In The News

Turkey: Erdoğan Faces Twittering Opposition

Anna Beth Keim March 26, 2014
A desire for democracy – the ability to select one’s representatives, but also engage in informed debate on policies with compromise – may slowly take root in Turkey. Spring protests in Gezi Park gave way to harsh crackdown, a government corruption investigation in December and active debate over Twitter since, including leaks of recordings that led to resignations of ministers and growing...

NSA Breached Chinese Servers Seen as Security Threat

David E. Sanger and Nicole Perlroth March 24, 2014
US officials long blocked the Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei from business deals for its supposed link with the Chinese military. “But even as the United States made a public case about the dangers of buying from Huawei, classified documents show that the National Security Agency was creating its own back doors – directly into Huawei’s networks,” report David Sanger and Nicole Perlroth...

Bloomberg Should Have Rethought Articles on China, Chairman Says

Neil Gough March 21, 2014
The chairman of Bloomberg L.P. waved a white flag over news coverage on China – and suggested that investigative journalism is inappropriate for a company that sells expensive business terminals. Peter T. Grauer’s comment as reported in the New York Times – “Our approach is pretty much to tune out all the news about weaknesses in the emerging markets” – implies that the company can sell a product...

“Netflix for Piracy” Popcorn Time Saved by Fans

Dave Lee March 19, 2014
Consumers can’t resist the lure of free entertainment. The film industry may want to shut down software development that provides easy sharing, but Popcorn Time may have the last laugh. The service that freely streams digital content as BitTorrent files, including movies, has been released as open-source software posted free online and already translated into 32 languages. “This means that anyone...

Ukraine: Goodbye Cold War, Hello Globalized Economy

Remi Piet March 18, 2014
As Russia tries to claim Crimea from Ukraine and influence politics of neighboring states, other countries are uncertain about how to proceed – and just how effective economic sanctions might be. Russia is a leading producer of oil and natural gas, but is also over-reliant on those revenues. Another unknown for Russia and supporters is just how long global markets will tolerate endorsement of...

Fig Leaf of Legitimacy

Nayan Chanda March 17, 2014
About 60 percent of the electorate turned out in Crimea for a special referendum; reports suggest that 95 percent voted to join Russia. Next, Russia will decide whether to annex the peninsula it passed to Ukraine in 1954. Most of the international community opposed the hurried election, especially after Russia dispatched troops and tanks to the area. “Among the undecided but leaning towards...

The New Ukraine: Inside Kiev's House of Cards

Christian Neef, Wladimir Pyljow and Matthias Schepp March 6, 2014
Ukraine is ranked 144th on Transparency International’s corruption index; by comparison, neighbors Russia and Poland are ranked 127 and 38, respectively. Business owners with close ties to the former president, described as oligarchs, have fortunes worth billions even as the country owes billions in debt, much of that to Russia. Many of the wealthy have fled to Russia and tried to destroy...