Chinese leader Xi Jinping has issued a direct critique against the U.S. government’s policy of containment when it comes to China. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, the critique is unusual in that it comes directly from China’s leader rather than indirectly through governmental spokespersons. The Journal article quotes Shirley Martey Hargis, fellow at the Washington think tank Atlantic Council, who suggests that Xi might just be shifting the blame for economic problems in China. “It’s either take the blame or shift it,” she said. Notwithstanding China’s economic problems, however, the fact is that Xi is right. There is no denying that U.S.…

Tech giant Google has reportedly agreed to pay $391.5 million in a settlement with 40 state attorneys general over the company’s deceptive location tracking features. Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said, “They have been crafty and deceptive. Consumers thought they had turned off their location tracking features on Google, but the company continued to secretly record their movements and use that information for advertisers.” TechCrunch reports that Google has agreed to pay $391.5 million in a settlement with 40 state attorneys general over its location tracking practices, following an investigation that found Google had misled users into thinking they had turned off location tracking even…

As the world increasingly re-divides into hostile blocs, the need for dialogue is increasing but the number of places for such conversations is shrinking. This year, there were no Russian or Iranian officials at the Davos World Economic Forum in Switzerland in January, and none were invited to the venerable Munich Security Conference in Germany, which takes place this weekend. While understandable given egregious actions by both governments, it is also unfortunate. The Munich conference, held since 1963 at an upscale hotel in Bavaria, bills itself as “a unique platform for high-level debates on the greatest foreign and security policy challenges of…

President Vladimir Putin said he plans to strengthen Russia's nuclear forces, as his invasion of Ukraine reaches the one-year mark with concerns growing about the broader global fallout. In an address Thursday to mark Defender of the Fatherland Day, a patriotic holiday that celebrates the role of the country's armed forces, Putin said he would "focus on strengthening the nuclear triad," meaning nuclear weapons that can be fired from land, air and sea. Putin also said that, for the first time, Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles — which are able to carry multiple nuclear warheads — would be deployed this year. “We will continue…

February 17, 2023|WASHINGTON For more than two decades, the World Bank has been helping Turkey with earthquake preparedness – providing funds and guidance to strengthen public buildings like schools and hospitals, improve emergency communications, and supply first-responder vehicles and equipment. Now Turkey and war-torn northern Syria are struggling with the aftermath of the deadliest temblor to hit this seismically sensitive region in the modern era. The initial Feb. 6 quake, with a magnitude of 7.8, as well as another major strike hours later and numerous aftershocks, has left more than 40,000 dead.   The Monitor recently spoke with Alanna Simpson, the…