BANGKOK, Thailand — Iranian money is behind a strategic oil pipeline to be built across Malaysia with the aim of linking the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea — and eliminating a militarily vulnerable shipping bottleneck via Singapore. Almost half the world’s oil tankers pass through the narrow Strait of Malacca bound for East Asia, not least China, on their way from Middle Eastern and North African oil fields. Now the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) is helping finance an estimated $14 billion land transshipment route across northern Malaysia, ostensibly to save three to four days of sea travel [...]
Dear Readers, We are pleased to announce some exciting changes at the publication formerly known as World Politics Review. First and foremost, we have a new name. We are now WORLD POLITICS REVIEW. We think the name World Politics Review more accurately captures the mission of our publication, which is to provide context and analysis in our original news, commentary, audio and — coming soon — video content. (And, in our our blog and media roundup, we point readers to must-read information on world politics from other sources.) Along with our new name, we have a new address on the [...]
BOGOTÁ, Colombia — A domestic political scandal that has tarnished the reputation of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe is undermining support in the U.S. Congress for aid to the United States’ closest ally in Latin America, as well as threatening a proposed U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement. Uribe was in Washington last week to lobby for continued U.S. aid and ratification of the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) as the so-called “parapolitics” scandal, which implicates some Colombian politicians and high-ranking military officers in dealings with paramilitary groups, continued to gain momentum at home. So far, an investigation into the scandal by the [...]
