Free Republic

Saudi Arabia and Germany are seeking to develop their economic ties, the official SPA news agency reported after talks in Riyadh between officials from the two countries. […] German Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel said his country was ready to boost its role in diversifying the Saudi economy, especially in infrastructure, transport and the petrochemicals sectors, SPA reported. …

When Xi Jinping took the reins of a booming China two years ago, President Barack Obama saw an opportunity to remake America’s relationship with the Asian power. But even after Obama’s unusually robust efforts to forge personal ties with Xi, the two leaders are meeting in Beijing amid significant tensions, both old and new. Xi has consolidated power since taking office, deepened China’s provocative maritime disputes with its neighbors and stands accused of continuing cyberattacks against the United States. U.S. officials have new concerns over the potential for a crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong and are warily watching...

LOS ANGELES - Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa warned Thursday that federal plans to use more troops and barriers to tighten security on the nation's southern border could hurt the city's attempts to increase trade and tourism with Mexico. "There's no question that putting up a wall, assigning the National Guard, could have a chilling effect on tourism, the relationship between the two countries, economic ties," the mayor told reporters on the eve of his meeting with Mexican President Vicente Fox. "Our economies are much more intertwined than most people really understand," the mayor said. "The benefits to both countries are great."...

Opinion polls show almost 80% of people in France are against a US-led war against Iraq. Many of those see American military and economic aims in Iraq as one and the same thing. America's critics claim that America's policy on Iraq is driven by its appetite for oil. But could similar claims be made about France? Power games During the late 1970s, French companies started work on the Tamuz One nuclear reactor near Baghdad - designed to produce plutonium - and on a second reactor, Tamuz Two. The first was destroyed by Israeli fighter bombers in 1981. During the Iran-Iraq...

Politically diverse group calls for ties with Cuba GOP ex-congressman, business leaders, former Texas governor on panel 01/24/2003 By ALFREDO CORCHADO / The Dallas Morning News WASHINGTON - A bipartisan advisory group, including a former Republican congressman, business leaders and influential Cuban-Americans, issued a report Thursday that renewed calls for the Bush administration to break with what they called 41 years of a failed policy. The conclusions of the 16-page report, "U.S.-Cuba Relations, Time for a New Approach," aren't unique. But the makeup of the commission and the people articulating the message of normalizing ties with Cuba are new....