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Imperialistic Trump emboldens China to threaten Taiwan

It has taken a little over a month for the Trump effect to work in the Pacific. Keen to upend the post-war world order, China is desperate to become a part of the Trump-led axis of grab. Baring its fangs once again, the Chinese dragon has just put Taiwan on notice. This is sending scary ripples in the Pacific. Indisputably, any conflict there would change global geopolitics.

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Why Team Trump may soon steal Starmer’s spark

Wooing president Donald Trump is an exercise riddled with risks, even in the best of times. Britain’s prime minister Sir Keir Starmer knows this. Yet his latest attempt to charm Mr Trump is a triumph of hope over hopelessness. More so because even as he tries harder to charm Mr Trump, Team Trump, particularly its Eurosceptics element, may try harder to hobble the Starmer initiative. This is…

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Latinos’ trust in their banks is declining

Latin Americans are losing hope of having their money in banks. That means over one billion people want to be out of Latin America’s banking system. As banks lose people trust, Latinos are flocking to informal channels for saving and depositing money. For the distrusting Latinos, these channels are good enough, the scant security they offer notwithstanding. Warnings over how they would be left…

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The four legacy benefits Britons will lose now

Simplifying government assistance programs can complicate matters for recipients of legacy benefits. As Britain revamps its broken welfare system, the rejig is only creating losers across Britain. The Labour’s idea is to reform the benefit system that is both complex and chaotic. However, the so-called simplification will rob thousands of recipients of four key legacy benefits. Upset, they are…

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Computer says yes, the court says no

What is wrong with the computer saying yes? A lot, says the court. In deference to its ruling, Britain will now put an end to the computer-says-yes program. It was controversial as it auto-approves requests from renters to take away hundreds of pounds from their tenants’ universal credit benefits, without their consent. As unilateral deductions by landlords are injurious to personal finances of…

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Out of one frying pan, into more frying pans

Rich Americans are now in a bind. Caught in a chaotic post-Trumpian whirlpool, they have been mulling over a possible shift of their assets and residences to Europe. They love the idea of a second citizenship in that continent. More so because they feel packing their bags for the European shift is the best way to prepare for the unexpected. The tragedy is that these misguided rich men and women…

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America’s wealthy must prepare for the unexpected

Ironically, under president Donald Trump, America’s wealthy are worried. This is surprising because Mr Trump is usually pro-rich. Despite their belief that he would not crucify them on the cross of Joe Biden-inspired billionaire’s tax, America’s affluent families should begin looking at safer pastures outside their country. Mr Trump is unpredictable, even the wealthy in America should have the…

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The difference between being foolish and being fatal

He is the latest firestorm in India and his was a Doge claim. Or, was it a dogged claim made with a dogged determination? Taking a cue from his mentor and American president Donald Trump, Elon Musk revealed on X on February 16th that a $21m USAid grant was given to India for voter turnout. Mr Trump grabbed that claim and followed it up with a string of spicy statements. Some of them were…

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The art of using a podcaster in all weather conditions

Orchestrating an outrage comes naturally to Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The party is an outrage outfit, always ready for staging public outcries and pan-India protests. Its latest burst of anger is directed at Ranveer Allahbadia, one of its most-loved podcasters. The manufactured politics of anger directed at him is so fierce that it has ended his…

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The man who is throwing away America’s famed foreign policy

Calling them peace talks is blasphemous. The so-called truce talks in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh, between American and Russian officials, were not about peace. They were about fixing the blame for the war in Ukraine. Not surprising that the talks opened against the backdrop of the US president Donald Trump’s declaration that the days of isolating Russia were over.

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Ending the war in Ukraine is not the real agenda

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are expansionists in president’s clothing. They are busy scratching each other’s back now. It is quite revealing to see how the two presidents are playing each other. They just sent their officials to sweat it out in sizzling Saudi Arabia for scripting a farcical end to the war in Ukraine. It was a farce because neither Ukraine nor Europe was invited to the…

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Ukrainians are the losers in Riyadh

Vladimir Putin looks confident. In Riyadh, where American and Russian officials are immersed in the so-called peace talks, the Russian president is trying to show he has the upper hand. His staying power, despite Ukraine’s now-on and now-off show of strength, proves he is adept at playing the game. This is a worry for Ukraine and the West.

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The many contradictions of Friedrich Merz

Friedrich Merz has the best chance of winning the election on February 23rd. He is tipped to be Germany’s next chancellor. Yet his chances of fixing Germany are becoming bleaker as his many contradictions come to the fore. That spells trouble for his country, still in recession. However, recession is an economic issue, not an emotional explosive like irregular immigration that has become of late…

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Donald Trump’s unilateral move stokes fear in Ukraine

Ukraine’s fears are coming true. American president Donald Trump’s call to Russian president Vladimir Putin on February 12th was a wakeup call of sorts for Europe as well. What could have been otherwise a courtesy call between two presidents turned out to be an I-said-so moment for Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. He knew he was right when he had said he would be kept out of talks between…

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Republican falsehoods on aid agencies go too far

Fanning falsehoods seems second nature to fibbing Republicans in America. Of late, the American government’s premier and all-too-resourceful foreign-aid agency – the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) – has been their target of falsehood and fakery attacks. Though the Republicans would love to call their rants a crusade, they are anything but. Yet unrepentant Republicans…

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Reasons why Donald Trump wants to gobble up Gaza

Newspapers around the world are giving fancy names to US president Donald Trump’s desire to gobble up Gaza. While some say it is ‘imperial fantasy’, others dub it ‘negotiating ploy’. It is none of these. The idea to drive Gaza into American hands, and resettling Palestinians in Egypt and Jordan, is a realtor president’s development dream. Worse, geopolitically, it is Mr Trump’s strategy to please…

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Ahmed al-Sharaa takes over when terror is reviving

Transitional presidents often step into unforeseen danger zones. Syria’s Ahmed al-Sharaa is no exception. For starters, he has no better qualification than his past leadership of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. HTS is the Islamist rebel group that led the armed stir to overthrow former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. Moreover, Syria’s transitional president has stepped into a danger zone with two major…