Topic Category: World

North Korea’s “Dear Leader” Kim Jong-il has been dead for two years, but his son, Kim Jong-un, appears to have taken firm control—and in a much bloodier fashion than many predicted, with the execution of his uncle and one-time mentor Jang Song-taek. However, no one knows whether the regime is stabilizing or destabilizing. The ascension of Kim fils never seemed certain. Not yet 30 when his father passed, Kim had had little time to secure the levers of power.

Professional sports players are usually paid based on performance. The better they play, the more money they make. In the business world, CEOs are typically compensated based on the performance of their company. The better the company performs, the more they are paid in salary and stock options.

In a recent speech, Secretary of State John Kerry highlighted “new energy” as an area in which the United States could work together with Latin America for the benefit of the region. As the administration pursues such collaboration, however, it will confront an important but little noticed trend: the transformation of the Latin American energy sector is already well underway, led by Chinese companies and backed by Chinese banks.

Saudi Arabia is angry with Washington. In Riyadh’s view, the U.S. government isn’t doing enough to support tyranny and war in the Middle East. The Obama administration should tell America’s foreign “friends” that Washington acts in the interests of the American people, not corrupt dictators. Repressive Riyadh long has been an embarrassment for the U.S.

A protracted political crisis that has threatened to derail the democratic transition initiated after the downfall of Tunisia’s entrenched autocratic regime in January 2011 appears to be headed toward a peaceful resolution. However, tensions between secular and religious political forces, stoked by the assassinations of two prominent secular politicians in the space of less than six months, are still running quite high.

SPECIAL REPORT—The first half of 2013 has been an unusually turbulent period for companies doing business in China. Amidst an apparent economic slowdown, the new leadership has pursued a number of actions. This includes an anti-corruption drive, a government frugality campaign, and a stronger Internet crackdown. But that’s not all. We have seen the trial of Bo Xilai, as well as the purging of China’s most profitable state owned enterprise, PetroChina.

SPECIAL REPORT—First elected German Chancellor in November 2005, Angela Merkel achieved a stunning victory through her second re-election on September 22nd. This is very important since Germany is the largest European Union (EU) economy, accounting for more than one-fifth of its gross domestic product (GDP), and the main bailout creditor to struggling European countries. As a result, many are wondering what’s next in terms of German policy and its impact.

A decade-long trend toward an increasingly conservative makeup of all of Iran’s most powerful political institutions was disrupted at the presidential election held in June 2013. Hassan Rowhani, the lone moderate among the six candidates vying to succeed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, emerged the victor, winning slightly more than 50 percent of the first-round vote.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s minority coalition government is under pressure to restore public and investor confidence, as concerns surrounding the slowing pace of growth have more recently been compounded by the rupee’s alarming depreciation. A general election is required no later than the second quarter of 2014, and the latest opinion polls signal an abrupt shift in popular attitudes away from the governing UPA, a bloc headed by Singh’s Indian National Congress.