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Erdbrink describes the evolution of trade relations with China which helped Iran during the period of western sanctions. Because of trade with the U.S. and western partners, China was careful to use the Bank of Kunlun, created to handle financial transactions with Iran, for import of oil and export of automobiles and other products.

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With funding from the International Finance Corporation, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and other developing countries with shortfall in energy supplies are building offshore LNG terminals. The demand for LNG in these countries is expected to surpass the demand in developed countries.  IEA estimates show 90% of global LNG demand growth by 2022 coming from these emerging economies. Shortages of electricity in places such as Karachi and Dacca are the reason for the growth. Putting LNG terminals offshore is a viable and economical alternative. Petrobangla is completing a offshore LNG terminal by 2018 with IFC funding. Pakistan completed a floating LNG terminal at Port Qasim in 2015 for importing LNG from Qatar. This terminal alone covers 30% of the needs not met from domestic supplies in Pakistan for gas, according to Engro Elengy data.

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Modi's success in tackling problems of electricity development in Gujarat state and the model for India, as a new Modi administration is elected for India in 2014. Other areas that are the focus for development include high speed rail and transportation, other infrastructure development, creating new jobs in manufacturing. Modi made three trips to China in the last decade as a four term chief minister of Gujarat state (similiar to a governor of a U.S. state), and has adopted a China type focus on infrastructure development and manufacturing for the western state of Gujarat, which was part of the old Bombay state in British times. Mumbai, the new name for the old British settlement of Bombay on the west coast, is about 300 miles south of the major Gujarat city of Ahmedabad, at one time a major textile manufacturing center. Mumbai and commercial minded people from Gujarat occupy a role similiar to Shanghai in India's economic development. Under British times trading minded Gujaratis settled on the east and southern coast of Africa, in the Persian Gulf, with retail businesses. Of India's two largest companies the Reliance Group made its early start in textiles in Gujarat in the seventies, set up by a young emigrant who returned from the Persian Gulf. The Tata Group which owns Land Rover was set up by a Parsi immigrant community in Gujarat. Its founder Jamshedji Tata set up India's steel industry under the British at the turn of the century. The Parsis settled in Navsari, Gujarat, immigrating from Iran and other parts of the Persian Gulf centuries ago. When the media talks of Modi's origins as a tea seller's son, one has to take this in the context of the origins of people such as Reliance founder Ambani who was the son of a schoolteacher from a rural village in Gujarat. With about a 1000 mile coastline facing the Persian Gulf, Gujarat has been known to engage in the textile trade long before the arrival of the Portuguese and the British in the 1600's, and before the Muslim period from the 1300's. Many Gujaratis settled in Mumbai and are a key part of the commercial, financial center in the city. Just as Britain with its commercial centre of London evolved over centuries with commerce affecting attitudes towards democracy, free media and capitalism compared to more feudal France, Gujarat and Mumbai has evolved in a similiar manner compared to other states in the north of India. With all the media infomation and misinformation on Modi's mishandling of communal riots little has been said of the unique position of Gujarat and Gujaratis in the industrial development and modernization of India. Compared to other parts of India historically there is a greater degree of tolerance in Gujarat for other communities, similiar to Britain's compared to France and Spain, because of this commercial outward looking orientation for new ideas. ...

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U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, and Germany's minister of defense Ursula von der Leyden, visit troops of the German-Dutch brigade in Munster, Germany, on June 22, 2015. Ashton Carter tells a German think tank audience on June 22, 2015. "We do not seek a cold, let alone a hot war with Russia. We do not seek to make Russia an enemy. But make no mistake: we will defend our allies, the rules based international order and the positive future it affords us all. We will stand up to Russia's actions and their attempts to re-establish a Soviet-era sphere of influence." The NATO readiness effort called "Operation Atlantic Resolve" is designed to meet Russian intervention in Ukraine and preserve the independence of countries in Eastern Europe.

