Everyone knew, every U.S. agency, every NATO ally, every Afghan warlord knew of America's inevitable withdrawal, and everyone stayed masked, for the sake of appearances, out of geopolitical interest or simply out of greed...About time to draw some lessons
This is the title of the 1972 account by journalist David Halberstam of the failings in America’s Vietnam War. With the dismal end of the latest U.S. venture in Afghanistan, breast-beating is once again the order of the day
Turning a blind eye on awkward arrangements, the U.S. and China had struck a delicate and self-serving balance in their financial dealings. With principled postures taking hold on both sides, global finance will be bracing for a grand unraveling
Problems can be addressed, one at a time because relevant solutions may be at hand. A geopolitical situation, with many adversarial issues in the mix, might be serene or explosive, tolerated either way, but never wholly satisfactory
Communist ideology has been the cornerstone of China's political stability since 1949 but revolutionary exaltation has developed into orderly reform - a radical conceptual shift leaving the guidance of the CCP intact but a challenge for its leadership
Across India's heartland digital adoption rates lift continent-sized regions out of their century-old isolation with life-changing access to communications, entertainment and commercial transactions. Who wiill gain control over data and logistics ?
Amazon India's costly consumer-driven venture is floundering on the rocks of the country's exceptionalism, its democratic aspirations swayed by the pressure of its immense population and the weight of its troubled history
Potash, the mineral resource and indispensable crop fertilizer,is Byelorussia's trump card in the global food chain. Overlooking the tragic fate ot migrants at the Polish and Lithuanian borders, a hard game is being played behind closed doors
Supplied by large mining firms to a small number of global food producers, potash today is competitively priced - prodding smaller specialty chemical firms to diversify from the commodity market with sustainable agri-solutions
The European Union has staked its reputation of responsible governance on ambitious green policies but a cost-benefit analysis might need to rank emission-reduction targets globally rather than regionally
Greens may be too closely indentified with scientific expertise on climate change to fully recognize the unintended consequences of principled policies, which call for compromise and understanding of the trade-offs required to stay on target
Challenged by China power politics, India cannot afford to falter in the upmarch. If market forces play out, if digitalization and interconnectivity on the world wide web opens India's economy to competition, the country's potential will grow apace.
Seeking to expand on the strength of sales for its own account (and not only as platform for third parties), Amazon proves reluctant to adapt its global business model to the social and economic reality of developing countries such as India
Manufactured in a traditional way, by growing the inactivated virus, Valneva's vaccine could convince mRNA sceptics to reconsider and benefit from surging - and unmet - demand in developing countries, provided the firm scales production successfully
Chaos seems pre-ordained in FDA approval processes of numerous candidate vaccines. With a fluid reference to 'efficacy', the FDA is expected to deliver emergency authorizations within months, followed by rigorous and extensive year-long studies
Education is a massive challenge in China . Private educational services have been seen as hardening social divides instead of engineering social progress, requiring a fundamental re-think of EdTech (educational technology) expertise
Allegations of data manipulation during Mrs. Georgieva's time at the World Bank may have weakened her standing as managing director of the IMF but biased shareholder power at both institutions may be the true bone of contention
