Pakistan: An Economy on the Brink

By Asad Ismi Following the economic collapse of Sri Lanka in mid-2022, Pakistan is close to sliding into the same disaster. There is US$3 billion remaining in the country’s foreign currency reserves that can pay for only two weeks of imports. Inflation is near 40 per cent. The value of the national currency—the rupee—is in […]

Brazil’s Non-Elections: A Crisis of Trust, a Failure of Democracy

By Asad Ismi Former Brazilian president Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva was still, at publishing time, the Workers Party (PT) candidate and frontrunner in Brazilian elections scheduled for October 7. This was despite him being sentenced in July to 12 years in prison for what his allies and vast supporter base (June polls put Lula […]

Careful What You Wish For

Canadian Business Wants a Notch in China’s Belt and Road Initiative. In Asia as in Canada, there are Domestic and Foreign Policy Risks to Consider. By Asad Ismi IN MID-JANUARY, AT a forum in Shanghai, the Chinese government presented the latest additions to its global economic strategy known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), […]

Canadian Mining Company Accused of Atrocities in Guatemala: Lawsuit Alleges Killing, Gang Rapes of Indigenous People

By Asad Ismi “Dandy!” said U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower when informed in June 1954 that the CIA had overthrown the elected government of Jacobo Arbenz in Guatemala. The U.S. toppled Arbenz for daring to implement land reform and replaced him with a string of military dictators who ensured that life for most Guatemalans would be […]