World news: Syria defiant as US-led strike looms, Investment han...

To view this email as a webpage, click here     Tuesday August 27 2013     World News   Syria defiant as US-led strike looms   Syria vows to use 'all means available' to counter a US-led strike that appears increasingly imminent after Cameron recalls UK parliament       Investment hangover hits Chinese groups     UK investigator in China TV confession     Israel lauds trade route for Turkey goods     Spain tomato festival feels economic pinch     France ban on Mercedes cars overturned     Nigeria oil output at four-year low     S Africa buoyed by manufacturing pick-up     German business confidence at 16-month high     Brazil's foreign minister resigns         The World   Smart Reads August 27, 2013   By Catherine Contiguglia Western nations are expected soon to intervene in Syria following the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime last week, but much concerning a potential strike remains unclear, including the legal questions, and whether America can still rely on its traditional allies in the region. Elsewhere, the New Yorker’s George Packer considers the lack of clarity and consensus in the debate on Syria intervention, while the New York Times opens up the discussion to a panel of policy experts. The June shooting and killing of an anti-corruption activist is the most recent illustration of what danger whistleblowers face in South Africa, where endemic corruption seems to be undermining and corroding the ruling African National Congress, writes the FT’s Andrew England. In the first of a three-part series, the FT examines the Chinese Debt Dragon. Although the Chinese government denies the country has a debt problem, the picture on the ground shows failing public services and unpaid wages as debt dependency rises to dangerous levels, reports Simon Rabinovitch. "Vote me out of jail or I will bring the country down with me," is the message from Silvio Berlusconi following his conviction for tax fraud – but to bow to this threat would be "accepting the age-old intuition that [Italian] politics will always be corrupt" and that there are better things to worry about, writes Tim Parks in the New York Review of Books. Continue reading »           Manage email    Forward this email   Feedback    Manage portfolio Subscribe to the FT Follow the FT   Unsubscribe | My Account | RSS | Privacy Policy | About Us | Help   © THE FINANCIAL TIMES LTD 2013 You have received this email because you have signed up from the NBE preference page. This email was sent by a company owned by Pearson plc, registered office at 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL. Registered in England and Wales with company number 53723.