Donald Trump signed a proclamation today (March 25) recognizing the Golan Heights as part of Israel, overturning 50 years of US precedent and defying international law on sovereign borders. That means that the world’s most powerful military has decided to support Israel’s 1967 occupation and 1981 annexation of a region that the rest of the world and the United Nations… Read more »
India is a big, alluring market. It has a population of 1.3 billion people who are spending more time on their smartphones. That makes it attractive to a lot of global technology companies, but breaking into India is no easy task. The country’s a crowded, competitive and complicated place to do business. Spotify’s recent expansion there has been an example… Read more »
A new and rapidly evolving video technology could intensify the problem of fake news in India. Those who have peddled video disinformation in the country till now have generally used old footage as recent events. For instance, a 2017 air show clip was circulated as evidence of India’s airstrike on Pakistan last month. Also, parts of speeches have been mischievously edited to make certain… Read more »
Indian opposition parties are attempting to delay the release of what is widely seen as a fawning new biopic about Narendra Modi that is scheduled for release days before the start of national elections. Critics of the film PM Narendra Modi, which has a publicity photo depicting the prime minister surrounded by children with the tagline “patriotism is my strength”, say it is disguised… Read more »
New Delhi, India (CNN)He is the heir apparent to India’s most powerful political dynasty. But over the next few months, Rahul Gandhi will face an uphill battle in the country’s general election campaign.The 48-year-old was born into the Nehru-Gandhi family, whose legacy is intertwined with an independent and democratic India. He is also president of the India National Congress — the main opposition… Read more »
NEW DELHI — By midafternoon, Usha Devi’s one-bedroom home was a mess. Her infant daughter spilled water on the bed, and her toddler smeared food on the floor and picked up a knife as her 10-year-old thrust her homework under Ms. Devi’s nose. “I only get an hour for lunch,” Ms. Devi said, prioritizing her youngest and unbuttoning her blouse… Read more »
On February 19, The Washington Post published a report by Gerry Shih about a Chinese base in eastern Tajikistan, near the mountainous border with Afghanistan. There had been rumors about such a base for several years, made all the more believable by occasional reports about Chinese-Tajik counternarcotics raids from Tajik territory into Afghanistan. The Washington Post’s article on the Chinese… Read more »
A major challenge for Central Asia’s oil and natural gas industry has always been how to transport petroleum products from the landlocked region to global markets. That issue resurfaced last week (March 6) in Uzbekistan, where a delay in building a pipeline to export more gas to China helped Russia deepen its hold on the domestic energy industry. The Central Asian… Read more »
Nissan Motor Co. plans to more than double the number of factories it has in the Middle East and central Asia by 2022, as the Japanese automaker seeks to secure the top market share in some of the region’s most populous and wealthiest nations. The company currently has three factories in India, Egypt and South Africa. It wants to add facilities… Read more »
Indonesia’s economy, the biggest in Southeast Asia, is getting a boost from an election campaign that’s kicking into high gear. With the first-ever simultaneous presidential and legislative elections drawing closer on April 17, spending by the government and political parties is already in overdrive. From the printing of pamphlets to mass gatherings, election activity has intensified in the past two… Read more »