Jordan’s prisons are bursting at the seams amid a dearth of beds, a surge in crime, and legal codes that favor incarceration. With more than 19,000 inmates in 18 institutions designed to hold no more than 13,300, it’s a bad time to be in a Jordanian jail. Overcrowding has resulted in several problems, for inmates and for […]Continue Reading
Drums of war sound louder around China. For at least three years, Beijing’s propaganda has been warning that China must prepare for war, a vague phrase in China’s often macho Communist Party rhetoric. The announcements are to be taken literally, warned a recent Foreign Affairs article signed by two of the most prominent China analysts in the […]Continue Reading
While many advanced economy central banks are facing a dilemma over how to fight inflation in the middle of an outbreak of financial instability, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) is facing a unique dilemma of its own. In 2022, Japanese inflation reached 4% — well above the BOJ’s target of 2%. Ten years since the […]Continue Reading
Terrorist attacks in Pakistan peaked in 2013, averaging just under four attacks a day, with nearly 2700 total fatalities. The latest trends suggest that 2023 may be worse, with almost 200 terror-related incidents and at least 340 fatalities by March. Is Pakistan reliving the frightful specter of 2013? It may be — the last quarter […]Continue Reading
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Friday Japan must come up with a “permanent source of revenue” to fund childcare policies, but voiced caution over the idea of issuing extra debt. Ranil Salgado, the International Monetary Fund’s Japan mission chief, urged Tokyo to target such financial incentives towards low-income households.Continue Reading
Over the past two years, a drumbeat of calls for reforming the World Bank has pushed its way onto the front pages of major newspapers and the agenda of heads of state. Many low- and middle-income countries – the population the World Bank is tasked with helping – are falling deeper into debt and facing […]Continue Reading
China is weighing the risk of losing trade benefits and carbon emission exemptions after the United States House of Representatives passed a bill that calls for revoking “developing country” status of what is now the world’s second-largest economy. The bipartisan bill, titled “The People’s Republic of China Is Not a Developing Country Act,” was passed […]Continue Reading
A former deputy governor of India’s central bank says five big firms are hindering competition in the market.Continue Reading
Election policies by various parties targeting farmers are aimed at creating short-term results and do not result in lasting income security, a recent forum in Bangkok was told.Continue Reading
The Asian Economic Outlook and Integration Progress report was published on the first day of the four-day forum in Hainan, touted as Asia’s version of the Davos World Economic Forum. The World Bank said on Monday that an anticipated economic slowdown in China is likely to drag global growth downContinue Reading