- Spiegel has grisly new photos showing that the Syrian regime is starving, torturing and executing its opponents. The link is to the accompanying story; I didn't have the stomach to click on the photo gallery but you should assume it is not safe for work.
- How the Russian military is preparing for the reduced Western military presence in central Asia.
- Addressing the 'key global issues for tomorrow that demand our attention today'. The World Economic Forum's Essays on Geopolitics that Matter.
- Is Malaysian Prime Minister Najib being pushed aside by his predecessor, Mahatir Mohamad?
- Is corruption really that big of a break on economic development?
- Europe's renewable energy target is actually bad for the environment, says one analyst. Not really, says another.
- Istanbul is set to become Europe's biggest city soon. How will it cope?
- Former Australian ambassador to China Stephen Fitzgerald:
The fact is the government doesn’t have a China policy, in any coherent, strategic, long-term sense, and it has laid out no narrative in any speech or document that would give the lie to this assertion. Its handling of the issues with China over the last few months has been in the service more of a neoconservative confrontationist US view of China than an Australian view or Australian interests.