In The News

Sweden's NSA Spy Links “Deeply Troubling”

David Landes October 3, 2013
The Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee of the European Parliament continues to hold hearings on electronic mass surveillance of European citizens. During the hearing a journalist suggested that “Swedish National Defence Radio Establishment (Försvarets radioanstalt, FRA) provided the United States National Security Agency (NSA) access to the Baltic underwater cables,” reports...

Singapore Foreigner Curbs Target Professionals

Sharon Chen September 27, 2013
Singapore’s unemployment rate is 2.1 percent, near full employment, according to economists, but that’s too high for some. The nation will set up a job bank and require companies to advertise jobs to Singaporeans before pursuing work visas for foreign professionals. Exempt are businesses with fewer than 25 employees and jobs that pay less than US$30,000 or more than $140,000. The move reflects...

Egypt Court Bans Muslim Brotherhood Activities

Laura King, Ingy Hassieb September 25, 2013
In one short year, the Muslim Brotherhood went from winning Egypt’s first democratic election to being cast as a pariah: An Egyptian court has “banned all of its activities and ordered the confiscation of its financial assets,” report Laura King and Ingy Hassieb for the Los Angeles Times, and they question whether such rapid reversal “by an increasingly authoritarian interim government will...

China Intensifies Internet Crackdown

Jamil Anderlini September 16, 2013
The hopes of political reform raised after the Chinese Communist Party elected Xi Jinping last year have been dashed amidst an intensifying crackdown on the internet. An article in an influential party journal described online criticism of the party and government as “defamation.” At the same time an influential internet personality, Charles Xue , who boasted 12 million followers on China’s...

Why Is Prosperous China So Anxious?

Orville Schell September 5, 2013
China, like other countries, seeks economic success and global respect. The country has accomplished so much in a few short decades – massively expanding the economy, reducing poverty and developing impressive infrastructure. Yet Chinese leaders exude anxiety, suggests author and long-time China observer Orville Schell. Fearing public discontent and unrest, the Chinese Communist Party resists...

Communities Should Continue to Benefit From Mobile Revolution

Sifiso Dabengwa September 2, 2013
Mobile-phone operators are between a rock and a hard place, juggling protections for customers who seek free communications while satisfying demands from controlling governments, explains Sifiso Dabengwa, CEO of MTN, a multinational telecommunications firm based in South Africa. “On the one hand mobile connectivity is touted as the lifeblood of socio-economic development in the underdeveloped...

New York Police Label Mosques as Terrorist Organizations

Adam Goldman, Matt Apuzzo August 30, 2013
The New York Police Department secretly labeled mosques as “terrorism organizations,” to allow surveillance, reports the Associated Press. “Designating an entire mosque as a terrorism enterprise means that anyone who attends prayer services there is a potential subject of an investigation and fair game for surveillance,” write Adam Goldman and Matt Apuzzo. “Before the NYPD could target mosques...