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Friedman highlights the importance of an interview with President Obama by Atlantic magazine's Jeffrey Goldberg. In this interview Obama gives a thoughtful understanding of what it means if Iran acquires nuclear weapons. The greatest danger is in nuclear proliferation. Obama brings to this an understanding of this issue from the time he focussed on this issue as a student at Columbia University, when he described the risks of nuclear proliferation in the Columbia student newspaper. There is the risk of an escalation in the development of nuclear weapons in the Middle East first, and then elsewhere. And there is the risk that nuclear weapons fall into the wrong hands. The situation would create problems like that faced in North Korea or in the India-Pakistan region, but increased by many times the current dangers. The entire nuclear de-proliferation effort and the efforts to de-nuclearize weapons stockpiles that took decades to accomplish with the Soviet Union could come undone- and it would then be necessary for all countries to invest in advanced technologies for defending against nuclear weapons, setting in motion another arms race. The current situation reminds people that the issues raised by nuclear weapons development will always be with us, and require a worldwide concerted effort, at official and public level, bringing in scientists, public opinion worldwide, and educating the public in all countries of the larger danger to mankind. The issues need to be put in the right context beyond nations and politics, beyond international conflicts and competing interests or ideologies, including Israel, Iran and any other nation looking for nuclear weapons as a solution for conflicts. Shultz, Perry, Kissinger and Nunn after a series of meetings at the Hoover Institution called for the update of the old policies of nuclear deterrance based on mutually assured destruction used with the Soviet Union, to reflect the new threat of terrorism- in an op-ed NYT 3/7/2011. The focus of this effort is on a new Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty, with all nations giving up nuclear material to an international nuclear material bank. Senator Obama strongly supported the efforts of Senators Lugar and Nunn in de-proliferation work after the collapse of the Soviet Union and joined the senators on one of their trips- Broad and Sanger, NYT, 7/5/2009. A major effort to reduce NATO, U.S. and Soviet nuclear weapons is called for to lead by example, providing a framework for other means of settling regional conflicts and educating public opinion in these countries, and moving forward the negotiating of the Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty. In many ways public opinion will have to lead the way in all countries as governments can lag behind- the efforts of Sam Nunn and Dick Lugar and the many unnamed people in the Soviet Union who aided their efforts show the importance of this....

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The shift away from Iranian oil with U.S. pressure and sanctions, and higher oil prices, could pose challenges for the Indian macroeconomic outlook in 2020.

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Experiment conducted at the Gujarat Electricity Board by researchers from MIT and Harvard on correcting the flaws in the audit process for compliance with pollution control regulations by heavily polluting plants. The experiment is conducted in the state of Gujarat in northwestern India. The heavy polluters faced a audit process where fees were paid out of a central fund, were told plants could be audited for a scond time for false reporting on pollutants emittted, and faced additional disincentives of cut off of electricity supplies for noncompliance in correct reporting. This type of improvement is relevant for pollution control in China, India, Indonesia and other developing countries with similiar reporting issues and non compliance with pollution laws. Noncompliance and cozy relationships with auditors and regulators is a major problem for implementing pollution laws in these countries.

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The anti-corruption bill for creation of a Lokpal agency passed the lower and upper house of the Indian parliament in December 2013. It was stalled for two years after the efforts of political activist Anna Hazare's protest movement for passage of the bill. With national elections approaching in 2014 and the ruling Congress party's image bruised badly in state elections of Dec. 2013, party leaders decided to support the bill. In the elections in the capital Delhi a anti-corruption party, Aaam Aadmi (for the common man), created only recently, won a major part of the seats. In India corruption hurts not only at the national and local level as in China, but affects the daily life of the common man as bribes are required from ordinary people for anything to get done that requires approval from the huge government bureaucracy. In that sense it takes a toll on economic development and affects the quality of services received by the vast majority of people, which is why the party calls itself "common man."...

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A test supply of 170 megawatts from the Kudankulam nuclear project in Tamilnadu state is added to India's southern grid. Full supply of 1000 megawatts is to be added by the Nuclear Power Corp. of India Ltd. by end of 2013. India's Supreme COurt dismissed petitions questioning the project's safety in May 2013. India signed a preliminary contract for nuclear project in Gujarat with Westinghouse. The state owned Nuclear Power Corp. of India is in negotiations for a project planned in Maharashtra state. Over the next 20 years India plans to increase nuclear production capacity from 4700 megawatts to 63,000, a 12 fold increase. The first Kudankulam reactor going into operation in 2013 comes into operation after a delay of 7 years because of antinuclear and land protests as well as court cases. The slowing of growth in India, depreciation of the currency, and the acutely felt energy shortages as industrialization moves forward, are leading to a new perception of the importance of nuclear energy to supplement energy generated from coal and other sources. China is also moving forward aggressively with development of nuclear energy and working with Areva and other companies for safe nuclear energy development. The new planned reactor by Areva in the south of England is also likely to offset the perception of nuclear energy after the Fukushima nuclear disaster. For these reasons nuclear energy development in India is likely to accelerate without the long delays seen earlier....

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Corruption in the election and democratic process in India.

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Germany's chancellor Merkel draws attention to Russia's human rights record in a meeting with Russian president Putin in Moscow, Nov. 16, 2012. The German chancellor tells Putin not to be so sensitive to criticism from the opposition, saying before the meeting: "I ask that not every bit of criticism is seen as destructive. Open a German paper and read what is written there. If I were always getting offended, I would not last even three days in my job." Germany's special envoy to Russia, Mr. Schockenhoff, has been especially critical of Russian suppression of dissent and opposition groups. Russia's response is that it will talk to other countries as trading partners but not about its domestic affairs. The Russian government sees the two way trade of $120 billion between Germany and Russia as "an air bag" to prevent any significant deterioration in relations. Siemens signed a contract for 675 locomotives with Russian Railways during the Merkel visit.

