CHINA: Shanghai Is More Expensive Than New York

Chinese cities are moving up in the rankings of the world's most expensive cities, a reflection of higher wages, rising inflation and the appreciation of the yuan.

http://feedly.com/e/NCc0ztvL

SINGAPORE: Of price and place - The cost of living around the world

SAYONARA, Tokyo. Singapore is now the world’s most expensive city, according to the bi-annual cost of living index from the Economist Intelligence Unit, our corporate sibling. The Singapore dollar’s appreciation and high transport costs have propelled it to top spot. Tokyo and Osaka, which ranked first and second last year, have seen the biggest falls in costs because of a cheaper yen. The index is a weighted average of the prices of 160 products and services, with New York's figure set to 100 to provide a base for comparisons. 

http://feedly.com/e/4Oaz_yrq

RUSSIA: Senators consider sanctions against Russia's Ukraine intervention

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Monday began considering whether to impose sanctions against Russia for sending thousands of soldiers into Ukraine's Crimea region following the ouster of the country's president, Viktor Yanukovych. Chairman Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) said the intervention was "a clear violation of international law." Russia's United Nations ambassador said Russia sent the soldiers at Yanukovych's request.

http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/03/03/ukraine-crisis-usa-senate-idINL1N0M01WB20140303

CHINA: After 3/1 - The Dangers of China¹s Ethnic Divide

Violence as savage and public as the massacre that took place at a Chinese train station on Saturday shocks the chemistry of a country in a way that years of more remote, simmering conflict do not. Acts of such spectacular violence exert unpredictable forces on the public and on the leaders who are charged with protecting it, transforming judgments of when and how to use force and decisions about what can be sacrificed in the name of security, as well as the definitions of citizenship, patriotism, and innocence. Rarely do they leave anyone better off than they were before.

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2014/03/after-31-the-dangers-of-chinas-ethnic-divide.html

CHINA'S Xi Broadens Graft Crackdown

President Xi Jinping, who took office last year, has expanded an anticorruption campaign that is now one of the broadest in China's modern history, positioning Xi as the country's most powerful leader in decades.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-03/china-s-xi-broadens-graft-crackdown-to-boost-influence.html