Technically speaking, the U.S. State Department is the foreign policy arm of the United States. But increasingly, the U.S. Defense Department has taken a leading role in conducting foreign policy on its own: primarily through providing security assistance to countries around the world, sometimes contrary to State’s recommendations. This will come as no surprise to Central Asia watchers, who have ...

After spending hundreds of billions of dollars over the past two decades acquiring oil, natural gas, coal and other mineral resources around the global, food-related sectors are becoming the new favorite of China’s overseas investment. It is estimated that over the past five years, China’s overseas food-related M&A topped $20 billion. This includes Shuanghui International’s $4.7 billion takeover of American ...

Bloomberg Shanghai unveiled a package of measures designed to stem a surge in property prices in the metropolis, underscoring how regulators in top-tier cities are shifting gears in an economy where housing has been a brake on growth in recent years. The local government will tighten approval criteria for non-resident homebuyers, raise down-payment requirements for some second homes and ban ...

MIAMI/AFP Former England football great David Beckham has taken a key step towards his goal of launching a Major League Soccer franchise by buying land for a stadium in Miami, one of his partners said. Beckham’s group of investors acquired land in the Overtown neighborhood northwest of downtown in the Florida city. “Big News: We’ve closed on our #Miami stadium ...

Bloomberg Almost a year ago, in May 2015, Michael Jackson’s former Neverland Ranch hit the market. The 12,598-square-foot French Normandy-style home sits on 2,698 acres in the Santa Ynez Valley, northeast of Los Angeles. It has six-bedrooms, a four-acre lake with waterfall, an outdoor barbecue, a pool house, three guest houses, a tennis court, and a 5,500-square-foot movie theater and ...

Bloomberg NorthStar Realty Europe Corp. has hired advisers to offer about $1 billion of properties for sale as the New York-based company focuses on fewer countries, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. The real estate investment trust, managed by an affiliate of NorthStar Asset Management Group Inc., will sell all of its assets outside the U.K., France ...

Margaret Zhou / The Diplomat The Mekong Delta is facing its worst drought in recent history, causing food and water shortages for over half a million people. The Chinese government has made headlines amidst the disaster for its decision to release water from upstream dams within China’s borders. Chinese ministry spokesman Lu Kang said in a news briefing that China ...

DPA The last few minutes of Oetzi’s life were brutal: he was hit in the back with an arrow, he fell bleeding, and also suffered a head injury. As the Iceman lay dying, it’s possible he gave a final cry of pain. But despite being one of the most thoroughly examined murder victims in the world, no one knows how ...

EMIRATES BUSINESS MR. PORTER.COM, the award-winning online global destination for men’s style, recently celebrated its fifth anniversary. The online company marked the occasion in a variety of ways across all content and commerce channels including – dedicated fifth anniversary issues of The Journal and The MR PORTER Post, a 20-piece capsule collection of exclusive essentials and a special social competition ...

Relaxnews Watchmakers the world over headed to Baselworld, the industry’s most important event, to showcase the latest in design and innovation, revealing emerging trends in the watch market. This year, rose gold is one of the metals that really stands out. While it’s not the most widely used material in the industry, it’s increasingly being seen in both men’s and ...