In The News

Jane McAdam June 15, 2017
The UN Refugee Convention, drafted after World War II, strives to balance the needs of refugees and governments, but cannot help every displaced person. The world has seen great advances in communications, transportation and security, but a substantially larger global population, increasing inequality, terrorism and environmental degradation are challenges that leave critics claiming the treaty...
Katie Beck June 5, 2017
For more than two decades, governments have dangled citizenship in exchange for investments. “As more countries tighten their borders and paths to immigration, a new industry is working to bypass those restrictions – for a hefty fee,” reports BBC News. “The specifics of different investment citizenship programmes vary by country. They allow foreigners to invest in real-estate projects and...
Somini Sengupta, Melissa Eddy and Chris Buckley June 3, 2017
By withdrawing the United States from a non-binding treaty, Donald Trump rejects that climate change is a crisis. He rejects the opinion of a majority of US citizens and virtually the entire global science community. He rejects notions that cities like Pittsburgh and Paris might have common interests or that the US as biggest carbon polluter in history should contribute to a fund helping poor...
Ralph Jennings May 31, 2017
Taiwan’s Constitutional Court declared that same-sex marriage is part of the “people’s right to equality” in May and became the first place in Asia to legalize the practice. The island has a history of practicing progressive values, with the LGBT movement forming more than two decades ago as politicians attempted to build a more pluralistic society. “Taiwanese LGBT groups are wondering now who...
Carrie Johnson May 19, 2017
The world closely followed the 2016 US presidential campaign, and will continue to do so with multiple investigations into reports of Russian interference during the election. Robert Mueller, former director of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, has been nominated as special counselor with broad powers to investigate. Mueller started his job as FBI director a week before the 9/11 attacks,...
Vera Gutiérrez Calvo May 3, 2017
Spain is debating whether some topics are off limits, even terror groups from long ago, now defunct, on social media – and “how to tackle hatred, humiliation and disrespect without being disproportionate and arbitrary,” reports Vera Gutiérrez Calvo for El Pais. “Sources from the central High Court and prosecutor offices state that jokes in themselves are not being prosecuted as crimes, but that...
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...