Tristan McConnellFebruary 9, 2012 13:23

Africa News: Russia plays malign role in Africa

Russia is playing an increasingly malign role in world affairs, especially in Africa.

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Syrians residing in Libya wave the former Syrian flag as they protest outside the Russian embassy in Tripoli on Feb. 5, 2012. The protest came after Russia and China for the second time vetoed a UN Security Council resolution on the President Bashar al-Assad regime's crackdown on dissent. (Mahmud Turkia/AFP/Getty Images)

NAIROBI, Kenya — With nothing but its own domestic interests at heart Russia is playing an increasingly malign role in world affairs.

Last weekend Russia and China vetoed a UN Security Council resolution aimed at stopping the violence in Syria.

Of course the resolution may not have had much impact but reports from the besieged town of Homs over the last few days leave little doubt that Syria's government has increased its attacks on civilians and rebels alike in the wake of the resolution's rejection.

More from GlobalPost: Why Russia still stands by Syria

Earlier this year, there was a tribal slaughter in South Sudan that the UN mission was unable to prevent partly because Russia had grounded its helicopters.

Russia was concerned about the safety of its air crews and, in a row at UN headquarters, withdrew some helicopters and refused to allow others to be used. Ban Ki-moon had to beg troop-carrying helicopters from elsewhere. In the end the peacekeepers that arrived in Pibor were too few, and too late.

And now comes a report from Amnesty International saying that Russia (and, again, China as well as that repository of Cold War weaponry and leading arms exporter Belarus) is supplying new armaments to Sudan which Khartoum is using to attack civilians in the western region of Darfur.

When the UN Security Council meets to discuss sanctions against Sudan next week there'll be no prizes for guessing where Russia and China will stand.

More from GlobalPost: China faces Sudan dilemma

Thomas MuchaFebruary 8, 2012 13:57

Canada pushes China to buy more seals

Why is Stephen Harper so interested in seal penis?

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A baby seal in Charlottetown, Canada mugs for the camera. (David Boily/AFP/Getty Images)

Why do so many global trade issues come down to China's apparently insatiable demand for animal penises and other body parts?

Tigers, rhino, and deer are just a few of the poor creatures that many Chinese men turn to when seeking help in the bedroom.

That ugly trend comes though yet again today in this analysis from The Economist.

At issue: Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's trip this week to China.

One of the conservative leader's economic goals in China is to persuade Beijing to kick-start a deal that opened Canada's seal products industry to the booming Chinese market.

The measure was important for Canada's small seal industry, which is collapsing due to export restrictions in the US and Europe, as well as high-profile global protests against the practice.

The problem for Harper — not the seals — is that protesters in China have delayed the start of the trade agreement, which was signed last year.

According to The Economist, Harper is now pitching hard to get Canada's seal business going in China:

“Our government will continue to vigorously defend this humane and highly regulated industry and seek new international markets for Canadian seal products, including China," he said upon departure.

Harper is trying to help Canada's highly-subsidized sealing industry, where culling has been cut nearly in half since 2009 (37,000 seals were killed last year, according to The Economist).

So why are the Chinese, in particular, interested in seals?

Thomas MuchaFebruary 7, 2012 18:07

Apple in a legal battle for the iPad name?

A $1.6 billion lawsuit reportedly claims Apple can't use the name iPad in China.

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A man navigates through the new iPad 2 during its launch in the Philippines at an Apple store in Manila on April 29, 2011. (Noel Celis/AFP/Getty Images)

One of my favorite Chinese proverbs goes something like this:

"To steal a book is an elegant offense."

The proverb — and popular business book of that name — gets to the heart of intellectual property rights, as seen through so-called Confucian values.

The deep thought here: ideas can't truly be owned, because they belong to everyone.

But what if that proverb is applied to the hottest company in the world, and to its hottest product?

And what if you change the word "book" to "iPad?"

That's the charge reportedly leveled against Apple in China.

According to Apple Insider, America's tech darling is embroiled in a nasty $1.6 billion lawsuit in China, which challenges Apple's right to use the name iPad in China.

Here's the skinny, according to Apple Insider:

"In 2006, Apple purchased the iPad trademark from display manufacturer Proview Electronics (Taiwan) for $55,000 by way of a front company called IP Application Development," the website writes.

"However, the company claims that the deal did not include the rights to the trademark in China, as those were owned by Proview Technology (Shenzhen), a subsidiary of Proview International in Hong Kong," Apple Insider adds

The Wall Street Journal landed an interview with Proview's chairman in Shenzhen.

"We have to admit that Apple's iPad is a great product, and Apple creates great value out of that," Yang Rongshan told the Journal. "But this is not the reason to support their irregular practice here."

The Chinese company reportedly sued Apple last year in China. Believing that it is the rightful owner of the trademark, Apple countersued, lost, and has appealed.

No official comment on the case has been made by Apple or Chinese officials.

But Proview apparently doesn't just want money. It wants an apology from Apple, too.

