Opinion

Announced in 2013 on a stage at Nazarbayev University in Astana, Kazakhstan by Chinese President Xi Jinping, the land-based portion of the “One Belt, One Road” initiative (the Silk Road Economic Belt) traces a line through Central Asia. The Chinese are far from the first to brand cross-regional trade visions under the Silk Road banner — although, as several speakers ...

Hillary Clinton’s performance in the debate in Florida on Wednesday was, as usual, a professional effort. She’s good at this, and she hit her marks repeatedly. But she also reminded me of one worry I have about her as president. Clinton had a good day in Michigan and Mississippi on Tuesday. That’s right: A good day. She received more votes ...

Japanese policymakers expressed diplomatic interest in the Arctic – a region rapidly being transformed by climate change –as early as 2009, when the country officially submitted an application to become a Permanent Observer in the Arctic Council. Japan’s bid (supported by, surprise, Russia), was approved in May 2013, along with China and South Korea’s. This instance of Russo-Japanese cooperation, particularly ...

Five years ago, a magnitude nine earthquake off the east coast of Japan triggered a tsunami that killed almost 20,000 people and led to meltdowns and release of radioactive material at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The disaster inflicted nearly half a trillion dollars in economic losses and caused the shutdown of more than 50 nuclear reactors, depriving Japan ...

U.S. Special Operations Forces working with a widening array of partners are slowly tightening their squeeze on IS fighters in eastern Syria — moving toward an eventual assault on the extremists’ self-declared capital of Raqqa. The Pentagon’s top priority in the campaign against the IS remains disrupting external operations against potential targets in the U.S. or elsewhere. Sources say that ...

Europe’s biggest banks will need billions of dollars from September to meet collateral requirements for derivatives and hedge them from potential risk amid signs of global economic slowdown. This new key rule will be approved by the European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm. Whether they could afford or not, these regulations will require banks in Europe to hold more cash ...

India is slated to announce a public tender to assist its indigenous defense industry in building the country’s fourth aircraft carrier, with a Russian supercarrier design as the front-runner, RT reports. The news that New Delhi will shortly be announcing a procurement tender for a heavy nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, 300 meters long and 70 meters wide and displacing 65,000 tons, ...

With an alleged test of a thermonuclear device, a rocket launch, and a recommissioned plutonium reactor, 2016 is shaping up to be a very busy year for North Korea (DPRK). After years of delay and South Korean (ROK) opposition, the United States finally entered into formal discussions with the ROK government over the prospective deployment of the American-made Terminal High ...

If there’s one country that needs creative economic policy solutions, it’s Japan. With many observers saying Abenomics has stalled after a year of weak economic performance, plenty of people are asking what’s next — or has Japan run out of ideas? The backdrop doesn’t look great. The country is experiencing an unprecedented decline in population. The national debt is mounting. ...

When Elon Musk closes his eyes and imagines the future of electric cars, he probably doesn’t see city streets jammed with golf carts. The Chinese government does. It’s drawing up plans to regulate plug-in vehicles with maximum speeds of 43 miles per hour. Included in that category are a vast range of vehicles that ply China’s countryside and smaller cities, ...