In The News

The Diplomat: Kim Jong-nam's Assassins in Malaysia Used VX Nerve Agent

Ankit Panda February 26, 2017
Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of former North Korean dictator, Kim Jong Il, was assassinated at the crowded Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia. The weapon used against the estranged half-brother of North Korea's current dictator, the youngest son, is reported as the nerve agent VX, a substance banned as a chemical weapon by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons...

Vanity Fair: The Curious Case of Paul Manafort

Abigail Tracy February 24, 2017
Questions continue about alleged connections between Russia and the US election. A report suggests that a Ukrainian official had tried to alert Paul Manafort, a former chairman of the Trump campaign, about compromising information, later revealed after a phone of Manafort’s daughter was hacked. The Ukrainian official denies that he was the source of the messages. “Manafort, however, confirmed the...

Volkswagen Agrees to Plead Guilty in Diesel-Emissions Scandal

Tom Schoenberg, Christoph Rauwald and David McLaughlin January 16, 2017
Volkswagen has agreed to plead guilty to charges brought by the US Justice Department over its emissions conspiracy. VW admits relying on so-called “defeat device with algorithms that misrepresented emissions during testing. More than 11 million cars worldwide contained these devices, which allowed engines to cheat on carbon emissions tests. This conclusion to the 16-month investigation also...

Human Smuggling: Ruthless Crime or Invaluable Service?

Joseph Chamie December 22, 2016
Human smuggling is not new or easy to stop. Governments consider the activity a crime, yet migrants fleeing war, poverty, persecution or disasters seek out the services of experienced smugglers. The most desperate stories draw global sympathy. “For many unauthorized migrants, smugglers are freedom facilitators,” concedes Joseph Chamie, demography expert and former director of the United Nations...

China and Russia Take the Helm of Interpol

Robbie Gramer November 21, 2016
The International Criminal Police Organization elected a Chinese official for its president and a Russian for vice president. Alexander Prokopchuk, one of four Interpol vice presidents, is the first Russian to hold the position. Meng Hongwei will lead the organization until 2020, and human rights watchers express concern that China could manipulate the office for its own interests. Beijing will...

India to Replace Largest Bank Notes

Raymond Zhong November 10, 2016
Governments combat counterfeiting and tax evasion by eliminating big bills in circulation and imposing frequent design changes for currency. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi surprised citizens with news that its 500- and 1000-rupee banknotes would cease being legal tender the following day. The notes – representing more than 80 percent of the currency in circulation as of March – can be...

Xi Turns Sights on Wayward Senior Leaders in China Graft Fight

November 3, 2016
The Chinese Communist Party has consolidated power for President Xi Jinping’s and imposed new rules to battle corruption by senor leaders. “The rules detailed by the official Xinhua News Agency late Wednesday put the onus on top officials to set higher standards and called on cadres to report potential violations involving members of the party’s Central Committee,” reports Bloomberg. “The 25-...