Netanyahu’s failed attempt to replace Shin Bet’s chief violates longstanding Israeli political taboos, as the apartheid state’s internal power struggle spirals to a new level of crisis while Gaza burns, writes RAMZY BAROUD
Xi Jinping’s ‘authoritarian turn’ — prioritising stability at a time of global turbulence
Rather than condemning the CPC’s abandonment of two-term limits, we must understand why China’s rapid rise — and consequently the US’s renewed hostility — has meant the party has chosen to centralise power at this time, writes JENNY CLEGG

THE 20th congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CPC) has made headlines in the mainstream media, but hardly because China’s future is of great consequence for the future of the world — rather, all eyes have been on Xi Jinping’s continuing as general secretary into a third five-year term.
What an opportunity, so the pundits think, to hype up the new cold war, spotlighting China’s “dictatorial” methods of leadership succession as against the West’s virtues of democratic choice.
Xi is being “anointed,” we are told, or “crowned,” as China’s leader.
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Western media dismisses the National People’s Congress while ignoring its extensive consultation processes, massive public participation mechanisms, and a tiered structure involving millions of deputies, explains JENNY CLEGG

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