"We ask the court to stop selling and marketing for Apple’s iPad in China. We also demand an apology,” Proview lawyer Xianghui Xie told the China Daily.

There's some speculation in China that Proview is strapped for cash, and that it's looking to pay off debts with proceeds from any lawsuit.

And, of course, Apple will no doubt mount a powerful defense if this threat to one of its most important products becomes even slightly worrying to its bottom line.

But if proven true, just how elegant would Apple's alleged offense be in the grand scheme of things?

Tristan McConnellFebruary 7, 2012 12:30

Sudan News: China faces Sudan dilemma

China's policy of non-interference in both Sudans looks increasingly unsustainable.

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President Of Sudan Omar al-Bashir and Chinese President Hu Jintao attend the signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People on June 29, 2011 in Beijing, China. (Liu Jin-Pool/Getty Images)

NAIROBI, Kenya — China is an old friend of Khartoum.

Beijing's policy of non-interference in domestic affairs has made it some pretty unsavory friends, most recently in Syria when it joined Moscow in vetoing a UN Security Council resolution.

More from GlobalPost: China mulls contribution to Europe’s rescue fund

China has shown no qualms about investing in oil infrastructure, roads and railways in Sudan or for that matter selling armaments that were then used against the people of Darfur.

But as southern independence approached China realized that if it wanted to keep getting 5 percent of its crude imports from Sudan it needed friends in the South, too, since that's where most of the oil is.

More from GlobalPost: Tullow Oil to invest in Uganda's oil industry

Diplomatic overtures were launched and Beijing's envoys found a warm welcome in Juba.

Late last month came the kidnapping of 29 Chinese road builders who were working in South Kordofan, a region of north Sudan where a rebel group is battling the Khartoum army. During the raid by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-North) rebels 17 other workers escaped while one, it turned out, was killed.

China's official news agency, Xinhua, says the 29 captives have now been released but their captivity shows the tricky balancing act that Beijing is trying to pull off, staying friends with both sides as they inch ever closer to war.

In these circumstances, and with its own citizens now at risk, China's policy of non-interference looks increasingly unsustainable.

More from GlobalPost: China housing market restricts mortgages for foreigners

Michael GoldfarbFebruary 7, 2012 06:43

China's economic slowdown: blame it on Europe

IMF report on China demonstrates the links between the two

The IMF report cuts to the chase in the headline bullet points:

"A storm emanating from Europe would hit China hard"

It notes: "China's growth rate would drop abruptly if the Euro area experiences a sharp recession."

Iva Roze SkochFebruary 6, 2012 17:19

Vegetarians in China: Adventures in translations

In China, sometimes being a vegetarian means the same thing as being a lesbian.

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Note written by a concierge in China for a vegetarian friend. (Alexia E./GlobalPost)

Talk about a travel keepsake for the scrapbook.

When my friend Alexia went to China recently, she kept having problems in local restaurants explaining that she was a vegetarian.

Her “no meat” pleading usually only got her “vegetarian meals with chicken.” If she was lucky.

So Alexia finally decided to talk to the concierge at her hotel. She begged him to write on a piece of paper in Chinese characters that she was a vegetarian.

That way, she could show the piece of paper in restaurants and they would know she didn’t eat meat, not even chicken, but that she was happy to eat anything with vegetables.

The concierge happily scribbled the Chinese characters for her.

Just to make sure he had written down the correct thing, she asked him to translate what he just wrote into English.

He was happy to do that. Above the Chinese characters, he wrote: “I don’t eat meat, eggs. I eat vag.”

Michael GoldfarbFebruary 6, 2012 04:29

A history of capitalism in the demise of one global British brand

Wedgwood Museum collection to be sold to pay for company pensions

At the dawn of the industrial revolution in Britain one of the first global brands created was that of Wedgwood china. Founded in 1759 by potter Josiah Wedgwood, it set standards that others were unable to match. A set of Wedgwood china became the mark of distinction for any aristocratic home and, more importantly, any home of the rapidly emerging middle classes.

At the dawn of de-regulated capitalism, in the 1980's, Wedgwood was acquired by the Waterford crystal company. Not for the first time or the last in this era, the management cultures of the two companies were fatally mismatched, the company went bust in 2008.

Chinese environment official fired after toxic river spill

Amy SilversteinFebruary 4, 2012 22:12

The Chinese government and news reports still haven't provided insight into how exactly the spill happened.

China cut internet and phone access in Tibet

Amy SilversteinFebruary 3, 2012 15:30

Chinese officials and Tibetans offer different accounts of what happened at a protest. The loss of internet and phone access makes verifying their stories more difficult.

Hélène HofmanFebruary 2, 2012 07:27

China bans palm-reading tests for kindergarteners

Palm-reading tests gauging the intelligence of kindergarteners have been banned in China's northern Shanxi province

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(AARON TAM/AFP/Getty Images)

Palm-readers in China's Shanxi province claimed they could predict a toddler's abilities