In The News

Population Explosion Scrutinized

Steve Connor July 14, 2010
Researchers increasingly link population with global problems like climate change and declining resources as basic as fresh water, and the UK national academy of science will launch a study on what others regard as an overused term and needless concern. Fertility rates in most nations are falling, but the planet’s population is estimated to grow from 6.8 billion to more than 9 billion by 2050 –...

What Big Eyes You Have, Dear, But Are Those Contacts Risky?

Catherine Saint Louis July 7, 2010
With the help of popular comics in Japan and a global star like Lady Gaga, a fashion for giant eyes has sped around the globe – catching some eye doctors and health regulators off guard. In the US, teens forgo prescriptions and go online to purchase contact lenses, imported from Asia, that extend beyond the human iris. The lenses have become standard for Japanese, Korean and Singapore women who...

Why Are 53 Countries Rooting for Ghana?

Dayo Olopade July 1, 2010
With one team remaining from Africa in this year’s World Cup, the Ghanians garner widespread support across the continent. While boundaries and internal conflict might make this unity inexplicable, some describe Ghana’s success as another side to the tired, old story of dysfunction in Africa. Furthermore, the “One Africa” narrative has proven extremely lucrative, with respect to promotions by...

Our Vuvuzelas, Ourselves

Anne Applebaum June 30, 2010
Crowd noise is nothing new at soccer matches. And the same goes for the long trumpet-like plastic instrument South African soccer fans call “vuvuzela.” Yet the horn’s indiscriminate – indeed, overwhelming – use at World Cup matches sparked controversy: Even as some Germans want to ban the “mood killer” and French TV viewers can digitally filter out the “stadium tinnitus,” Chinese distributors...

Global Migration: A World Ever More on the Move

Jason DeParle June 29, 2010
People’s movement around the globe – for work, wanderlust or safety – has long reordered the world in ways comprehended only decades, even centuries later, notes Jason DeParle for the New York Times. New arrivals influence trade, work habits, schools, culture and politics at all levels. Mobility is at historically high levels, and the United Nations estimates the globe has more than 200 million...

World Cup: The Symbol of a New Postcolonial World Order

Lyal White June 24, 2010
World order is not static in politics, economics, culture or sport. Lyal White, writing for the Mail & Guardian, analyzes the World Cup match between Portugal and Brazil, pointing out the shift in power between former colonial power and emerging power: “While Brazil is on the rise, Portugal is the latest European basket case teetering on the brink of default…. Today a reversal of colonial...

The World at Play: Soccer Takes on Globalization

Branko Milanovic June 15, 2010
Soccer is the most globalized sport. Owners of any sporting team demand and pay for top talent from anywhere in the world. Before 1995, soccer rules in Europe limited the number of foreign players to a handful per club. A Belgian player successfully protested that the rules violated European laws on labor mobility and discrimination. Since then, the doors have opened wide and skills in the game...