Infrastructure

China’s Security Chief Goes on Tour—How Is Asia Reacting?

Over the past week, as I’ve traveled across Asia, I’ve discovered an unlikely partner in my continental peregrinations: China’s security chief Zhou Yongkang. The senior Chinese envoy’s travels have taken him to Nepal, Laos, Cambodia and Tajikistan. The final stop is Mongolia, where Zhou is expected to head on Tuesday.

In …

No Gloating from India Over U.S. Downgrade

Indian businesses are worried, even if they’re not quite ready to admit it. That was the subtext of the statement issued yesterday by Nasscom, the industry’s main trade group, after the big American downgrade announced on Monday. “The economic crisis in the US, unfolding over the last few days, does not have any major bearing on the …

Five Lessons the World Will Take From U.S. Economic Policy Gridlock

Washington may have cut an unlovable deal to avert a default on its debts, but U.S. and global stock markets are tanking anyway. That’s because the measures agreed Tuesday can’t reverse the slide of the U.S. economy — its fundamentals, to use a phrase beloved by politicians, are less than sound. So, what the world sees in America’s …

Anger Over China’s High-Speed Train Crash Leads to Murmurs of Dissent

Not long ago China’s rapidly expanding high-speed rail network was a source of national pride, a feat of development that prompted a nod of approval from President Barack Obama during his State of the Union speech in January. Earlier this month a spokesman for the Ministry of Railways even crowed about the superiority of China’s …

Deadly Crash Adds to Worries About China’s High-Speed Trains


A deadly train wreck in south China has renewed concerns about the country’s rapid and costly development of a high-speed rail network. The collision of two high-speed trains Saturday evening near the city of Wenzhou in Zhejiang province killed 33 people and injured 191, according to China’s Ministry of Railways. The crash occurred when …

Famine in Somalia: When Does the World Decide to Use the ‘F’ Word?


The word ‘famine’ may be a familiar one, but it is not thrown around lightly by the people who decide when there is one. The fact that most of us today probably associate the term with the 1984 crisis in Ethiopia is testament to its exceedingly careful dispensation; to use it too often would dilute its power to command the …

The Google-China Spat Heats Up as Beijing Denies Hacking Attacks

Google and China aren’t exactly pals. The Internet company pulled part of its business out of mainland China last year, saying it was fed up with Beijing-imposed censorship regulations and what it believes were Chinese-originated attacks on its systems. (The fact that Google was lagging behind domestic search engines might have been a …

Meet China’s Newest Soldiers: An Online Blue Army

China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is in the midst of an unprecedented expansion, using ample budgets for everything from developing a blue-water navy to launching a test flight of the country’s first stealth fighter jet last year. Now the PLA has announced the deployment of another crucial military team: a cyber security …

CEO of Chilean Energy Company Defends Project to Dam Patagonia

This guest post comes from TIME contributor Aaron Nelsen in Santiago

In the tumultuous days since HidroAysén – a joint project of energy companies Endesa and Colbun – won government approval to build five hydroelectric dams in Patagonia, Chief Executive Officer Daniel Fernández has been working furiously to beat back the tide of …

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