Chansambath Bong, Japan Times
Domestically speaking, Hun Sen has played a high-stakes game by downplaying fear of the coronavirus to make the case to Cambodians that there is in an experienced sheriff in town and they have nothing to worry about with him at the helm.
William Pesek, Nikkei Asian Review
President has numbers in person and in parliament to pass radical reforms
Gavin Mortimer, Spectator
Emmanuel Macron has unveiled his plan to combat the rise of Islamic extremism in France. Stressing that his fight was not against the religion but political Islam, ‘which has no place’ in the Republic, the president outlined a series of measures in a speech last week. Notably, his plans involve an end to the hosting of imams from countries such as Turkey and...
Tom Rogan, Washington Examiner
Jules Hurst, The Strategy Bridge
The 2017 United States National Security Strategy avers that the United States has entered an international competition for leadership against revisionist powers, Russia and China. Both states seek to grow their global influence at the expense of the United States. The National Security Strategy lays out a framework for countering these two strategic competitors, but it fails to answer an essential question: How do you end competition...
Laura Spinney, New Statesman
After the 1918 flu outbreak killed 50 million, nations created new organisations to fight infection. But in an age of pandemics and renewed great power rivalry, they are no longer enough.
H. Ali Ahmed, Al Monitor
BAGHDAD — After Iranian health officials confirmed Feb. 19 that two elderly people had tested positive for coronavirus posthumously, Iraqis, wary of an outbreak, demanded that their leaders close the border with Iran.
Abusaleh Shariff, Indian Express
At the very least, India must push for diversified oil imports and higher FDI and FII investments linked with technology transfers. Despite the government’s efforts to enhance foreign investments, new data suggests that FDI flows have slowed down to a trickle — at $8 billion in the last
Amitabh Mattoo, The Hindu
New Delhi needs the superpower’s support to move towards a more organic rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific.
Christian Oliver, Politico EU
Turnout plummets to record low in history of Islamic Republic amid coronavirus outbreak.
Michael Hirsh, FP
Pompeo's plan to make peace with the resurgent Taliban is a sad reminder of all that went wrong in Afghanistan—and how it could have been otherwise.
J. Glenza, Guardian
Thousands of Russian-linked social media accounts have launched a coordinated effort to spread misinformation and alarm about coronavirus, disrupting global efforts to fight the epidemic, US officials have said.
Michael Osterholm & Mark Olshaker, New York Times
Economist
Events are cancelled, roads are closed—and Matteo Salvini says: “Told you so”
Rana Foroohar, Financial Times
Beijing’s opacity in handling the epidemic highlights the risks of doing business in China
Zeynep Tufekci, The Atlantic
China’s use of surveillance and censorship makes it harder for Xi Jinping to know what’s going on in his own country.