A trade pact will draw China and Taiwan closer togther• IMPROVING relations between China and Taiwan will get another boost with the signing of a groundbreaking free-trade pact by the end of June. Ma Ying-jeou, Taiwan’s president, was elect…
An offer to supply Pakistan with nuclear reactors shows China at its worstWHEN it comes to nuclear danger, North Korea and Iran grab everyone’s attention. One flounced out of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and tested two bombs; the ot…
Rich countries borrowed from the future. Paying the bill will be difficult, and so will living in a thriftier worldDEBT is as powerful a drug as alcohol and nicotine. In boom times Western consumers used it to enhance their lifestyles, companies borrow…
Barack Obama has sacked his commander in Afghanistan. But the real worry is that the war is being lostTHE national security adviser of the world’s greatest superpower is a “clown”, its vice-president a nobody and its president “…
An admirably tough-minded statement of intent, but there are dangers aheadNO ONE can deny that George Osborne has bottle. The emergency budget presented on June 22nd by Britain’s new Conservative chancellor of the exchequer aims to deliver a whop…
China’s slightly freer currency would be all the more welcome if it spurred moves to boost consumptionFOR months the rich world’s policymakers have quietly pressed China to abandon its exchange-rate peg with the dollar. On June 19th, a week…
Losing popularity, the Labor Party ditches its leaderLESS than a year ago Kevin Rudd rode high as one of Australia’s most successful prime ministers. Suddenly, his spectacular career has come to a crashing end. With his rating in the opinion poll…
World leaders gather for G8 and G20 summit meetings• LEADERS of the G8 group of rich countries gather in Muskoka, a Canadian holiday resort, for a two-day summit starting on Friday June 25th. The meeting overlaps with the two-day G20 summit that …
Reactions to a modest plan to increase the retirement age show how hard reform is in FranceTHE French government’s long-awaited pension reform, which was announced on June 16th, turns out to be at once symbolically bold and yet ultimately disappo…
What lies behind the violence in KyrgyzstanCLASHES in southern Kyrgyzstan have spiraled out of control. Thus far 118 people have been confirmed dead, a further 1,500 as injured, and tens of thousands of ethnic Uzbeks have fled to neighbouring Uzbekista…
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