After days of mounting protests, and just before thousands of peaceful demonstrators occupied the grounds around her empty and forlorn office, Thailand’s prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra finally gave in: she announced she would dissolve the lower house of parliament and hold a new election in early February. Is this a win for the protestors or the government’s trump card?

America’s shale boom is boosting our petrochemicals industry, and it’s coming at the expense of European firms. Natural gas liquids are used as a feedstock for many chemicals, and thanks to fracking, the US is flush with the stuff.

Experts are now warning that Puerto Rico’s economic meltdown could have ripple effects on retirement funds on the mainland. Puerto Rico could turn into a bigger disaster than Detroit.

Traditional pension supporters argue that public pension cuts could actually cost cities money by forcing them to raise salaries to attract high-quality employees. This makes sense as far as it goes, but it doesn’t change the fact that many cities simply can’t afford the pensions they have. Defined-benefit is still the way to go.

The ruling Congress Party in India was overwhelmingly defeated in several recent state elections, and it now faces a steep uphill battle as national elections loom on the horizon. The BJP, with the charismatic, Hindu-nationalist and business friendly Narendra Modi at the helm, is ascendant. But the Common Man Party, which runs on an anti-corruption platform, surprised with some strong numbers.

Hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets on Sunday in Kiev to protest the government’s turn toward Russia. But while the protests are massive, it’s a much more complicated situation than some media reports let on. Kiev, the national capital, is in the western part of the country where anti-Yanukovich forces have always been strong. But anti-government demonstrations in the west can paradoxically bolster the government’s position in the east. The real battle is likely to depend on how Ukraine’s powerful oligarchs divide among themselves and on how successful the government is at staving off a looming economic crisis.

What a week it’s been for the blog. We launched a new site, so be sure to let us know what you think. Here’s a roundup of posts well worth your time that you might have missed over the past week.

AI contributor Saim Saeed has been reading Husain Haqqani’s Magnificent Delusions, a scathing account of sixty years of US-Pakistan relations. It’s a good and worthy analysis of a complex history, but it ultimately excuses American policymakers too easily for some of their mistakes.

South Korea is responding to China’s expanded Air Defense Identification Zone by expanding its own Air Defense Identification Zone, which now intersects with China’s and Japan’s over a disputed underwater reef. Fears of a reduced US presence in the Pacific are stoking instability in the East China Sea.

The 159 countries in the World Trade Organization are finally ready to ink a major free trade agreement after a week of heated debates between the U.S. and India that nearly derailed the process. The agreement, nicknamed “Doha Lite” by some, is far less sweeping than the original Doha plans, but it’s difficult to overstate its importance as one of the biggest victories in the body’s history. The Obama administration has a lot to be proud of here.