Mongolia squandering its mining boom riches

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Mongolia’s dependence on mining has intensified in recent decades. Following the discovery of major coal deposits and gold-copper ore in the early 2000s, mining’s economic significance surpassed that of the traditional livestock sector. In 2022, mining accounts for nearly a quarter of gross domestic product (GDP), up from a tenth in 2000. Since the advent […]

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Does Iran have a secret plutonium bomb program?

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The UN’s IAEA has reported that Iran has 55.6 kilograms (122.6 pounds) of 60% enriched uranium. The body says this means Iran is able to produce up to 25 kg (55 lbs) of 90% enriched uranium, enough for a nuclear bomb. The real story could be even more concerning. Consider the hoary phrase, “There’s more than […]

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UMNO split widens on ‘free Najib’ rally cry

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SINGAPORE – Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak’s jailing for corruption has accentuated a deepening divide inside the ruling United Malays National Organization (UMNO), one that threatens a party-splitting schism with new general elections on the horizon. One UMNO camp seeks to distance itself from the newly incarcerated but still influential ex-leader, while a rival […]

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China hopes ‘whole-nation’ scheme can close tech gap

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China’s government says it will use the advantages of its “new-type whole-nation system” to catapult technological progress, an apparent expansion of the authoritarian state’s proven ability to mobilize market and academic resources for development purposes. On Tuesday, a meeting of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Central Comprehensively Deepening Reforms Commission, chaired by General Secretary Xi […]

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Spasm escalation: Russia’s last weapon has been spent

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Russia has its back against the wall. Western analysts have missed this fact. Indeed, they have completely misinterpreted Russia’s “escalation ladder,” the technical term for the set of responses Russia sees at each stage of the Ukraine war. The “gas weapon” that Russia has just employed, a full supply cut, signals the Kremlin’s long-term intention of decoupling from […]

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How to save the global free trade order

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The world faces unprecedented and difficult challenges, including US-China rivalry, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change and supply chain disruptions. One consequence of these challenges is the possible division of the world economy into two or more political blocs, not unlike the situation that prevailed before the Second World War. To […]

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Putin’s regime may be near end, but what then?

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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine now enters its seventh month with no apparent end in sight. Yet the conflict was supposed to be a lightning war, President Vladimir Putin’s version of Desert Storm, short, sharp, and decisive. Thanks to the seemingly limitless support the United States and its NATO partners have rendered to Ukraine’s defenders, the […]

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Dangerous time for Russia-installed officials in Ukraine

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Moscow has long used proxy leaders to provide a facade of independent legitimacy for the territory it controls and it did so after occupying territory in the east of Ukraine in 2014. Many of the personnel in the militaries of the breakaway Russian-backed states of Donetsk and Luhansk are Ukrainian. The leader of the provisional […]

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Europe scrambling under Russia’s hypersonic threat

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German and Spanish missile manufacturers jointly aim to develop a hypersonic missile interceptor, a move that will seek to modernize wider Europe’s missile defenses against emerging new Russian threats. The European Hypersonic Defense Interceptor (EU HYDEF) project will cover the concept phase to develop a so-called endo-atmospheric interceptor, which will aim to cover threats from […]

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Veteran Russiagater eyed as Biden’s next chief of staff

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It has for months been an open secret in Washington that Biden White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain will likely be departing come the November midterm elections.  The conventional wisdom holds that one of the members of President Joe Biden’s inner circle will take the reins from Klain. That could mean anyone from longtime […]

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