Showing 1 - 10 of 19
A bright spot in global landscape
Oped, John J. Metzler, Published on 02/01/2026
» It's time to consult the crystal snow globe and try to peer ahead to what may be on the horizon for the new year. Without question 2025 has been tumultuous but the year ahead holds cautious promise to finally solve some political crises mixed with some epic events on tap.
Indonesia leads Asean into Brics+
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 17/01/2025
» As the new year gets underway with the looming re-inauguration of United States President Donald J Trump, countries and entire regions are having to manoeuvre and realign in view of an accelerated breakdown of the post-Second World War rules-based liberal international order.
Trump's tariff blackmail boosts Brics
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 06/12/2024
» Even before officially taking office, United States President-elect Donald J Trump is shaking up the international system with drama and fanfare unlike any other major leader in recent memory. His most recent outburst to slap 100% tariffs on the "Brics" countries -- Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, as well as Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates -- is a case in point. While it will coerce developing economies to think twice about the cost of going their own way, this tariff blackmail and others like it also risk pushing smaller countries away from the US to other rival big powers, particularly China.
UN rights body picks again raises eyebrows
News, John J Metzler, Published on 16/10/2024
» The UN General Assembly held its annual elections for the Human Rights Council last week.
How elections bring about a cycle of devaluation
Oped, Jeffrey Frankel, Published on 01/05/2024
» The proposition that major currency devaluations are more likely to come immediately after, rather than before, an election is being tested anew. In the biggest voting year in history, the implications could be far-reaching.
An Opec for critical minerals?
News, Ludovic Subran, Published on 06/09/2023
» We know that the future will be powered by metals, but it remains to be seen if those metals will be fenced in by iron curtains. After all, most critical minerals come from only a handful of countries: China controls nearly all heavy rare-earth materials (including 91% of magnesium and 76% of silicon metal), the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) accounts for over 60% of the global cobalt market, and South Africa controls 71% of the world's platinum supply.
Why does Biden want to buy Venezuelan oil again?
News, John J Metzler, Published on 13/12/2022
» The fix is in. During the Thanksgiving holiday, the Biden administration announced it was quietly reversing policy and allowing limited petroleum imports from Venezuela. The Treasury Department lifted restrictions permitting a six-month deal to ease sanctions so that Chevron petroleum may buy and then ship Venezuelan crude oil to American refineries.
3 steps forward, but 2.5 back for populism
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 10/10/2022
» The reports about Luiz Inácio 'Lula' da Silva's impending comeback as Brazilian president verged on the ecstatic in the week before the vote on Oct 2. He was after all, fourteen points ahead of his populist rival, incumbent president Jair Bolsonaro, in the last opinion poll before the vote.
The 'pink tide' is rising in Latin America
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 15/06/2022
» 'Corruption isn't fought with slogans on TikTok," complained veteran Colombian presidential candidate Gustavo Petro. But social media can win elections, and a right-wing dark horse called Rodolfo Hernández, who calls himself the "King of TikTok", may crush Mr Petro's hopes of becoming Colombia's first-ever leftist president next Sunday.
The guardians of civil society and democracy
Oped, Michelle Bachelet, Darren Walker & Mark Malloch-Brown, Published on 16/12/2021
» When global leaders gathered virtually last week from Dec 9-10 for US President Joe Biden's Summit for Democracy, they ought to have asked themselves a simple question: What can we do to help democracy's bravest advocates, like the protesters who are risking their lives in Sudan?