August 30, 2014
By Rich Schaprio
...Russian strongman Vladimir Putin (click here) delivered a provocative warning to his foes Friday: Don’t mess with us.
“Thank God, I think no one is thinking of unleashing a large-scale conflict with Russia,” a defiant Putin said in a fiery speech at a youth summer camp — of all places.
“I want to remind you that Russia is one of the leading nuclear powers,” he told the children, gathered on the banks of Lake Seliger near Moscow....
Maybe a war on two fronts is too much for Russia? Huh? One with Ukraine and one inside Syria which Russia's alliance has ignored for three years.
Putin is a strongman in image only. He picks on smaller countries in order to appear to be protecting the Russian homeland, but, the real battles in the Middle East is avoided. Isn't it?
August 29, 2014
By David Wroe
Now is the time to ban Putin as Russia's representative. He has nothing to offer those countries except a lot of trouble.
August 29, 2014
By Andrey Otroukh and Chiara Albanese
Maybe a war on two fronts is too much for Russia? Huh? One with Ukraine and one inside Syria which Russia's alliance has ignored for three years.
Putin is a strongman in image only. He picks on smaller countries in order to appear to be protecting the Russian homeland, but, the real battles in the Middle East is avoided. Isn't it?
August 29, 2014
By David Wroe
Pressure (click here) is mounting on Tony Abbott to push for a ban on President Vladimir Putin attending the Brisbane G20 meeting after Moscow moved troops and tanks into neighbouring Ukraine.
The Prime Minister condemned Moscow in scathing terms on Friday, branding the stream of Russian soldiers and weapons into eastern Ukraine an apparent "invasion" and calling the actions "utterly unacceptable".
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten called on Mr Abbott and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop to talk to other G20 member nations about banning Mr Putin from attending the leaders' meeting in November.
Now is the time to ban Putin as Russia's representative. He has nothing to offer those countries except a lot of trouble.
By Andrey Otroukh and Chiara Albanese
MOSCOW—The Russian ruble (click here) hit a low against the dollar, as conflict in eastern Ukraine intensified with claims of the participation of Russian troops.
Kiev said Russian troops entered eastern regions of Ukraine in support of pro-Russian rebels. Moscow denied the claim that Russia now has a military presence in the neighboring country.
"Against the backdrop [of military intervention] I want to stay away from those assets affected by the mounting geopolitical risks. That includes the ruble," said Benoit Anne, emerging-market strategist at Société Générale....
Russia is too busy hacking the internet to find unclaimed Russian money before the USA finds it and it is suppose to have something to offer? The only thing Russia has to offer are broken contracts for goods.
Compare that to China. China is using every tool available to it to expand it's Middle Class and instill an sense of confidence in the path of the country.
August 29, 2014
By Chris Buckley
HONG KONG — Newly disclosed investigations (click here) into senior politicians in Shanxi Province, an area in northern China rich in coal and opportunities for graft, reveal an emerging front in Communist Party leaders’ efforts to show they are serious about eradicating corruption.
On Friday, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the Chinese Communist Party’s central agency for uncovering graft, announced that two senior Shanxi politicians faced investigation for “serious violations of discipline and the law,” a euphemism for corruption and related abuses of power.
One was Bai Yun, a member of the provincial party’s Standing Committee; the other was Ren Runhou, a deputy governor who was formerly a chairman of a Shanxi mining company....
In Brazil there are women with competing ideas to push growth back into the grasp of the people's government. This election is a battle of ideas and the promise of transparency alone isn't getting the attention of the voters.
.jpg)
August 30, 2014
Russia is too busy hacking the internet to find unclaimed Russian money before the USA finds it and it is suppose to have something to offer? The only thing Russia has to offer are broken contracts for goods.
Compare that to China. China is using every tool available to it to expand it's Middle Class and instill an sense of confidence in the path of the country.
August 29, 2014
By Chris Buckley
HONG KONG — Newly disclosed investigations (click here) into senior politicians in Shanxi Province, an area in northern China rich in coal and opportunities for graft, reveal an emerging front in Communist Party leaders’ efforts to show they are serious about eradicating corruption.
On Friday, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the Chinese Communist Party’s central agency for uncovering graft, announced that two senior Shanxi politicians faced investigation for “serious violations of discipline and the law,” a euphemism for corruption and related abuses of power.
One was Bai Yun, a member of the provincial party’s Standing Committee; the other was Ren Runhou, a deputy governor who was formerly a chairman of a Shanxi mining company....
In Brazil there are women with competing ideas to push growth back into the grasp of the people's government. This election is a battle of ideas and the promise of transparency alone isn't getting the attention of the voters.
Presidential candidate Marina Silva of the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB) speaks during a ceremony to launch her campaign platform in Sao Paulo August 29, 2014.
CREDIT: REUTERS/PAULO WHITAKER
August 30, 2014
...Silva, a renowned environmentalist (click here) who has surged in the polls since entering the race last week, spoke to reporters after unveiling her government programme, which focuses on economic policies to restore growth after three years of lacklustre performance.
The programme calls for an end to the central bank interventions in the foreign exchange market that have strengthened the real currency, and propose a return to a free floating exchange rate that would protect Brazilian manufacturers and help exporters.
It also called for an overhaul of Brazil's complex and onerous tax system. Silva's programme does not include a wealth tax, but she said such a tax would be part of a tax reform debate....
India is leaving the old world behind and modernizing cities to bring about a prosperity.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe during a dinner at State Guest House in Kyoto on Saturday. (Source: PTI)
August 31, 2014
By Shubhafij Roy
India is leaving the old world behind and modernizing cities to bring about a prosperity.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe during a dinner at State Guest House in Kyoto on Saturday. (Source: PTI)August 31, 2014
By Shubhafij Roy
Prime Minister Narendra Modi (click here) landed in Osaka on Saturday and, within hours, oversaw the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Japanese PM Shinzo Abe to turn Varanasi into a ‘smart city’ with help from Kyoto. The pact is in line with Modi’s vision of building 100 ‘smart cities’ across India.
Under the smart heritage cities programme, Kyoto will provide cooperation in the fields of conservation and modernisation of cities, as well as art, culture and academics.
While Kyoto and Kashi share many similarities historically, there is a wide gap in where they stand today.
First, the similarities: Kyoto is called the city of ten thousand shrines, while Varanasi boasts of numerous temples and ghats. Kyoto has been the imperial capital of Japan for more than 1,000 years, while Varanasi is considered one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Both cities also have rivers flowing alongside them.
Now, the differences: Kyoto has modernised while keeping its old city, temples and monuments alive, while Varanasi has languished in its past glory. Kyoto’s streets are wide and clean, with magnificent tree-lined boulevards — something Modi witnessed on his way to the luxurious Westin hotel. Varanasi’s squalor and narrow roads have prompted the PM to resolve to clean up the city. Varanasi’s Ganga river is polluted and the ghats need repair, while Kyoto has a number of rivers, canals and other navigable waterways. While Yodo, Kamogawa and Katsura rivers flow through Kyoto, its Late Biwa canal is a major infrastructure milestone....
There are only three countries now to fulfill the expectations of burgeoning markets and developing countries, Russia has resigned to ancient methods of international relationships and isolationist draconian economics.
There are only three countries now to fulfill the expectations of burgeoning markets and developing countries, Russia has resigned to ancient methods of international relationships and isolationist draconian economics.
