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China Plan to Cap CO2 Emissions Seen as Turning Point in Climate Talks

June 4, 2014
China, the world’s leading contributor to carbon emissions, has announced plans to set a cap on pollution levels, notably just a day after the US pledged to reduce its own global footprint: “[T]he fact that the two biggest emitters of greenhouse gases made unprecedented announcements on climate...

Cheaper Chinese Currency Has Global Impact

August 12, 2015
Rising debt, a slowing economy and battered stock markets prompted China to devalue the yuan. “By devaluing the yuan, Chinese authorities are turning to a controversial growth-boosting tactic whose effects by their nature reverberate far and wide,” reports the Wall Street Journal. “Chinese...

Out of the Cold: Burma and US Take Tentative Steps

November 4, 2009
Ever since Burma declared martial law in 1988, relations between it and the US have been strained. But as Burma expert David Steinberg writes, with the visit this week by Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell as well as a recent trip by Virginia Senator Jim Webb there are signs of a thaw....

Holocaust Memories Hover Over Refugees

June 20, 2006
Sudanese refugees who have illegally crossed the border into Israel are either forced back into Egypt or arrested and detained. Some of those arrested are released by the courts and taken in by kibbutzim, while others remain in prison waiting to be charged. The refugees pose a moral dilemma to the...

Refugees in the MENA Region: What Geopolitical Consequences?

August 7, 2013
Economic chaos, corruption and outright conflict in North Africa and the Middle East have triggered a new wave of refugees – some of whom travel and seek shelter as far away as Australia. More than 1.5 million may have fled just Syria, with another 2.5 million Syrians thought to be displaced inside...

English Butler Leads China's Latest Cultural Revolution

October 26, 2005
The austere refinement and discreet assistance long associated with a traditional English butler is now a commodity available globally. In the past decade, Robert Watson has taken his business – training aspiring manservants in ettiquette, wine-tasting, table-dressing and other skills – to numerous...

Why Globalisation Can't Work Globally

January 14, 2004
Globalization has taken some hard blows recently, says this column in the Business Times. The rapid spread of SARS, the September 11 terrorist attacks on the US, and rising protectionism stand as sharp counterpoints to the "Globalisation-is-the-Messiah" outlook of some observers in the...

Beyond Oil: Reappraising the Gulf States

January 31, 2007
Nations without oil must conserve and seek energy alternatives. Likewise, nations with oil must create jobs that do not rely on the petroleum industry. Rapid population growth in the Gulf nations means less oil revenue spreading throughout the economy for citizens. The wealthy Gulf Cooperation...
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