Month: December 2023
Japan, China and USA expansion in China
In Asian countries, Japan offers a vital hedge against the rival powers, as a source of capital, technology and aid. Over the past decade, Japanese foreign direct investment into asean countries has totalled $198bn, behind America’s $209bn, but beating China’s $106bn. Japanese firms covet South-East Asia’s growing markets, and policymakers see the region as a
Houthis “control” of Red sea
On November 19th Houthi fighters hijacked a cargo ship with links to an Israeli company . On December 12th a missile launched from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen damaged a Norwegian tanker, which its owner says was not bound for Israel. French warships have also been targeted. America is trying to drum up support for
Election in DR congo
DRC stretches from Africa’s west coast to its centre and has a youthful population of 100m. It has large amounts of the minerals needed for the transition to green energy, producing 70% of the world’s cobalt. Yet after brutish rule by Belgium’s king, a chaotic passage to independence in 1960 and a long dictatorship, it
Germany braces for budgetary austerity
On that day the federal constitutional court declared that the government’s plan to repurpose €60bn ($66bn) in “emergency” covid-19 credit lines towards infrastructure and the energy transition was unconstitutional. This blew a hole in the coalition government’s spending plans. It also raised concerns among those companies which depend on public support for their investments. Many
A new Suez crisis
Bab al-Mandab is a narrow strait between Africa and the Arabian peninsula through which an estimated 12% of global trade by volume normally flows, and perhaps 30% of global container traffic. It has become a no-go zone as the Houthis, based in Yemen, attack shipping, ostensibly in support of the Palestinians in Gaza. Over a
A healthy American democracy
As the turmoil at America’s elite universities over antisemitism shows, creating a political culture in which people can argue constructively, disagree and compromise is not something that happens spontaneously. In media, business models, technology and culture can work together to create those conditions. They can also pull in the opposite direction. Journalists should not spend
Regime change in Iran
In late 2022 widespread demonstrations, triggered by the death in custody of a woman who wore her hijab improperly, appeared to be close to toppling the regime. In the end it was the protests, not clerical rule, that died out. Iran’s diplomatic and economic isolation is also easing. The Islamic Republic is preoccupied with its
Protecting investors from corruption in Uganda
The president of Uganda ,Yoweri Museveni on Wednesday launched the Electronic Investor Protection Portal (EIPP) that is aimed at helping investors, both foreign and local, to report complaints about corruption, bribes and delays directly to the Office of the President. The portal enables the president to directly monitor how government agencies respond to complaints raised
Russian athletes to participate as neutrals in Olympics
The IOC will permit individual Russian and Belarusian athletes to take part in the Paris Olympics as neutrals without their national flag or anthem as long as they haven’t actively supported the war or aren’t contracted to the military. Olympic officials have decided some Russian and Belarusian athletes can compete in Paris next year. But
Ukraine President to mobilize foreign support
Ukraine wants to mobilize support for its defense against the Russian invasion with further foreign policy initiatives, A series of explosions resounded throughout the Ukrainian capital early on Saturday as air defense units engaged Russian drones. Explosions were reported on both banks of the Dnieper River that runs through the city. There were no immediate