6/18 Issue
Trouble seemed to be the week’s common thread as the World Cup kicked off to less than stellar preparations, prompting the Los Angeles Times to note that Brazil’s troubles won’t end with the tournament. The nation still needs to change “from one of the world’s most unequal societies into a thriving democracy.”
Putin tried to put trouble in the rear view mirror with his petro deal with China, but Forbes notes the relatively small deal only calls attention to what’s wrong with Russia.
Things look even worse in Karachi, where the New York Times questions whether the deadly attack on the airport will finally persuade “Pakistan’s government and its powerful military to acknowledge the Taliban’s pernicious threat and confront it in a comprehensive way?”
Leaders in Iraq were also left reeling after the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) seized control of major cities. The Wall Street Journal lamented that “an extended civil war seems to be the best near-term possibility.”
Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the African Development Bank, many leaders looked ahead to how increased investment in infrastructure could remove physical barriers and unite the continent. However, Euromoney points out that non-physical barriers, such as bribes and other forms of rent-seeking, are a bigger source of trouble. Regulatory harmonization could conceivably result in substantially lower barriers.
With no country unscathed, climate change is said to be the crisis uniting the world, but the Los Angeles Times points out some politicians still claim it’s a hoax. Risk adverse insurers are, however, speedily taking measures to factor in climate change. The insurers probably provide a more accurate barometer of reality.
And The Economist notes the rise of golf can be taken as a “barometer of change” in China. In little over two decades, the number of golf courses has mushroomed. The trouble, aside from environmental impact and the disruption to those displaced from their homes and livelihoods, is that in most cases the construction of the courses “was technically illegal.”
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To see the overseas media’s takes on these and other developments, you can browse Global News highlights below or at http://www.irken.jp/gn/. Links to the original sources are provided above, but please note these are frequently updated. Links that were valid at publication may later be broken.
