In The News

After Gaddafi, Let's Hope for the Best in Libya

Brian Whitaker August 23, 2011
After six months of fighting, Libyan rebels rallied for an enthusiastic entry into Tripoli. The images were reminiscent of early victories in Tunisia, Egypt and also Iraq, as rebels and other Libyans gathered in Green Square, destroying symbols of the previous regime. A few holdouts from the Gaddafi regime resist, and the task of rebuilding is daunting, but the Guardian’s Brian Whitaker suggests...

Anna Hazare's Fight for Change Has Inspired Millions of Indians

Chetan Bhagat August 19, 2011
Millions of Indians are questioning power’s corrupting influence, after Anna Hazare, 74, launched a hunger strike this week. His demand: parliamentary consideration of a bill to establish an ombudsman’s office for investigating and punishing corrupt politicians and government employees. “Archaic laws, designed for autocratic, colonial rulers with no accountability (yes, blame the British for...

Rolling Shocks Explain Why the World Is So Depressed

David Ignatius August 12, 2011
It’s an expectation that free economies and political systems return to normal after periods of volatility. But that’s not always so, explains David Ignatius in his column for the Daily Star. “A disruption that initially seems manageable gets bigger and more dangerous as the system oscillates up and down,” he writes. “Indeed, the effort to understand market failure and social disorder helped...

Egyptian Youth Sidelined From Their Own Revolution

Mohamed El Dahshan July 19, 2011
Egypt’s revolution is incomplete. Massive protests press on in Cairo and other cities, with many upset about the military overseeing transition from a crony dictatorship to democracy. Confusion of a transitional leadership and fast-approaching elections is unsettling: The transitional government lacks popular mandate, yet has little choice but to move quickly on budgetary and other matters with...

The Fall of the House of Murdoch

Jonathan Schell July 11, 2011
A scandal at the News of the World – particularly a report that the newspaper oversaw hacking and erasing phone messages of a 13-year-old abduction victim, later found murdered – has outraged Britons. The Guardian uncovered that the News of the World, before closure, targeted 4000 voicemail accounts of celebrities, crime victims and soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, reports researcher...

Thailand's Election: A Precious Chance

July 7, 2011
Electorates have a mind of its own, and “Five years of strenuous attempts by the Thai establishment to destroy Thaksin Shinawatra as a political force have come to naught,” reports the Economist. Pheu Thai, the party headed by Thaksin’s sister Yingluck Shinawatra handily won the Thai election. The decisive win could ease the bitter divide in Thailand, the scene of violent protests in 2010. As the...

African Jitters Over Blogs and Social Media

Karen Allen June 17, 2011
The Arab spring uprisings let loose a cry over social media and on the streets for better governance. African governments have since turned to any means necessary to censor criticism in blogs or social media, reports the Committee for the Protection of Journalists, working with Google’s South Africa office. Of the Africans with internet access, 80 percent rely on mobile phone, reports BBC’s...