In The News

The Power of Storytelling

Isabella Cota July 5, 2013
Radio – the voices and stories of individuals – wields influence over hearts, minds and community determination. One Central American NGO has found radio to be an excellent tool for spreading anti-trafficking messages throughout the region, reaching those who cannot afford computers and the internet – alerting listeners to the cruel and secretive crime. Thousands of people across Central America...

World Cup Benefits Outsiders, Say Brazil Protesters

James Montague July 4, 2013
Brazil has many soccer fans, but protesters are questioning the conventional wisdom that massive sporting events deliver widespread benefits for host nations. Instead, the ongoing Confederations Cup has set the stage for protests on Brazil’s cost of living, the poor quality of education and high transport costs. “The initial spark for the protests was a rise in bus fares in Sao Paulo,” reports...

Key US-EU Trade Pact Under Threat After More NSA Spying Allegations

Ian Traynor, Louise Osborne, Jamie Doward July 1, 2013
A new release of documents from Edward Snowden, a low level contract employee for the US National Security Agency, suggests that the US bugged EU offices in Washington, New York and Brussels, including one operation directed from NATO headquarters. Europe is stunned by the disclosure of intercepted phone calls and compromised fax machines of key officials, which if true, appear to have no...

Granting Snowden Asylum Could Help and Hurt Ecuador's Leader

Chris Kraul, Pablo Jaramillo Viteri June 28, 2013
Giving asylum to Edward Snowden, the former US National Security Agency systems administrator who has exposed broad surveillance programs, might have mixed results for Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa. While assisting Snowden would help boost Correa’s image as a human-rights advocate in the international arena, Ecuador may have to sacrifice its trade preferences to enter the US market – set to...

India-China Love-Hate on the Silver Screen

Coonoor Kripalani May 21, 2013
In April Chinese troops moved inside the temporary line of actual control along the disputed border with India. Indian troops countered by setting up camp nearby in a standoff that ended 20 days later, before the official visit of China’s Premier Li Keqiang to New Delhi. For Indian cinema buffs, the recent events along the frozen heights of Ladakh, may seem like life imitating art, or the 1964...

US Embassy in Cairo Scrubs Twitter Feed of Link to Daily Show Commentary on Egypt

Robert Mackey, Liam Stack April 10, 2013
Internet users can close down Facebook pages, correct blog entries or scrub Twitter logs, but global observers take notice of prominent censorship. Jon Stewart of the Daily Show came to the defense of Bassem Youssef, an Egyptian comedian under investigation for mocking Egypt’s president and Islam. Youssef’s show in Egypt adopts Stewart’s format of a mock news show, exposing hypocrisy and...

Pressured by China, Apple Apologizes for Warranty Policies

David Barboza, Nick Wingfield April 3, 2013
Consumer and labor advocates in the West often gripe that trade with China is a “race to the bottom” for wages or environmental standards. But China increasingly demonstrates the power of a huge, united market. On International Consumer Day, “China Central Television criticized the American company’s after-sales iPhone customer service in China because it gave only a one-year warranty, while in...