A new study assesses both commercial and potential military implications
Keidel forecasts that China’s economy will double by midcentury, fueled by domestic demand, not exports. Potential stumbling blocks to sustained Chinese growth—export concerns, domestic economic instability, inequality and poverty, pollution, social unrest, or even corruption and slow political reform—are unlikely to undermine China’s long-term success, according [...]

read more....

That man, Hugo Chávez, the president of Venezuela, began his love affair with the Bronx during a visit in 2005. Since then, he and his socialist government have funneled millions of dollars of aid to the South Bronx, home to New York’s poorest Congressional district, through Citgo Petroleum, the American subsidiary of Venezuela’s state-owned oil [...]

read more....

Since the end of apartheid, thousands of white South Africans have been forced into poverty. They blame the government’s positive discrimination policies, which favour black employees.

Link to video on YouTube.

read more....

Vladimir Putin hails stability among his greatest achievements as president of Russia. But stability in Russia exists in appearance only, supported by enormous oil revenue and massive propaganda from the government-controlled mass media. Behind the facade lies an unprecedented increase in corruption, a population largely mired in poverty, and a bureaucracy and domestic intelligence apparatus [...]

read more....

Poverty and weak health systems contribute hugely to the problem, but another, largely overlooked, factor is responsible for nearly 30% of all malaria deaths in Africa - conflict.
In 2007, 26 million people were driven from their homes by conflict. The effects of climate change - and conflict over limited resources like water, food and land [...]

read more....