One way of framing the complexity of China&rsquo;s long history is to understand it as the interplay of ideas between the pragmatic, human-centric precepts of Confucianism and the nature-worshipping, harmony-seeking philosophy of Daoism.

Green blot on the Red dragon

Business Standard

Julian Assange, the silver-haired, intense-eyed, editor-in-chief of the whistleblower website WikiLeaks, has stormed onto the front pages and screens of media across the world, with the release of 92,000 classified documents on the war in Afghanistan.

Noble cyber-jedi or activist with a misguided agenda?

Twenty years ago, Rajive Kaul, the dapper scion of a venerable Kolkata industrial house dealing in electrical cables, found himself nervously knocking on the doors of Geoffrey Thompson, the owner and managing director of Britain&rsquo;s most visited amusement park, the Pleasure Beach at Blackpool.

Erecting an empire on enjoyment

Geo-strategic pundits may reduce Asia to a quagmire of border disputes and nuclear weapons. But there is another, older, more closely-bound entity.

The idea of Asia

In the tech world, cloud computing is the phrase du jour, blending hippy-infused, references to the power of the &ldquo;cloud,&rdquo; with techno-visionary prophesies of a paradigm shift in the way humanity will interact with computing. But for the average non-geek, it remains a rather cloudy concept.

Cloud computing aims to bridge digital divide

Seeking to dampen the recent reports of trouble between the Nissan-Renault Alliance and Bajaj Auto on their project to develop a low-cost car for the Indian market, Simon Sproule, Director, Communications, for the former told Business Standard that since last November, there had in fact been &ldquo;no new announcements&rdquo;.

'Low-cost car project with Bajaj on, as before'

A four month-long exhibition at the Mus&eacute;e du quai Branly in Paris, titled Other Masters of India: Contemporary Creations of the Adivasis, is the first major show in Europe to focus exclusively on Indian tribal art.

Export quality?

Belgium does not make many headlines globally. Other than hazy images of beer and chocolate, the tiny, 10-million-strong country most often evokes a sense of genteel boredom. But beneath its waffle-scented serenity, Belgium seethes with communal tensions that raise persistent questions regarding the continued viability of the country, which, in turn, create doubts about the broader European project.

Pallavi Aiyar: Belgian lessons for the EU

The omnipresent Chinese character&nbsp;, pronounced &ldquo;chai&rdquo; and meaning &lsquo;demolish&rsquo;, has been a leitmotif in the architectural rise and rise of China.

The 'chai' factor

In 2008, HCL Technologies acquired the UK-based systems application integrator, Axon Global, in what was the largest ever buy by an India-based service provider. Steve Cardell, CEO of HCL Axon, spoke to Pallavi Aiyar about why, despite the reservations many analysts had, the move appears to have paid off for both entities.

Q&A: Steve Cardell, CEO, HCL Axon

The European Union will consider giving Pakistan trade concessions under its GSP (generalized system of preferences) Plus trade scheme, officials from the European Commission and Council revealed on Thursday.

Pak-EU trade pact rides on security concerns

Indians cemented their status as the new moguls of the global diamond trade, making a clean sweep of the elections to the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), held on Wednesday. The AWDC is the governing body of Antwerp&rsquo;s diamond trade, presiding over a multibillion dollar business that accounts for nearly 10 percent of Belgium&rsquo;s exports.

Indians sweep Antwerp diamond centre polls

Both multilateral trade negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) like the India-EU (European Union) FTA, need to be speedily concluded in order to aid global recovery from the economic crisis, Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma said on Monday.

India-EU FTA likely by year-end, says Sharma

At a time of global turbulence in the banking sector, Rana Kapoor, Founder and Chief Executive Officer YES Bank, believes further opening up of India&rsquo;s banking sector to foreign players will be mutually beneficial. Pallavi Aiyar caught up with him in the Spanish capital Madrid, where he was awarded with the &lsquo;India Business Leader of the Year&rsquo; award at a Global Indian Business Meeting hosted by Geneva-based networking organisation Horasis.

Q&A: Rana Kapoor, Founder & CEO, YES Bank

Rajan Bharti Mittal, vice-chairman and managing director of Bharti Enterprises and president of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci), makes a passionate appeal for opening the retail sector in India, in an interview with Pallavi Aiyar at a recent &lsquo;India Global Business Meet&rsquo; organised by Ficci and Horasis in Madrid.

Q&A: Rajan Mittal, President, Ficci

The fracas surrounding the perceived racism of the comic book Tintin in the Congo is entering a new phase, with a decision on a fresh civil suit pending in a Brussels court.

Colours of perception

After a rough spell that saw company debt rise to a high of Rs 12,000 crore and stock valuation drop, the world&rsquo;s third-largest wind turbine company, Suzlon, is looking forward to renewed and rapid growth. Chairman Tulsi Tanti spoke to Pallavi Aiyar at a recent World Economic Forum conference in Brussels about his view on a post-Copenhagen environment for wind and why green growth and development are complementary rather than contradictory.

Q&A: Tulsi Tanti, Chairman, Suzlon

India&rsquo;s plans for railway development are creating opportunities that Canadian major Bombardier is determined to exploit. Michael Beckmann, vice-president (group strategy) for Bombardier Transportation, spoke to Pallavi Aiyar about the company&rsquo;s strategic interest in the market.

'Nobody is pushing for prestige or monument projects'

It wasn&rsquo;t long before I realised that moving from Beijing to Brussels entailed more than a switch from chopsticks to chocolate. At heart it was a move from an energetic story of rise to a tired one of decline.

Pallavi Aiyar: Celebrating the decline of Europe

Already the mainstay of Belgium&rsquo;s tourist industry, Brugge is more than the world capital of chocolate.

Feminism, stocks and chocolate

The economic slowdown in Europe has slashed the cost of cutting greenhouse gas emissions in Europe by a third, the European Commissioner for Climate Change, Connie Hedegaard, said on Wednesday.

Pallavi Aiyar

Pallavi Aiyar

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