Japan and Italy are major economies, ranked third and ninth in the world, respectively. Yet both have slipped in recent years, a result of insular policies that in turn encourage provincialism. The cultures offer beautiful and unusual elements that draw admiration from around the world. Ironically...
Between local and global: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Italian counterpart Matteo Renzi seek to open to the world (top); but local charm endures in both countries - hilltop town of Pienza in Tuscany
ROME: It might seem odd but two inward...
Since its independence, Pakistan has had civilian rule for 25 of the past 65 years, including the last five. The ongoing struggle between the country’s military and civilian government is again in the limelight over the detention of Pakistan’s former military ruler Pervez Musharraf on a court order...
Who wields the stick? Former ruler General Pervez Musharraf and his successor, General Ashfaq Kayani (top); Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari meets with General Kayani
NEW HAVEN: On May 11 Pakistanis are expected to go to the polls and celebrate...
The latest failure of the WTO's Doha round centered on a predictable culprit – agricultural subsidies. This editorial in the Financial Times argues that the failure of discussions on agricultural protection could not only be the death knell of the Doha round, but, worse still, could provoke...
Yesterday's failure by World Trade Organisation negotiators to agree a framework for agriculture negotiations is the most severe blow yet to the ailing Doha trade round. The deadlock is more than just a stark reminder...
Critics maintain that the Bush administration's efforts to sign bilateral trade agreements with Chile, Singapore, and a few other small nations threaten the global trading system. However, international trade specialist Daniel Griswald argues that bilateral agreements don't threaten the...
The belated efforts of the US to sign bilateral agreements with Chile, Singapore and a few other small partners threaten, we are told, to destroy the entire trading system. A "selfish hegemon", as Jagdish Bhagwati and...
Advocates of health-care reform in the US look to universal insurance coverage as means to improve the health care system. However, Jonathan Keller, professor of pediatrics and psychology at University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine argues that the real problem is the nature of...
Most discussions about the rising cost of health care emphasize the need to get more people insured. The assumption seems to be that insurance – rather than the service delivered by doctor to patient – is the important...
As the US tech industry saw rapid growth during the 1990s, immigrating students and workers from Asia heeded innovation’s call. Engineers and programmers from India settled in Silicon Valley and enjoyed immediate success. About one out of six tech startups was launched by immigrants from India. Now...
Silicon Valley roots: Chairman of HCL Infosystems Ajai Chowdhryshows off the new ultra-portable laptop in Delhi
SAN FRANCISCO: Throughout history, diasporas have reflected economic or political disruptions, ultimately enriching the receiving...
Viruses, numbering in the hundreds of millions and likely extant for centuries, are unique because of a process by which they cause host cells to produce more viruses. But it is reassortment – a phenomenon in which two viruses infecting the same cell combine to form a new virus – that likely leads...
Click here for the article on The New York Times.
China has become known as factory to the world – as manufacturers invested in factories to take advantage of a labor force that accepts low wages and a government with minimal environmental standards and even less enforcement. Shoppers like low prices while the companies enjoy immense profits....
Low price? Demanding cheap goods, shoppers get more than they bargain for,
encouraging dangerous pollution in China that spreads to other nations
HONG KONG: Beijing may have delivered its best air quality in a decade...
