In The News

Soap Opera Diplomacy: Turkish TV in Greece

Robbie Moore February 27, 2013
Greece’s high rate of unemployment allows ample leisure time for watching television. Yet the economic crisis has also meant that Greek television producers can no longer afford to write, shoot and broadcast television shows. So stations have turned to affordable Turkish shows, which are gaining in popularity among Greeks, explains Robbie Moore for the International, adding that “Some in the...

In China, Vast Chasm Between the Rich and the Rest

Sim Chi Yin February 11, 2013
Resentment is building online and in daily interactions among Chinese over rising income inequality, which is particularly pronounced between urban and rural communities. Sim Chi Yin explores the divisions with photographs of young graduate student who cannot find good jobs; retired laborers about to be evicted from small homes to make way for skyscrapers; street cleaners outside luxury stores...

What Does It Mean to Be Comfortable?

Maggie Koerth-Baker February 7, 2013
Cultural expectations influence individual perceptions of comfort, but these expectations are evolving as globalization introduces new work schedules and styles. Still, there’s no universal ideas on a “right” temperature as people prefer what’s customary for them, explains Maggie Koerth-Baker for the NewYork Times Magazine. Norwegians’ aspire to make their homes comfortable for visitors and keep...

Singapore Calls for 30% Population Growth

Jeremy Grant February 4, 2013
Asia’s vibrant city state has a problem: Its citizens are not producing enough children to sustain the economy. The government’s response is traditional and paradoxical: More people spur a society’s economic growth and wealth, but more children for individuals can curtail careers and prosperity. Singapore’s government has released a report pointing to a need for foreign workers as long as...

Ambassador: Germany Needs Skilled Workers From India

February 4, 2013
Germany’s ambassador to India has announced that his country welcomes skilled workers from India and noted that immigration procedures and education regulations have been eased, reports the Times of India. One catch: Ambassador Michael Steiner urged Indians interested in studying or working in Germany to learn German. Language study unites country and people, and the ambassador was quoted as...

Cultural Revolution

February 1, 2013
From “cultural backwater” to trendsetter – that’s how the Economist describes the transformation of the Nordic region in just two decades. Immigration, globalization and the internet have contributed to the region’s burst of innovation in the high-tech, entertainment, restaurant and other industries. “The bigger reason why the region’s writers and artists – and indeed chefs and game designers –...

Pakistan’s Two Worlds

Hassan Siddiq January 30, 2013
Pakistan’s youth confront two stark realities: one that’s ambitious and cosmopolitan and the other radical and inward looking. Oddly enough, young Pakistanis obtain much of their news from international sources like BBC or CNN, even as those same broadcasts focus on violence and radical elements of society. Young, educated Pakistanis are as disturbed as audiences in the West about a vicious...