JONATHAN MANTHORPE: International Affairs December 19, 2015 I was wrong when I said in last week’s column there is little reliable information available about the extent of soil pollution in China. Well, half wrong. In my hunt for facts I foolishly neglected to
Set aside quality time over the holiday to enjoy Brian Brennan’s Brief Encounters with a star-studded cast of 64 entertainers. (Modestly-priced subscription required, see below*. If you’re a subscriber and lack your pass code, please email editor@canadianjournalist.ca) From poignant to charming to hilarious, the columns include Brennan’s interviews with satiric
The world’s money people have the jitters ahead of a historic U.S. Federal Reserve decision on American interest rates, expected Wednesday. If rates go up, it would be the first time in more than nine years. Analysts are busy predicting either disaster or a boon. The decision
Once, during slow spells in a long-ago night desk job, I started a game to help keep me alert: I inserted the word “kerfuffle” into as many news stories as were appropriate. It amused me, especially after I inveigled others to play. (Did I mention slow
Saudi Arabia held rare elections this weekend. For the first time since a ban on their participation was lifted, Saudi women voted — and several were elected to municipal councils. As the BBC reported, “Elections of any kind are rare in the Saudi kingdom –
Paris Agreement: landmark accord, turn from fossil fuels, By Alister Doyle and Barbara Lewis The global climate summit in Paris agreed a landmark accord on Saturday, setting the course for a historic transformation of the world’s fossil fuel-driven economy within decades in a
“The Paris Agreement is adopted,” said French foreign minister Laurent Fabius late Saturday at the Paris climate summit. Weary delegates cheered and applauded the global agreement on tackling climate change, reached by 195 countries after years of preparation and two weeks of grinding negotiations. “The
JONATHAN MANTHORPE: International Affairs December 11, 2015 Vancouver’s grossly inflated housing market, the United Nations’ climate conference in Paris and China’s catastrophic environmental degradation were all linked this week in a circle of cause and effect. On Tuesday the authorities in Beijing
Far more people die horribly in the world’s benighted places than die by guns in the United States, and yet American gun violence hogs global attention. The reason is simple: the American dream was once the world’s dream of a good life. That’s at least the PR spin: America the great,
By Jason Reed December, 2015 On the ferries that crisscross Sydney’s harbour, passengers sit inside hunched over their smartphones, often ignoring the gorgeous scenery afforded by what some describe as the world’s most beautiful commute. The arrival in 1788 of British Captain
