In The News

Deutsche Welle: EU Urges Poland to Halt Judicial Reforms or Face Sanctions

July 20, 2017
Judicial reforms initiated by Poland’s governing party Law and Justice, of which the President Andrzej Duda is a close ally, are coming closer to fruition, but with substantial criticism in both Poland and abroad. Proposed legislation would “trigger the immediate dismissal of current judges in the Supreme Court” and then allow the justice minister to appoint both Supreme Court replacements and...

The Korea Herald: Gloomy Outlook for Joint Olympics Team, With NK IOC Member’s Skepticism

Jung Min-kyung July 3, 2017
President of South Korea Moon Jae-in has been in office for two months and in terms of sports is fulfilling expectations to initiate a more cooperative tone in his country’s interactions with North Korea. Moon “wishes to restore inter-Korean dialogue through cross-border cooperation for the upcoming winter games,” reports Jung Min-kyung for the Korea Herald. The situation reflects a marked change...

CSM: Tech Companies Caught Between US, EU Ideals

Amanda Paulson June 28, 2017
A recent cluster of terrorist attacks has prompted French and British politicians to introduce regulation imposing financial penalties on internet firms that do not sufficiently curtail the flow of extremist propaganda. As a result, YouTube, its parent company Google, and Facebook announced their own plans to preempt these laws that could negatively affect their financial bottom line as well as...

Bloomberg: China's Downgrade Could Lead to a Mountain of Debt

May 30, 2017
Moody’s Investor Services lowered China’s sovereign debt rating by one level in late May for the first time since 1989. The company cited high levels of corporate debt mostly held by state-owned enterprises as the cause. With an increase in the yield premium on bonds, Chinese companies face higher interest rates when borrowing money, indicating greater risk. Hence, raising capital for investments...

Bloomberg: The Saudi Oil Blunder That Will Keep Costing

Leonid Bershidsky May 30, 2017
On May 25, 14 members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), along with 10 other oil-producing nations led by Russia, agreed to a deal that would limit oil production until March 2018. OPEC nations represent just over 40 percent of global oil production, reports the US Energy Information Administration, with Saudi Arabia and Venezuela among OPEC’s largest producers. With...

Japan’s Population Outlook and Immigration Talk

April 14, 2017
An April report from Japan’s National Institute of Population and Security Research predicts that the nation’s population will shrink by 30 percent within the next half century unless current government policy aimed at increasing the fertility rate is a rapid success. With a decline of 40 percent, the size of the working population, ages 15 to 64, is forecasted to plunge even further, reports the...

Reuters: Twitter Refuses US Order to Reveal User Behind @ALT_uscis

David Ingram April 7, 2017
Some Trump appointees are notable for their plans to overhaul the missions and policies of the agencies they lead, particularly environmental protection, education and health care. Some federal employees are reacting to new dictates with alternative social-media accounts to mock and critique administration policies. Twitter announced it filed a lawsuit blocking a summons demanding the names...