Treaty Talk - A fiscal compact aimed at capping euro-zone debt was signed by 25 of the 27 European Union states on Friday. The Guardian reports that the new measures will be put to the test immediately, as Spain and the …
corruption
The Endless Pathos and Hubris of L’Affaire DSK
When Dominique Strauss-Kahn awoke in a French detention cell Wednesday morning, he probably wasn’t experiencing the sort of déjà vu one might expect. Because in contrast to his incarceration last May in New York on suspicion of …
Must-Reads from Around the World: February 21, 2012
Ballot for One – Yemen heads to the polls on Tuesday to replace long-time ruler Ali Abdullah Saleh. Interestingly, the only candidate on the ballot is Vice President Abd-Rabbua Mansour Hadi, who took power after Saleh stepped …
Must-Reads from Around the World: February 17, 2012
Poets, Peaceniks and Protesters: Meet China’s Leading Dissidents
As Xi Jinping, the man widely touted to be China’s next President, embarks on a trip to the U.S., Beijing’s desire for political stability remains paramount. The past year has seen numerous crackdowns on dissent and arrests of …
Must Reads from Around the World: Feb. 7, 2012
Syrian Situation – Global Post reports on Syrian Christians’ reluctance to join the uprising against President Bashar Assad. “Syria’s Christians, a fellow minority, believe they need the ruling Assad regime for protection,” …
“The conditions of the Soviet Union and the Stalinist regime are back in Ukraine.”
Not Just a Pakistani Problem: India’s Army Chief Challenges His Own Government
Side by side on the front page of today’s Hindu newspaper are two stories about conflict between the Army and the civilian government in two South Asian countries. One of them, of course, is Pakistan, a country whose political …
Former French President Jacques Chirac Convicted on Corruption Charges
[Update: In contrast to what had been the prevailing assumption in France following the verdict in Jacques Chirac’s corruption trial (all detailed below), the former French President announced Thursday night he would not seek …
Can A French Sports Star Change China’s Soccer Fortunes?
Chinese online-gaming mogul Zhu Jun is used to winning big. After all, he made his fortune in part by being the first to nab China distribution rights for the World of Warcraft franchise. But the soccer team that he bought with …
Retail Wars: India Plays an Economic Double Game
In 1991, Manmohan Singh was finance minister of a struggling, fractious government that was running out of money and ideas. Under pressure from international lenders, he championed a sweeping program of economic reform that took …
Chasing the Dragon: In Burma, All Conversations Seem to Lead to China
I went to Burma to see whether the reforms I’d heard about were truly transforming one of the most isolated nations on earth. Yet what many of my Burmese friends wanted to talk instead about was my place of residence: …
South Africa’s “Secrecy” Bill: A Blow to Post-Apartheid Democracy
If in any revolution, there is a moment after which it becomes unstoppable, that moment came for South Africa on Feb. 11, 1990, when Nelson Mandela walked free after 27 years in jail. But if there arrives another moment after which a revolutionary party — too long in power, too arrogant, too corrupt — can no longer claim to act …
