In The News

Bradley Manning's 35-Year Sentence Is a Halfway House

Mark Mardell August 26, 2013
Bradley Manning joined the US Army in 2007 and two years later was charged with leaking classified information to WikiLeaks, including US embassy cables and a video showing civilians and journalists killed by a US helicopter in Iraq. He was convicted of espionage in July, though the judge dismissed the most serious charge, aiding the enemy, and issued a compromise sentence of 35 years, reports...

Gay Laws and the Company Russia Keeps

Tim Marshall August 15, 2013
Russia claims to uphold national values with a vague law that outlaws promotion of homosexuality among children. The stance is attracting global attention, with boycotts on Russian vodka and worries about the safety of athletes and audience members attending the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. “This values-led argument is very useful to those who want to cloak the repression of others by saying...

Big Brother Is All Ears: India Proposes What Snowden Discloses

August 14, 2013
India’s Department of Telecom, has posted a new telecommunications licensing agreement with controls that echo those of the US National Security Agency. The Telegraph in Calcutta reports: “The 176-page document that was placed on the DoT’s website on Friday evening has never explicitly spelt out in such great detail the manner in which the government can access call records of private citizens,...

India Takes Lesson From China to Lure Workers to Garment Industry

Amy Kazmin July 30, 2013
India ranks as the world’s third largest exporter of garments. Government regulations once limited investment and factory size; with those lifted, some firms may follow China’s industry model by constructing dormitories to attract workers from poorer areas, reports Amy Kazmin for the Financial Times. “Despite the country’s vast, young labour force, India’s garment industry has struggled to...

Glaxo Executives Accused of Breaking Chinese Law

Ben Hirschler, Kazunori Takada July 24, 2013
Chinese leaders have promised a crackdown on corruption in China, and executives of foreign multinationals are not exempt from the scrutiny. China has accused several executives of a British pharmaceutical firm with bribery in violation of Chinese law. “China has long been known for a culture in which drug companies make payments to doctors, since physicians rely on rewards for writing...

Phone-Tracking Program Defended in US Government Letter

Larry Neumeister July 23, 2013
The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit on a US intelligence program that collects, tracks and stores telephone-record megadata, The US defended the program in a letter to a federal court by pointing out the program – was “approved” and “rigorously overseen” by the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government – has been successful in preventing terrorist attacks. “The...

Would-Be Canadian Citizens Set to Fight Oath to Queen

Jeff Gray July 21, 2013
A group of immigrants seeking Canadian citizenship have gone to court, claiming that the country’s oath for citizenship – requiring “true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors” – is unconstitutional. The oath also requires obeying Canada’s laws and fulfilling citizen duties. The court case undercuts recent Canadian leaders’ efforts to highlight...