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Spain's central bank was lauded for macroprudential supervision before the housing bubble burst. Will China's central bank and financial authorites which have managed the housing bubble upto this point face similiar problems? Can China be the sole exception even as housing bubbles burst with wide repercussions in the U.S., UK and Spain? Nicholas Lardy, of the Peterson Institute of international Economics, says urban housing stock makes up 41% of Chinese household wealth in 2011. The same figure for the U.S. is 26%. Chinese buyers invest in homes because low interest rates on savings accounts cannot keep up with inflation. Real estate investment was 13% of GDP in 2011. Home ownership is a recent development in China, only since 1990, Chinese have never experienced large price declines. Household debt as a percentage of disposable income has increased significantly in recent years, up to 53.6% in 2011 from 31.3% in 2008, according to Lardy.

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This WSJ editorial points out that the lack of action from the Obama administration has led to the current situation in the Middle East with Russian intervention, the wave of refugees from Syria, and the increasing sectarian conflict. It cites from president Obama's address to the UN General Assembly that "the nations of the world cannot return to the old ways of conflict and coercion," yet failing to take action in the Middle East to prevent this from happening.

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The Indian public from retired businessmen, farmers, students, and the press are coming out in support of anti-corruption leader Anna Hazare's call for effective legislation to control corruption of public officials in India. This comes after a number of corruption scandals and lack of action from the Congress government. The government's bill in parliament - introduced after pressure from public opinion- sets up an ombudsman or Lokpal agency, which would exclude from its jurisdiction the very public officials over whom it was meant to exercize oversight. Under the government's bill the prime minister, the public officials in the bureaucracy and the judiciary would be excluded. This has set up a confrontation with an increasingly exasperated public, with Hazare's protest fast in central New Delhi as the catalyst for protest across the country. The Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told parliament that he sees it as an issue of parliamentary sovereignty, as Hazare's protest is for a version of the bill that he has drafted to be adopted. But the public's sense is that Hazare is only responding with his own draft of the bill because of the government's effort to make only a token effort by not giving the anti-corruption body the powers it needs to function effectively. The response has brought thousands of demonstrators from around the country to Tihar jail where Hazare is being held by the government after his arrest. The situation is reminiscent of the protests against the British imperial government by Mohandas Gandhi, and in this sense has serious implicatons for how the country is governed. Corruption was prevalent in India during the days of the license Raj in the period 1950-1990 when business needed government permits in the closed economy of the Nehru period, and corruption existed in the bureaucracy in its delivery of public services. Since 1990 as the economy opened up and the growth rate increased corruption at all levels of government has in some ways increased and become embedded in the bureaucracy and government. This hurts the poor and the middle class the most, as corruption acts as a tax on the delivery of public services and infrastructure development, both badly needed in an emerging market country....

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The Aam Aadmi anti-corruption party led by Arvind Kejrival won 67 of 70 seats for the Delhi legislative assembly. The BJP won 3 seats. In the natonal parliamentary elections of 2014 the BJP led by Mr. Modi won in Delhi and the rest of the country. The Aadmi Party won the election by gaining the votes of ordinary people who were willing to give Kejrival another chance after an earlier stint at governing that lasted a few months. Kejrival's platform is for giving better access to electricity and water to the people of Delhi, and limiting corruption. In 2011-2012 Kejrival was part of the Anna Hazare anti-corruption movement in India that conducted nationwide protests against corrupt officials in the Congress Party led government. Following this effort which led to the election losses of the Congress Party in parliamentary elections, he setup a political party to contest elections on an anti-corruption platform.

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Diesel prices are regulated and subsidized by the Indian government, but gasoline prices are deregulated since 2010, resulting in gasoline costing 64% more than diesel in India. As a result buyers are staying away from gasoline cars and shifting to diesel creating distortions in demand. The government is considering a tax on diesel cars and SUV's of between $3000 to $4600 to correct the distortion. Because lower income people woud be hurt by increasing the price of diesel it continues to be subsidized. Because of the uncertainty car manufacturers are shutting down production to reduce growing inventory of gasoline vehicles. High interest rates of 12% on car loans also reduces demand. Suzuki Maruti sales declined 6% in May 2012, Ford and GM showed sales declines of 14% and 20%. The year ending March 2012 shows Indian car sales growing only slightly by 2.2% to 2 million cars. Sales were rising at 29% only about a year ago. Gasoline costs 68 rupees a liter in New Delhi after a 11.5% increase in May 2012, compared to 41 rupees per liter for diesel. The increase in gasoline prices is a result of the government having difficulty paying the rising imports of oil, costing $141 billion for the year ending March 31, 2012. The sharp slowdown in the car industry and the problems in the energy sector have affected India's growth rate....

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President Obama's program for education includes promoting charter schools, closing failed schools, making teacher pay reflect the quality of education they can provide, and providing financing to support better education and better classrooms. Here he outlined his plans in a major speech on education to an Hispanic group.