By Richard Stone Any controversy surrounding the economic basis of the present Cold War should reference recent statements from the White House and reliable banking and financial assessments about Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rates. While the combined weight of the G7 economies have difficulty remaining in the top hundred for GDP growth, those countries associated with the BRICS, however, …

By Richard Stone The US peace initiative between Israel and Iran is to be welcomed although cannot be regarded as an example of skillful diplomacy by Washington. It is more in line with an act of desperation by the Trump administration; a changing balance of forces across the Middle East has had serious implications for traditional hegemonic and diplomatic relations. …

By Richard Stone Moves by Kiribati to negotiate a deep-sea mining deal with China, have closely followed similar moves by the Cook Islands. The moves have taken place against a backcloth of underlying trends in the global economy and a changing balance of forces, with far-reaching implications for US hegemony. The two tiny Pacific Island countries have, for example, geo-strategic …