THE BEAR’S LAIR The changing face of emergence By Martin Hutchinson There’s a new acronym for favored emerging markets – CIVETS. Coined again by Goldman Sachs’ chief economist Jim O’Neill (who in 2001 invented the BRIC acronym for Brazil, Russia, India and China) it stands for Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey and South Africa. However, the new acronym’s enthusiasts may have missed out on one thing: the face of emergence is changing. A different set of skills and factor endowments is needed today to achieve the takeoff into rapid growth than was needed a decade ago. The traditional emerging market … Continue reading The changing face of emergence

By Jian Junbo SHANGHAI – With its first explicit declaration that the South China Sea is one of its national “core interests”, the Chinese government is taking a tougher stand on safeguarding its rights in what it sees as its territorial waters. Beijing’s stance on the South China Sea is a proclamation that China will no longer tolerate activity deemed unfriendly or hostile there, since no country would compromise on any issue concerning its core national interests. In the Yellow Sea too, China has reacted with unprecedented strength over a planned United States -South Korean joint naval maneuver, which reportedly … Continue reading China takes new tack in maritime diplomacy

By George Friedman The United States has captured a group of Russian spies and exchanged them for four individuals held by the Russians on espionage charges. The way the media has reported on the issue falls into three groups: That the Cold War is back. That, given that the Cold War is over, the point of such outmoded intelligence operations is questionable. That the Russian spy ring was spending its time aimlessly nosing around in think-tanks and open meetings in an archaic and incompetent effort. It is said that the world is global and interdependent. This makes // <![CDATA[// <![CDATA[ … Continue reading Spying’s sleepers

900-year-old Song dynasty drains save Chinese city from deadly floods A 900-year-old drainage system has saved a city in south China from severe floods that have left over one hundred people dead and a million homeless across the region. By Malcolm Moore in Shanghai telegraph.co.uk The drainage system uses the natural camber of the city to quickly channel water outwards Torrential rain and flash floods have caused £1.9 billion of damage in China. Nearly forty people were killed this week alone in a series of landslides. But the 100,000 residents of the ancient city of Ganzhou, in Jiangxi province, are … Continue reading 900-year-old save Chinese city from deadly floods

New Labour-era memoirs reveal leaders for whom world events play second fiddle to petty obsessions Gary Younge guardian.co.uk, Monday 12 July 2010 21.30 BST Article history In Alastair Campbell’s diaries he recalls a heated exchange between himself and Peter Mandelson. On 4 February 1995, a day when the Lords were embroiled in a cash-for-questions row and five IRA prisoners were released from the Republic of Ireland’s jails, the two men clashed over what Tony Blair should wear while out canvassing with young Labour activists. “Mandelson said: ‘I’m sick of being rubbished and undermined, I hate it and I want out.’ … Continue reading Mandelson: the little men’s history

COMMENT: Partition and the Mughals —Haroon Khalid Sikh retaliation did not begin with the riots of partition, but much before that when a follower of Guru Gobind Singh, Banda Bahadur attacked many Mughal states, killing hundreds of Muslims. He wanted to avenge the death of his Gurus, and the torture of his sons Almost 63 years have passed since the bloody partition of British-controlled India to create two new nations of India and Pakistan, which even though taking birth from a single mother, remain hostile to each other. The seeds of distrust that were sown at that time mar the … Continue reading Partition and the Mughals