Europe’s Last Dictator Steps Into the Unknown

During last weekend’s parliamentary elections in Belarus — a country of just under ten million people that Swedish economist Anders Aslund once described as a “Soviet theme park” — two opposition politicians were elected to the lower house for the first time in more than a decade. This minuscule opposition gain may appear insignificant, but it points to deeper, though incremental, changes.

Europe’s refugees and migrants: hidden flows, tightened borders and spiralling costs

Since 2012, Europe has experienced record numbers of refugees and migrants arriving in its territories: migration to Europe via the Mediterranean has increased threefold every year. However, since the EU–Turkey deal in early 2016, and other bilateral agreements, the situation has changed. Now, it is predicted that as few as 330,000 refugees and migrants are likely to arrive in Europe via the Mediterranean this year. This is far from the 3 million arrivals expected this year, and less than the 1.1 million arrivals in 2015.

Coalition Air Strikes Wipe Out More ISIS Oil Assets In Syria

Coalition military forces have carried out 10 air strikes against ISIS targets in Syria, destroying five supply routes, oil well heads and oil tanker trucks, the Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) said on Friday.

Leaked documents reveal secretive influence of corporate cash on politics

The pervasive influence of corporate cash in the democratic process, and the extraordinary lengths to which politicians, lobbyists and even judges go to solicit money, are laid bare in sealed court documents leaked to the Guardian.

 Wisconsin governor Scott Walker holds up a dollar bill while speaking at the American Legislative Exchange Council in 2015. Photograph: Denis Poroy/AP

The John Doe files amount to 1,500 pages of largely unseen material gathered in evidence by prosecutors investigating alleged irregularities in political fundraising. Last year the Wisconsin supreme court ordered that all the documents should be destroyed, though a set survived that has now been obtained by the news organisation.

The Changing Face of ASEAN: Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam offer an unlikely breath of fresh air.

With much of ASEAN stuck in the economic doldrums and its senior members beset with issues ranging from unprecedented levels of corruption to violent insurgencies and maritime disputes with China, the regional bloc has known better days.

(From L to R) Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak, Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Laos President Bounnhang Vorachith attend the opening ceremony of ASEAN Summit in Vientiane, Laos (September 6, 2016).

Image Credit: REUTERS/Jorge Silva

But from the most unlikely corners of northern ASEAN, a more common sense approach to the region’s increasingly complex political dynamics appears to have accompanied leadership change.

Το τέλος του G20: Το γκρουπ έχει χάσει τον σκοπό του;

Ο πρόεδρος της Κίνας, Xi Jinping, παρευρίσκεται σε συνέντευξη Τύπου μετά το κλείσιμο της συνόδου κορυφής του G20 στην Hangzhou, στην επαρχία Zhejiang, στην Κίνα, την 5η Σεπτεμβρίου του 2016. DAMIR SAGOLJ / REUTERS

Κατά την διάρκεια του Σαββατοκύριακου της Ημέρας της Εργασίας, οι ηγέτες των χωρών του G-20 συγκεντρώθηκαν στην Hangzhou, στην Κίνα, για την ετήσια σύνοδο κορυφής τους. Στόχος τους το τρέχον έτος: Σώστε το καλό όνομα της παγκοσμιοποίησης, η οποία πρόσφατα δέχεται πλήγματα. Στον απόηχο του Brexit, της υποψηφιότητας για την προεδρία των ΗΠΑ του Ρεπουμπλικανού υποψήφιου Donald Trump, της ανόδου της ευρωπαϊκής ακροδεξιάς, και του αντι-Δυτικισμού της ίδιας της Κίνας, οι ηγέτες του G-20 έπρεπε να ανανεώσουν την δέσμευσή τους για την συλλογική οικονομική ανάπτυξη και το ανοικτό διασυνοριακό εμπόριο και τις επενδύσεις.

Three reasons why Belarus is on investors’ radar

After years of economic crisis and anaemic growth, Belarus is becoming an attractive destination to foreign investors.

Belarus has been receiving an increased attention from investors of late. Having weathered several heavy economic crises is in the mid-1990s, an ongoing process of implementing structural economic reforms has seen it slowly shirk its reputation as a Soviet-era authoritarian regime with centralised economic planning. While many reforms in the field of economic liberalisation still need to be implemented, the country is actively seeking to improve its international standing and attract foreign investment.

Η Κίνα θα ωφεληθεί περισσότερο από το Brexit

Εμπιστευτείτε τους Κινέζους διεθνείς εμπειρογνώμονες του σήμερα για να εξετάσουν τα ζητήματα μέσα από το πρίσμα του κινεζικού συμφέροντος πρώτα. Αυτή η ειδική έκδοση του China Analysis εξετάζει τα πρώτα σχόλια που δημοσιεύθηκαν στην Κίνα στον απόηχο του Brexit. Οι συγγραφείς υποδηλώνουν ότι οι περισσότερες από τις ζημιές που θα προκαλέσει το Brexit, θα πλήξουν την Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση ή το Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο, ή και τα δύο, ενώ η Κίνα θα αποκομίσει τα περισσότερα οφέλη.