Blame for the surging price of oil - almost double from a year ago - has been pinned on demand from China and India, supply constraints, terrorism scares, among other factors. The real culprits are closer to home, in the
A strong preference for male babies has led to social problems in Asia, specifically in China and India, where traditions and state mandates have led to serious gender discrimination in reproduction. Now, mothers are being blamed, baby girls are abandoned
The latest avatar of the archetypal American capitalist takes viewers on a thrilling ride while raising existential questions on the side. Individual liberties and innovation that spawned decades of prosperity are now under assault globally as much from a sprawling
It was fun while it lasted. Asia's markets this week eased back from positions achieved after one of the year's most positive trading periods. Declines were slight, but with oil prices high and concerns that the US may be seeing
Microsoft's on-off courtship of Yahoo has lost a little of its chill for at least long enough for the two to agree on a bit of collaboration between their online advertising divisions. Meanwhile, the aging but still energetic Carl Icahn
Iron Man, directed by Jon Favreau This film is not only the box office hit of the year - taking in a staggering US$428.5 million worldwide in its first three weeks - but has been labeled the "best-reviewed movie of
Two days of talks between Pakistan and India, the first Delhi has held with Islamabad's new government, concluded with a slew of agreements, from access to prisoners to trade facilitation. At the same time, Indian border posts in Jammu and
Like all South Korean presidents before him, Lee Myung-bak has enjoyed a very brief honeymoon. The knives are already out, with opponents using the issue of imported US beef to scuttle a United States-South Korean free trade accord in the
The traditional approach of the 10 countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations - non-interference in the internal affairs of member states - helps shield Myanmar from the international scrutiny. This has also aided Thailand, while sending emergency supplies
The unexpected Iraqi resistance - at all levels of society - to the plans of the George W Bush administration has hardly been given its due. This resistance ranges from the Sunni insurgency to oil workers (who aborted a plan
While most attention in Iraq is focused on Baghdad and the troubles in Sadr City, under the global radar an invisible war in Mosul drags on, officially against al-Qaeda in Iraq jihadis but in fact a barely disguised anti-Sunni mini-pogrom
The United States military continues to imply that Iranian weapons are flowing into Iraq to arm Shi'ite groups opposed to the US occupation. Yet US officials have not even come close to providing evidence to support the claims - most
