Bo Xilai, a charismatic but notoriously ambitious...
Out-of-wedlock childbirths have become more common worldwide since the 1960s, but with wide variations among and within countries. Inreasing economic independence and education combined with modern birth control methods have given women more control over family planning. In about 25 countries,...
Shifting culture: Women's increasing economic independence contributes to more children born outside of marriage, though acceptance varies widely among countries; throughout much of Latin America, out-of-wedlock births are the norm, left, but some...
