China ‘Marco Polo’ Xi Jinping Starts Jockeying in Post-Obama World

China ‘Marco Polo’ Xi Jinping Starts Jockeying in Post-Obama World

In yet one more spectacular chapter of his running Marco Polo in reverse saga, Chinese President Xi Jinping made a strategic stop in Sardinia, Italy, on his way to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima, Peru. Why beautiful Sardinia? Certainly not for a yacht cruise in the Costa Esmeralda. This is all about,…

China’s Environmental Challenges: Under the Dome with No Way Out?

China’s Environmental Challenges: Under the Dome with No Way Out?

Introduction Four decades of rapid economic growth in China has come at a huge price to the environment, from smog-ridden skies to contaminated rivers, toxic soils and “cancer villages”. These increasingly intolerable costs have emerged as a major source of social unrest in recent years. Premier Li Keqiang acknowledged this in his opening address to…

Major Russian Geopolitical Moves Going Unnoticed in Wake of US Election

Major Russian Geopolitical Moves Going Unnoticed in Wake of US Election

It’s official, Russia has decided to grab the bull by the horns. Just one week after the shocking vote in the US presidential election resulted in a Trump victory, Russia has decided to pull all the stops and take care of some long lingering business while Obama’s administration is working overtime to manage a transition…

Snapchat’s New Video-Recording ‘Spectacles’ Raise Spying Concerns

Snapchat’s New Video-Recording ‘Spectacles’ Raise Spying Concerns

Snapchat’s new video specs are going like hotcakes, showing promising signs it won’t be another Google Glass-like disappointment. Yet, amid the Spectacles hype, privacy breach concerns seem to be underestimated. It has been a full week since Snapchat-maker Snap, Inc. started selling its brand new $129 Spectacles from a vending machine – Snapbots – in…

Indian Economy Grinds to a Halt after Cash-Ban: “Faith in System Shaken”

Indian Economy Grinds to a Halt after Cash-Ban: “Faith in System Shaken”

Amid scenes of panic across India, following PM Modi’s shock decision to withdraw high-value bills in the middle of the sowing and wedding season, Reuters reports the move, aimed at cracking down on the shadow economy, has brought India’s cash economy to a virtual standstill. With over 90% of all transactions done in cash, money…