In The News

Bangladeshi Workers Organize to Protect Their Most Valuable Export: Themselves

Tiffany Williams October 15, 2014
In Bangladesh, a densely populated country of 157 million, export of migrant workers has become a staple of the economy. Lacking viable economic opportunities at home, laborers often look abroad for a source of income. Facilitating such migration has become a business in itself, with agencies charging exorbitant fees. These middlemen, or “Dalals,” have come under intense scrutiny for failing to...

Disappearance of North Korea’s Kim Jong-un Could Ease Path to Peace, Coup or No

Paul French October 14, 2014
Kim Jong-un fell off the public radar for five weeks and has since appeared. Rumors flew back and forth, at least in the South Korean and western media. Kim was absent from anniversary celebrations for the ruling party, and earlier videos show the corpulent young adult walking with difficulty; state media reported he is suffering from “discomfort.” Every official event, including a visit to South...

Obama Authorizes Air Strikes on ISIS to Help Iraqis Besieged on Mountain

August 8, 2014
After invading Iraq in 2003, the United States struggled to repair the bitter Shia-Sunni divide and install a system of governance more stable than that of brutal dictator Saddam Hussein. After US troops withdrew in 2011, a relatively small group of militants fighting in Syria took advantage of a power vacuum to impose what they call an Islamic State, also known as IS, ISIS or ISIL, rapidly...

Russia Clampdown Stokes Fears of Balkanization of the Web

Kathrin Hille July 11, 2014
Governments and tech companies continue to tussle over control of the internet. Russia’s parliament approved “a bill requiring all technology companies to store the personal data of their Russian users in the country,” reports Kathrin Hille for the Financial Times. “The Russian clampdown is the first serious move to assert national control over segments of the web in the wake of the revelation of...

US Alarm at the Growing Number of Illegal Child Migrants

June 10, 2014
US President Barack Obama described the increasing number of unaccompanied children migrating to the United States as an “urgent humanitarian situation.” Most come from Central America and Mexico, and many are escaping domestic abuse, poverty or violent gangs who prey on them. However, children are unaware of the dangers of traveling alone, including sexual assault, forced labor and hunger. Since...

The Legacy of Tiananmen Square

Johan Lagerkvist June 3, 2014
China’s communist leaders orchestrated a steady march towards great power status, accompanied by rewriting history and erasing tragic moments. Author Johan Lagerkvist reflects on the 25th anniversary of what has come to be known as Tiananmen Square massacre and points out how “the mindset behind the tragedy – unswerving support for China’s rise, with no toleration for criticism, questions or...

Why Pope Francis’s Peace Plan Won't Pay Off

Benny Avni May 29, 2014
President Shimon Peres and Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization Mahmoud Abbas accepted an invitation from the leader of the world’s Catholics to participate in peace talks at the Vatican. Many remain skeptical that a “prayer for peace” will have significant impact on a long and bitter conflict. As Benny Avni of Newsweek details, one obstacle is the power differential between the two...