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Continuing years of tension, protests and Indian army deployment in Srinagar, the capital of Kashmir state (J&K) in India.

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The canonization of Pope John XXIII from northern Italy and Pope John Paul from Poland, who played an important role in their respective times for the Catholic Church's development, and acting as a guiding force for people after the Second World War and the fall of communism in Eastern Europe.

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U.S. companies have decided to wait out the conflict in Libya till a clear picture emerges. Mufson gives a good account of the history of Libya's tumultuous relationships with western oil companies over 3 decades. Nason Saleri, former head of reservoir management at Saudi Aramco, now head of Houston based Quantum Reservoir Impact, says oil companies have decided not to get involved until the situation stabilizes. Oil companies such as ConocoPhillips attended a meeting of the U.S.-Libya Business Council where representatives of the Benghazi based coalition presented. Ali Tarhouni, leading economic policymaker for the Benghazi coalition says oil contracts will be honored. Saleri says western oil companies are preparing for the time when a new government takes charge in Libya after the end of the Ghadafi regime. His view is that once things settle down and a new government is in charge he sees the potential of enhancing the percentage of oil from known reservoirs. The reserves are there in Libya to stabilize production to earlier levels and to increase it says Saleri....

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Libya's Oil and Finance Minister bridges the gap between the tribal factions, regional loyalties, and other divisions within the Transitional Council of Libya and within Libya. He brings a unique background of being expelled in the early 1970's because of his prodemocracy activism at Libyan universities. He studied at Michigan State University for a doctorate and taught at the University of Washington for 26 years. All the time he helped organize the Libyan opposition. His background makes it possible for him to talk to western officials with ease, and his activist attitude and manner has put him quickly at the centre of things in Misrata and Tripoli. He went by fishing boat to Misrata at the height of the siege and was the first of the Transitional Council members to be in Tripoli. He was recently appointed deputy chairman of the Executive Council and chairman of the Supreme Military Council for Tripoli because of earning the confidence of the Council leaders and the ability to be at the centre of the struggles in Libya. He is a direct and plain spoken person and talked to the Journal's Charles Levinson about oil fields and restoring oil supplies. He talks about plans to keep Tripoli as the capital and keep the Transitional National Council in Benghazi so that both regions of the country could play a role. ...

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The survival of the failed Kim regime has cost millions of lives for the people of North Korea. Yet the international politics of the countries has focussed on other issues: the South Koreans wanted to avoid the burden of taking on the people of North Korea as West Germans did for the East Germans after the collapse of the Berlin Wall, China wanted to avoid a reunified pro-western neighbor to the south and the potential influx of refugees across the border, Japan and the U.S. were focussed on the nuclear threat from N. Korea. The result is a failed state and an uncertain future for the people of North Korea.

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Michael Boskin, the elder president Bush's chairman of the Council of Economc Advisors was instrumental in setting up the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Here he points to the dire need to open up trade between India and Pakistan. Trade today between the two countries is $2.7 billion. Under trade models Boskin says the trade could be 20 times larger, about $50 billion. This would increase benefits and wages in both countries and is badly needed and long overdue.

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Spain's economy in 2017 is back to its size before the collapse in 2010 with the eurozone debt crisis and failing housing market. The unemployment rate has dropped from 26% to 18%, still high but gradually coming down. The economy has improved competitiveness and the auto industry is improving exports providing 17% of total exports. The SEAT auto plant has undergone a major transformation. Here Goodman of the NYT describes how this economic recovery is taking place in the port city of Barcelona.

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This article in NYT by a China expert based in Hong Kong points out that a key driver in the current developmetns in Korea are not understood. With the growth of China's influence in East Asia and a decline in American influence many of the countries in the region are rebalancing. Vietnam and Singapore are pushing back. In the same way North Korea under Kim Jong Un is concerned about its dependence on China with 90% of its trade conducted with China. The Chinese participation in the strong sanctions introduced by president Trump has increased this awareness of its dependence on China. President Xi Jinping has also ignored North Korea as China focuses on larger issues in international relations, including its relationships with the U.S., EU and India. This strategic development is what drives the current meetings between president Moon of South Korea and president Kim of North Korea, and the planned meeting of Kim with president Trump.  This China expert says the shift in better relations could be part of North Korea's effort to open up to the U.S, South Korea and Japan, in an effort to diversify its relationships to reduce dependence on China. This does not mean the unification of North and South Korea, he says, because it would mean loss of power for the Kim regime and would be too costly for the South. The nuclear missile development was part of an effort to preserve the Kim regime. The Kim regime is also focusing efforts on economic development which would be better achieved by opening up to the U.S., South Korea and Japan. ...

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Reforms planned by the administration of prime minister, Naoto Kan. Plans to raise the consumption tax, to make changes to social security, and to commit Japan to join the Trans Pacific Partnership. Japan's business community supports the plan to join the free trade community called the Trans Pacific Partnership. This group consists of USA, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Peru, Chile. South Korea has signed free trade agreements with the USA and the EU, and Japanese business does not want to be left behind.

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Friedman calls for the President to make the tough decisions whether it is the nationalizing of banks or enlarging the stimulus. He calls for the President not to be afraid of risking his Presidency and his credibility on some tough issues, as this is what may be required by the tough issues of the banks, the toxic assets, decisions on nationalization or the stimulus expansion, and also by the task of winniing the trust of ordinary people suffering from this crisis. Even if this means howls of protest from some quarters as long as the people are basically behind the actions and the strategy.

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Currently Asian-Americans make up 62% of students at top high schools in New York. Mayor Blasio aims to give 20% of the seats to students who almost reach the qualifying scores on an entrance exam for Stuyvesant and seven other specialized high schools. Under Blasio's plan Discovery program for economically disadvantaged students would get 800 of the 4000 specialized high school seats for ninth graders in fall 2020 up from 250. 

Another view is presented by Parenting While Black organization of low income parents and children, who say that more important is to improve the quality of education for the city's 1.1 million students and start at the early grades. They see the high school debate for these 7 specialized schools as taking attention from the real problem to focus on s small sliver of students. The mass of students, the vast majority, they say are left to dangle in the wind.

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Ali Sethi, a novelist, questions the simple minded theory that all that matters in South Asia is the Hindu-Muslim divide and with it the idea of a separate Muslim state. He points to this as far from the daily reality of caste, landholding classes, education and the lack of it, sectarianism within the religion, and other differences. And in many ways these outweigh the overly simplified idea of two religions and different states.

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India changes its position on Kashmir and shows willingness to discuss the issue in peace talks for the first time. Opening the borders in Kashmir for trade in goods between the two countries is one of the topics for discussion. Opening of borders with Pakistan for goods trade is helping set the climate for new negotiations.