THE WORLD – Page 216 – IDN-InDepthNews

Middle East2013-06-022023-07-10

Saudi Arabia Becoming Vulnerable

By Fahad Nazer* | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

WASHINGTON (IDN | Yale Global) – Thanks to the bountiful oil under its desert sands and an equally plentiful supply of foreign labour – skilled and non-skilled – Saudi Arabia has enjoyed a booming economy. Prices of crude oil, nearly $100 a barrel for two years running, have largely spared Saudi Arabia the ill effects of the economic downturn that stalled many nations across the globe.

Thanks to the prosperity, the kingdom has also survived, relatively unscathed, the seismic events of the Arab Spring, spurred in large part by feelings of economic deprivation and political marginalization among Arab youths.

Europe2013-05-302023-07-10

Inequities and No Jobs Worry Europeans

By Jaya Ramachandran | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

PARIS (IDN) – A new poll finds that Europeans are growing dissatisfied with the inequities of the economic system, which are also rooted in the “still rising unemployment” that, as the OECD’s Chief Economist Pier Carlo Padoan avers, present “the most pressing challenge for policy makers” in the euro area.

The euro area consists of 17 members of the 27-nation European Union: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain.

Middle East2013-05-282023-07-10

Report Censures Israel For Demolishing Palestinian and EU Property’

By Bernhard Schell | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

BRUSSELS (IDN) – Hundreds of Palestinian homes and structures have been bulldozed and approvals for illegal settlements have increased despite the 27-nation European Union (EU) asking Israel to stop settlement expansion, forced displacement, and demolition of Palestinian property in an unprecedented statement one year ago, says a new report.

EU foreign ministers adopted on May 14, 2012 some of the most extensive and far-reaching recommendations on the issue of the Israeli policies in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT). In particular, the EU ministers approved specific recommendations for developing Area C which constitutes 60 percent of the West Bank and falls under full Israeli military and civil control. An estimated 150,000 Palestinians live there among 325,000 Israelis living in settlements that are illegal under international law.

Asia-Pacific2013-05-272023-07-10

Arctic Council Honours India’s Alertness

By Shastri Ramachandran* | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

NEW DELHI (IDN) – Even as most Indians continue to rue that, in recent months, the government has achieved little on the foreign front, New Delhi has scored a diplomatic victory by joining the Arctic Council as an observer.

India’s accomplishment came at May 15 meeting of the Arctic Council in Kiruna, Sweden. This is a rare instance of diplomatic alertness and activism paying off, thanks to proactive pursuit of a prospect that could have gone awry had the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) taken things for granted. If the MEA been laid back and assumed that India’s entry in to the Arctic Council would happen as a matter of course, the outcome at Kiruna could have been different.

Asia-Pacific2013-05-242023-07-10

Bollywood Reflects India-China Love-Hate

By Coonoor Kripalani* | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

SINGAPORE (IDN | Yale Global) – The activities of Indian and Chinese troops along the line of actual control, the undemarcated border between the two nations known as LAC, may recall memories of 1962. That year marked a border conflict between the two Asian giants that remains etched in the Indian psyche – reinforced by the 1964 film Haqeeqat, written and directed by Chetan Anand. The same dispute goes unmentioned in China’s history books.

Middle East2013-05-222023-07-10

Wading Through The Syrian Labyrinth

By Antonio C. S Rosa* | IDN-InDepth NewsReport

An international peace mission visited Damascus from May 1 to 11 wading through a labyrinth of multi-layered domestic and foreign political, economic and religious interests constituting the backbone of persistent half-truths about a rather intricate situation in Syria whose worst victims are ordinary and peace-loving people. Following are excerpts from an extensive report by the editor of peace journalism website TRANSCEND Media Service (TMS).

PORTO (IDN) – It was disconcerting coming into the country for the first time knowing what I thought I knew and seeing a calm, positive demeanour in people, which could well be misconstrued as apathy, yet exhibiting expectant, concerned, awaiting eyes and facial expressions.

Asia-Pacific2013-05-202023-07-10

Learning Statecraft from China

By Kasturi Moitra* | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

NEW DELHI (IDN | IDSA) – “Deception is an integral element of Chinese strategic culture”, noted Shyam Saran (former Foreign Secretary with the Government of India) at the second K. Subrahmanyam lecture series held in August 2012 at New Delhi.

At the same event, he also underscored the importance of being more conversant with the Chinese thought process for improving Indo-China relations. His counsel becomes even more relevant in the light of the recent friction between India and China over difference in interpretation of the border, resulting, recently, in a 19-km incursion in the Daulat Beg Oldi sector of the Depsang Valley in Ladakh.

Europe2013-05-202023-07-10

The European Dream Fading Away

By Roberto Savio* | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

ROME (IDN | Other News) – The European Union has asked its citizens to brace for further economic misery. In a report on European economic prospects released on May 3, the European Commission said that further deterioration is expected to last at least until 2015. But, as every such report says, things will then get better!

Asia-Pacific2013-05-142023-07-10

Election Outcome Bodes Well For Pakistan

By Eric Walberg* | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

The parliamentary elections in Pakistan on May 12 may be described as historic in many ways. But what do the tea leaves tell us? Sharif is a logical heir to Pakistan’s tragic history, which continues to unfold, regardless of who sits on top. But if he can strike a peace accord with India and work with regional players – including Iran – and the US in Afghanistan, peace will break out, creating an economic boom across the region.

Europe2013-05-122023-07-10

Back to Keynes in Eurozone, Sans Germany

By Suzan A. Kane* | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

BRUSSELS (IDN | European Sting) – Thank god it will not be any more the economists to set the course of economic policy in Eurozone but the people and the politicians. Whatever bad things one may think about politicians, there is one thing that nobody can deny; they can hear the people.

In this case the theory of Reinhart – Rogoff proposing austerity and prayers to correct all sins of the western economy and more so of Eurozone’s debts, will cease to set the rules. It will be rather the politicians to decide now to end austerity and start borrowing again to finance growth. Japan opened the way deciding to increase its government debt above the already breath-taking 200% of the GDP.