Foreign Affairs

Dmitry Shlapentokh : The Dragon and the Bear

admin — 2008-10-06T03:21:06Z

Second honeymoons rarely, if ever, recapture the zest of lost love. Yet ever since the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991, Russia and China have sought to rekindle the close relations that once supposedly existed between the USSR and Mao’s China before Khrushchev’s denunciation of Stalin in 1956. But that renewed Sino-Russian marriage always smacked more of convenience – aimed as it was at checking American hegemony – than of true romance. Now Russia’s invasion of Georgia has shattered even the illusion of attraction.

Tata's cheap car woes fuel debate on India's industrial drive

admin — 2008-10-06T03:21:09Z

NEW DELHI (AFP) - A decision by the giant Tata Group to shift a factory building the world's cheapest car after angry farmer protests has refueled debate about India's troubled industrialisation push.

The World: Aftermath of a Revolt: Myanmar’s Lost Year

admin — 2008-10-06T03:21:08Z

The junta casts a shadow over the Internet cafes and distant jade mines.

2 U.S. Helicopters Crash; Poland Ends Its Iraq Role

admin — 2008-10-06T03:21:08Z

Two American Black Hawk helicopters crashed Saturday evening in northern Baghdad, killing one Iraqi soldier. Earlier in the day, Poland ceremonially brought its military mission in Iraq to a close.

Arms Deal to Taiwan Riles China

admin — 2008-10-06T03:21:08Z

The $6 billion deal in advanced weapons elicited strong reactions from leaders in China on Saturday.

The end of the American order

bcarliner — 2008-10-04T19:11:00Z

The debilitating credit crisis has knocked the U.S. from its perch as the supreme economic power. The climb back up will be steep

European leaders head divided into emergency summit

bcarliner — 2008-10-04T19:11:00Z

Leaders of France, Britain, Germany and Italy aiming to reassure investors and markets jittery about growing financial crisis

South Africa: change but no change

bcarliner — 2008-10-04T19:11:01Z

South Africa isn't a stable liberal democracy merely changing its government. Its traditional elite system of government goes back 150 years and continues to the present. It isn't working.
Moeletsi Mbeki, brother of the former president, Thabo Mbeki, gave a serious warning on the front page of the Johannesburg Sunday Times on 21 September. He wrote that the ANC was exposing South Africa to the risk of civil war because of its decision to recall Thabo Mbeki. But nobody paid much attention to (...) (password requested)

Afghanistan: the neo-Taliban campaign

bcarliner — 2008-10-04T19:11:02Z

The attack on the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad on 20 September, killing some 60 people, was compared to 9/11 in Pakistan and could be a turning point in the conflict in this region. President Bush has authorised ground operations against Taliban bases in Pakistan, which has now become the main theatre in the ‘war on terror'. Meanwhile, the neo-Taliban, operating an al-Qaida franchise there and in Afghanistan, have controlled the escalation of guerrilla resistance in a sophisticated military (...)

EU Leaders Call for Global Response

bcarliner — 2008-10-04T19:11:00Z

French President Sarkozy along with Germany's Chancellor Merkel said Saturday that the "global financial crisis needs a global response."

EU heads hold bank crisis talks

bcarliner — 2008-10-04T19:11:00Z

An emergency summit of European leaders is due to be held in Paris on the global financial crisis.

Merkel: Those Who Caused the Crisis Must Help Pay For It

bcarliner — 2008-10-04T19:10:59Z

Those responsible for provoking the financal crisis must be held accountable for it, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said ahead of an emergency financial summit of EU leaders in Paris.

IMF chief calls for united European response to crisis

bcarliner — 2008-10-04T19:10:57Z

PARIS (AFP) - IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn called Saturday on European countries to provide a united response to the financial crisis, following talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Reports Link Karzai’s Brother to Heroin Trade

bcarliner — 2008-10-04T19:10:59Z

Assertions that the Afghan president’s brother is linked to the heroin trade have deeply worried top U.S. officials.

Mai Yamani: Putin of Arabia

bcarliner — 2008-10-03T23:59:30Z

BEIRUT – Almost undetected, Russia is regaining much of the influence that it lost in the Middle East after the Soviet Union collapsed. Ever since Russia invaded Georgia in August, Arab satellite television and Web sites have been rife with talk about the region’s role in an emerging “new Cold War.” Is the Arab world’s Cold War patron really back, and, if so, what will it mean for peace in the region?