US stance on Taiwan hardening amid China’s threats

President Joe Biden has – not for the first time – suggested that the US would intervene “militarily” should China attempt an invasion of Taiwan._ In an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes” on September 18, 2022, Biden vowed to protect the island in the face of any attack. Pressed if that meant the US getting […]

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The road to war in Ukraine: fact vs fiction 

The French political philosopher Pierre Manet once observed that “human beings are thinking animals who need tolerably accurate ideas and evaluations to orient themselves in the world.” He went on to note that “this is truer the more intellectually active and able the person concerned.” With regard to the war in Ukraine, we might reasonably […]

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HK’s Cardinal Zen in unholy morality row with China

Cardinal Joseph Zen will stand trial on September 19, 2022, in Hong Kong for his role as a trustee of the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund. This organization paid legal fees and medical bills for Hong Kongers protesting the Extradition Law Amendment Bill. This 2019 legislation would have allowed extradition to the People’s Republic of China. […]

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Widodo for vice-president gets a big thumbs-down

JAKARTA – President Joko Widodo’s army of zealous followers hasn’t given up yet on their mission to extend his political career beyond the 2024 presidential and general elections, but even he appears genuinely perplexed at their latest push to have him run as a vice-presidential candidate. The novel idea of a former president standing for […]

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Are Western sanctions on Russia actually working?

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the United States, the European Union and other countries swiftly imposed a mix of wide-ranging diplomatic and economic sanctions. Russia was excluded from the Council of Europe and voted off the United Nations Human Rights Council. Russian diplomats were expelled by various Western countries. Travel […]

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As visa rejections mount, Turks sour on Europe

In a recent poll, more than a third of Turks said that the European Union is a more valued partner than China, Russia and the United States combined. Yet if tourist visas are any indication, the EU doesn’t hold the same opinion of Turkey. Schengen visa approvals for Turkish travelers have fallen off a cliff in recent years, […]

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Korea’s Yoon in a deep, dark ratings hole

On the eve of his victory in South Korea’s presidential election, President Yoon Suk-yeol promised to unite a divided country. That was always unlikely to happen. Yoon is a political outsider with no established support base within his People Power Party. He won the closest victory in South Korea’s democratic history following substance-free campaigns from both candidates. Yoon has never held […]

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Charles III: The eunuch monarch ascends

London is being mobbed today, September 19, 2022, by heads of state ranging from the president of the United States to the emperor and empress of Japan; from prime ministers of the Anglosphere Commonwealth to the president of South Korea. The occasion? The funeral of the head of an archaic institution. Clearly, the British royal […]

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US becoming ‘developing country’ on global rankings

The United States may regard itself as a “leader of the free world,” but an index of development released in July 2022 places the country much farther down the list. In its global rankings, the United Nations Office of Sustainable Development dropped the US to 41st worldwide, down from its previous ranking of 32nd. Under […]

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Fuel prices a political tinderbox in Indonesia

An election sticker with the image of new Indonesian President Joko Widodo is seen on a motorcycle gas tank as it is filled with subsidised fuel at a state-owned Pertamina petrol station in Jakarta October 31, 2014. Indonesia's new government will make changes to its costly gasoline and diesel subsidies before the end of the year, the country's chief economics minister said on Thursday. An advisor to Widodo, who was sworn in on Oct. 20, told Reuters earlier this month that a fuel price hike of 3,000 rupiah was planned by the new government, possibly as early as Nov. 1. REUTERS/Darren Whiteside (INDONESIA - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY BUSINESS) - RTR4C9YL

JAKARTA – Indonesian President Joko Widodo has decided to skip the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) for the eighth time, but on this occasion, he may have a valid reason for doing so after being forced to go ahead with a politically-sensitive fuel price hike. Moreover, Widodo is also clearly worried about the upcoming G20 […]

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