Ainsley Thomson, Bloomberg
Prices are surging for even the most dilapidated homes in New Zealand, one of the world's most unaffordable property markets.
Maya Wang, Foreign Affairs
Washington Needs to Offer an Alternative
Michael Crowley, New York Times
WASHINGTON — If anything can tip the global power struggle between China and the United States into an actual military conflict, many experts and administration officials say, it is the fate of Taiwan.
Francis Wade, New Statesman
In spite of continuing anti-coup protests, the junta's long reliance on the rule of force remains immovable.
Kate Andrews, Spectator
In November, when cases were surging and a second lockdown was under way, Boris Johnson made a big promise: things might look bleak, he said, but the ‘scientific cavalry' would arrive. It duly did, with a vaccination programme that became the envy of Europe. The mood of the country lifted. Today, Britain is still on course to become the first country in Europe to vaccinate its way out of the pandemic — and lockdown. The economy can reopen in time for summer: truly a great escape. Читать дальше...
Luis Rubio, Worldcrunch
MEXICO CITY — When divorce is not an option, the parties must get on as best they can. That's the logic that Mexico and the United States have long followed over their shared border. And it isn't, as a quick look around the globe reminds us, the worst of arrangements.
Gerardo Berthin, Am. Quarterly
A deeper look at Freedom House data showing slow erosion in freedoms.
Joshua Keating, Slate
The Biden administration looks for a way to get out—and stay out—of Afghanistan.
Abby Seiff, ChinaFile
Among the earliest images to go viral at the start of Myanmar's anti-coup protests was a photo of an airplane unloading cargo. Source unknown, the picture was often paired with a second showing workers moving long army-green boxes from what appeared to be the inside of a plane. Netizens found evidence of nightly flights between the...
Minxin Pei, Project Syndicate
China's antagonistic response to concerns over the use of forced labor in Xinjiang suggests that its leaders believe that the Chinese market is simply too lucrative for Western firms or governments to abandon. They may be overplaying their hand.
Anatol Lieven, Russia Matters
Paul Kolbe is entirely correct in reminding us that there is a great deal we still do not know about the SolarWinds hack. Russian official responsibility does seem probable, but it is not absolutely proven. The strongest statement that the U.S. agencies concerned have come up with is that the hack was "likely Russian in origin."
Frank Ching, Japan Times
Jay Nordlinger, National Review
That guy up there, Saddam Hussein? He used to be in the news a lot. Haven't seen him in a while. I thought of him yesterday — will tell you why in a minute.
M. Gurcan, Al Monitor
An open letter by 104 retired Turkish admirals criticizing a government project for a waterway parallel to the Bosporus — and the ensuing coup clamor in pro-government quarters — has raised the specter of a fresh political escalation in Turkey that might culminate in a purge of officers seen as disloyal to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Robin Shepherd, The Hill Times
More than half a century later, we could do with leadership like that from our wealthy and privileged celebrities. They are not being asked to take a vow of poverty, or to stand in front of a Chinese tank. They just have to recognize their place on the scales of human justice, and act on it. If they won't, remember that the contents of our pockets have weight, too. Our choices matter in this difficult and dangerous standoff with China. It's time to make them count. Читать дальше...
H. Conley et al, CSIS
President Biden's recent virtual Quad summit with the prime ministers of India, Australia, and Japan on the surface focused on regional security, emerging technologies, and climate change. But beyond that, the Quad summit marked the official return and strong embrace of this coordinating mechanism among maritime democracies to ensure stability in the Indo-Pacific region. Initiated during the George W. Bush administration to discuss regional security issues, today the Quad has a greater purpose... Читать дальше...
