In The News

Bradley Manning's 35-Year Sentence Is a Halfway House

Mark Mardell August 26, 2013
Bradley Manning joined the US Army in 2007 and two years later was charged with leaking classified information to WikiLeaks, including US embassy cables and a video showing civilians and journalists killed by a US helicopter in Iraq. He was convicted of espionage in July, though the judge dismissed the most serious charge, aiding the enemy, and issued a compromise sentence of 35 years, reports...

Urgent Need to Protect the Internet

John Negroponte August 8, 2013
The internet has contributed to unprecedented global connections, but its openness distresses some governments. Censorship takes many forms, and some nations even consider creating an exclusive system for their citizens, cutting off contact with the rest of the globe, notes John Negroponte, a Brady-Johnson Distinguished Fellow in Grand Strategy and senior lecturer in International Affairs at Yale...

Mob Rule

Christian Caryl July 26, 2013
Organized crime is linked to trade in illegal drugs, human trafficking, poaching, internet scams, tax evasion or counterfeit goods – and relies on greed to lure cooperation of some law-enforcement and political leaders. The World Economic Forum estimates illegal activities represent 8 percent of global trade. “Mobsters thrive on instability,” Christian Caryl writes for Foreign Policy, whether...

Glaxo Executives Accused of Breaking Chinese Law

Ben Hirschler, Kazunori Takada July 24, 2013
Chinese leaders have promised a crackdown on corruption in China, and executives of foreign multinationals are not exempt from the scrutiny. China has accused several executives of a British pharmaceutical firm with bribery in violation of Chinese law. “China has long been known for a culture in which drug companies make payments to doctors, since physicians rely on rewards for writing...

Phone-Tracking Program Defended in US Government Letter

Larry Neumeister July 23, 2013
The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit on a US intelligence program that collects, tracks and stores telephone-record megadata, The US defended the program in a letter to a federal court by pointing out the program – was “approved” and “rigorously overseen” by the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government – has been successful in preventing terrorist attacks. “The...

The Power of Storytelling

Isabella Cota July 5, 2013
Radio – the voices and stories of individuals – wields influence over hearts, minds and community determination. One Central American NGO has found radio to be an excellent tool for spreading anti-trafficking messages throughout the region, reaching those who cannot afford computers and the internet – alerting listeners to the cruel and secretive crime. Thousands of people across Central America...

Rerouted Morales Plane Has South American Leaders Irate

July 5, 2013
Leaders of Bolivia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Argentina, Uruguay and Suriname had a special meeting to address broad concerns about US and European regard for Latin America in terms of diplomacy and surveillance. The meeting was occasioned by the rerouting of a plane carrying Bolivian President Evo Morales as he left Russia. European air-traffic controllers reportedly assisted the US in forcing the...