Amid expansion of economic ties with Africa, Brazil will restructure almost $900 million worth of debt with 12 African countries: oil- and gas-rich Congo-Brazzaville, Tanzania and Zambia as well as Ivory Coast, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mauritania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sao Tome and...
Click here for the article in BBC News.
The EU created a fund to assist those who have lost jobs due to global competition. But the fund has received a mere two requests for aid, prompting speculation about whether global competition really harms European jobs, reports The Financial Times. France was the most enthusiastic supporter of...
Click here to read the article in The Financial Times.
Ever since the March 14 riots in Tibet, the Autonomous Region has enjoyed increased global scrutiny, though access for foreign observers has been limited. Recently, Singapore’s George Yeo became the first foreign minister to visit Tibet since the riots. A long-time student of Asian history,...
SINGAPORE: The encounter of China and India in this century will change the world. For thousands of years, the two civilizations were separated by the high mountains of Tibet. Except for a brief war in 1962, there were no major conflicts between...
To most people, broadband is simply a faster internet connection than dial-up. When it comes to powering economies, however, broadband could be as essential an innovation as electricity. Soon, television, radio and the web will find their way into a person’s home as a result of a single broadband...
Two decades ago, the chattering classes fretted about economic upheaval rising from Japan and the Asian Tigers. They feared an invasion of cars, microchips, and Karaoke that would take away American jobs, take over U.S...
Recent developments – including the high-profile visit by China's premier Wen Jiabao to South Asia – showing the rising profile of China have intensified a long-running debate in Washington. How does the growing power and influence of China affect the dominance that the United States has so...
If you are happy clap your hands: Military members of the China's National People's Congress back the anti-secession legislations but the West is concerned. (Photo: Xinhua)
WASHINGTON: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice...
Too often, globalization is seen as an exclusively Western phenomenon, an aggressive force that often endangers indigenous cultures and ways of life. But, as Robbie Robertson writes, this view is not simply reductive – it is inaccurate. "Globalization is not about rampant capitalism,...
Before the Cyber Highways: A painting of the Silk Road across Central Asia that brought inter-continental connectedness during the first millennium. (Copyright (c) Metropolitan Museum of Art) Enlarged image
SUVA, FIJI:...
Traces of cadmium found in Chinese rice samples are expected to boost imports. In recent years, China has been a major importer of rice despite strong domestic production. Rice expert Samarendu Mohanty offers two possible reasons in the Asia Sentinel: Foreign rice is less expensive than Chinese...
China has been a savior for the global rice market in the past year, importing 2.3 million tonnes, and it has continued that role so far this year.
It is very likely China will hold the top spot in 2013 with 3 million tonnes of imports. However,...
Claims that Islam is incompatible with democracy and modernity are terribly off-base, says Asghar Ali Engineer, a scholar and author at the Institute of Islamic Studies in Mumbai. The observation that science and democracy are not found in contemporary Islamic countries is fair, he says, but the...
Because of certain happenings and because there happens to be monarchy or dictatorships in most of the Muslim countries it has been concluded that Islam is not compatible with democracy and also with modernity. Some...