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September 2016

September 2016

Women storm bastions of male political power in Japan

Japan’s mainstream voters show they are not averse to voting women into power On 15 September, the political glass ceiling in Japan received another dent when the main political opposition party, the Democratic Party (DP), elected Renho as its leader. This comes very soon after another significant milestone for women in politics was passed when […]

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‘Sacred cows’ fuel India’s booming beef industry

India’s cow protection policies have little to do with animal rights or ethics Most Indian states criminalise the slaughter of the cow, bull and progeny, and beef sourced from them, based on a core Hindu ethic of reverencing the cow as sacred. The blind spot in the politics and legislation of India’s cow protectionism, however,

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Mixed record calls Modi’s reform credentials into question

After a bold start, there are signs India’s prime minister Narendra Modi may be taking a more cautious approach to reform The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Narendra Modi, was swept to a massive electoral victory in May 2014. In a very presidential-style campaign, Modi promised parivartan (change) and vikas (development). Modi held up

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Jokowi achieves early success in building Indonesia’s infrastructure

Jokowi is overcoming obstacles to achieve much-needed infrastructure development In response to the lack of infrastructure that has impeded Indonesia’s economic growth, infrastructure development has become the top priority for the Widodo administration. President Joko Widodo, known as Jokowi, revoked the oil subsidy fund in 2014 to finance infrastructure development across Indonesia. In Sumatra, the

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