Biden and Xi’s record of apparently cordial relations hints at the possibility that the two leaders could halt the downward slide—at least temporarily. But any such hopes must be heavily qualified for two reasons. Since the start of his presidency, Biden has talked to Xi four times by phone or […]
Read Time : 13 Minutes
Nelson Mandela’s Missed Opportunity
That formula grated on me. I understood it to signify that South Africa was an outlier on its continent—a country that had built great wealth, albeit only for some, based on statutory and violent racial discrimination—and that there existed an alternate Africa where severe misrule and poverty were not just […]
Read Time : 3 Minutes
Taiwan’s Head Of China Policy-Making To Visit US To Gain International Support For Taipei
Amid soaring tension between Taipei and Beijing, the head of Taiwan’s China-policy-making Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) will visit the United States next month in order to gain more international support for the island nation. According to the statement released by the MAC on Friday, Chairman Chiu Tai-san was invited to […]
Read Time : 10 Minutes
Serbia Is Playing With Matches Again
The situation calmed early in the week after an intervention by the U.S. ambassador to Kosovo, Jeff Hovenier, who successfully lobbied for Pristina to postpone the measures for 30 days to iron out any misunderstandings. But the incident sparked alarm across Western capitals, which are sensitive to threats of regional […]
Read Time : 3 Minutes
Hope in the Himalayas: the China-Nepal Railway
This seemingly “crazy” idea may soon become reality. Following recent discussions between the foreign ministers of China and Nepal to speed up feasibility assessments into a cross-border railway, China plans to dispatch surveyors to Nepal as soon as this year. On top of thorny enough obstacles like challenging topography and […]
Read Time : 5 Minutes
Japan’s Nuclear About-Face
If you would like to receive Morning Brief in your inbox every weekday, please sign up here . Welcome to today’s Morning Brief, where we’re following Japan’s pivot back to nuclear power , U.S. airstrikes in Syria, and Ethiopia’s broken cease-fire . Welcome to today’s Morning Brief, where we’re following […]