World has six months to avert climate crisis, says energy expert
The world has only six months in which to change the course of the climate crisis and prevent a post-lockdown rebound in greenhouse gas emissions that would overwhelm efforts to stave off climate catastrophe, one of the world’s foremost energy experts has warned. “This year is the last time we have,…
U.S. Leads A Coalition Of One Against China
American diplomatic and military support for Taiwan has grown dramatically during the Trump years. The administration has taken steps to boost that support, but Congress also has pushed its own initiatives. One key measure was the passage of the Taiwan Travel Act in 2018, which not only authorized b…
The World Waits for No Country
NEW YORK – The United States finds itself confronting several daunting challenges simultaneously. There is the COVID-19 pandemic, which has already claimed nearly 120,000 lives and shows little sign of abating in large swaths of the country. The economic impact has been devastating, with some 40 mil…
Why Putin’s Rating Is at a Record Low
Russian public opinion is bucking the trend. While the approval ratings of most Western leaders have risen amid the new coronavirus pandemic, President Vladimir Putin’s ratings are consistently falling, taking some governmental institutions down with them. Data collated by the independent Leva…
Impact Investing On The Rise
GROWING OPTIMISM — Even as the coronavirus pandemic took hold, some Wall Street do-gooders found reason for hope. An annual survey of the industry released Thursday by The Global Impact Investing Network arrives in a world gripped by the kinds of problems impact investors are trying to fix. The grou…
Will Covid – 19 Reverse Globalisation ?
THE SEISMIC shock of the coronavirus pandemic has revealed the fragility of an interconnected world. Anne McElvoy and economist Jeffrey Sachs debate whether globalisation is still worth the risks—and whether liberal economists should bear some of the blame. And could the end of American leadership o…
How Saudis, Qataris and Emiratis took Washington
Gulf state lobbying efforts show that US foreign policy for the Middle East is driven more by special than national interests It was a bare-knuckle brawl of the first order. It took place in Washington, DC, and it resulted in a KO. The winners? Lobbyists and the defense industry. The loser? The Unit…
A Pipelineistan fable for our times
Once upon a time in Pipelineistan, tales of woe were the norm. Shattered dreams littered the chessboard – from IPI vs. TAPI in the AfPak realm to the neck-twisting Nabucco opera in Europe. In sharp contrast, whenever China entered the picture, successful completion prevailed. Beijing financed …
American Exceptionalism in the Age of Trump
As the world’s two largest economies, the United States and China are condemned to a relationship that must combine competition and cooperation. For the US, exceptionalism now includes working with the Chinese to help produce global public goods, while also defending values such as human rights. CAM…
Nothing Left to Steal
As Europe’s longest ruler, it is a surprise that Milo Djukanovic is only 58. He has served as prime minister or president of various iterations of Montenegro since 1991 – spanning the collapse of Yugoslavia and across and beyond independence of the nation in 2006. What is the secret to Mr Djukanovic…