Talks in Alaska can be transformative for US-China ties

The testiness in the United States’ relations with China surged to the surface last week. The back-and-forth at the US-China talks at Anchorage, Alaska (March 18-19) marked a defining moment. The US readout was skimpy in detail while a more detailed Chinese account has appeared on the website of the State Council of China. The US …

Ten years on, Syria is almost destroyed. Who’s to blame?

Syria in ruins after ten years of conflict (File photo) In George Orwell’s novel Animal Farm, the ruling pigs led by Napoleon constantly rewrote history in order to justify and reinforce their own continuing power. The rewriting by the western powers of the history of the ongoing conflict in Syria leaps out of Orwell.  The …

Asymmetry in US-Russia-China triangle

US-China dialogue in Anchorage, Alaska on March 16, 2021   The privilege of posing the first question to the Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the customary press conference  last Sunday on the margins of the 13th National People’s Congress in Beijing went to the Tass correspondent. The extraordinary gesture,  dripping with symbolism, …

Return of ‘Pink Tide’ in Brazil. Viva BRICS!

Brazil’s former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Brazil’s former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has hit the political turf running. He was catapulted back on to the frontline of Brazilian politics only on Monday by the surprise decision of the country’s Supreme Court to declare that the anti-corruption operation that scuppered Lula’s bid …