Economy | ANALYSIS
Households to take hit from tax hike
by Tomoko Otake
The consumption tax increase will hit every household in Japan hard, with many people’s financial future hanging on whether their wages rise enough to offset the hike's impact.
Global-related Sep 18, 2013
Brace for another 'Afghanistan'
by Brahma Chellaney
A military showdown over Syria has been averted for now but the proxy war that pits the United States and its allies against Russia is set to intensify.
Global-related Sep 17, 2013
Beijing sees a victory as UNSC role gets a boost
by Frank Ching
China has every right to be pleased with the U.S.-Russia agreement on Syria, which has returned the United Nations to center stage.
Global-related Sep 17, 2013
Why the West misread Russia
by Dmitri Trenin
Russian President Vladimir Putin's end goal in his Syrian diplomatic initiative is to put the U.S. back into the U.N. Security Council box.
World Sep 17, 2013
Putin pledges to restore Soviet-era naval base in Arctic to protect assets
Russia is to re-establish its military presence in the resource-rich Arctic by reopening a Soviet-era base to patrol the increasingly navigable Northern Sea Route, President Vladimir Putin said Monday. Putin said 10 naval ships had arrived at the New Siberian Islands in the Arctic ...
Global-related Sep 13, 2013
The U.S. with Iran in Syria
by Seyed Hossein Mousavian
America should grasp the opportunity for a diplomatic resolution to the Syrian crisis afforded by the Russian-Iranian plan.
Global-related Sep 13, 2013
Obama's doomed relationship 'reset' with Russia
by Sergei Karaganov
The failure of the U.S.-Russia relationship "reset" should come as no surprise, owing to its deeply flawed foundations.
World | Focus Sep 12, 2013
Obama ducking Syria strike deadline
President Barack Obama, having just squeezed out of one political box on Syria, is not about to jump into a new one by setting a time limit on crisis diplomacy. In his address to the nation Tuesday, the president advanced moral, logical and geopolitical ...
Politics & Diplomacy Sep 9, 2013
Moscow mayor election could shift political landscape
by Will Englund
In a mayoral election that tested the Kremlin’s strategy against its opposition, and that brought some of the divisions within the Kremlin itself close to the surface, charismatic anti-corruption Moscow mayoral candidate Alexei Navalny made a far stronger showing than expected Sunday. Incumbent Mayor ...
World Sep 7, 2013
Obama, Putin face off over Syria at G-20
U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian leader Vladimir Putin fail to end their bitter dispute over American plans for military action in Syria at the Group of 20 summit.
Economy Sep 6, 2013
Global economic recovery is too weak and risks linger, G-20 says after summit
The global economic recovery is anemic, there is a risk of a further slowdown and regional disparities are too high, the Group of 20 leaders say after their summit in Russia.
Global-related Sep 4, 2013
Can Alexei Navalny salvage Russian democracy?
by Nina L. Khrushcheva
Come Sept. 8, can Moscow mayoral candidate Alexei Navalny and his supporters change Russia's political culture of fear
World Sep 3, 2013
Gay Russian teens face life in closet
Like other gay teenagers in Russia, Maxim Moiseyev grappled with his identity alone, frightened and uninformed. Adults either ignored him or admonished him. Classmates reviled him. And a new law that forbids minors from hearing anything positive about homosexuality has only made life harder. ...