In The News

A World of Scandal Descends on Malaysian Prime Minister

John Berthelsen February 3, 2016
Some political leaders might hope that by blocking media reports of investigations into corruption can eliminate the consequences, but the efforts often draw more global attention. Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak has been linked to investigations, some on arms deals, in Switzerland, France and Saudi Arabia. John Berthelsen of Asia Sentinel describes a “government desperately scrambling to...

Publish and Perish in Hong Kong

Frank Ching January 28, 2016
The odd disappearance of five staff members of a Hong Kong book publisher raises questions about China’s commitment to the “one country, two systems” arrangement with Hong Kong. One man was taken from Thailand, another from Hong Kong and three detained in China. Two are foreign nationals, and no charges have been filed. “By openly flouting its commitment to respect Hong Kong’s political system...

Al Jazeera America Will Shut Down Its Cable TV Network in April

Stephen Battaglio January 14, 2016
Al Jazeera America, launched in August 2013, will shut down in April. The channel, with a parent company owned by the Qatar government, was “squeezed by declining oil prices, a fiercely competitive TV landscape and a brand that American viewers never embraced,” writes Stephen Battaglio for the Los Angeles Times. He adds the channel “sought to distinguish itself by emphasizing a more serious...

Bringing US Presidential Debates to a Chinese Audience

Owen Guo January 6, 2016
The world’s second largest economy is understandably fascinated with the politics and foreign policy of the largest. A high school student in Beijing, Zhou Qianyu, organized the Guojiang Subtitle Group – 70 volunteers across China work as teams to translate and post subtitles for online videos of the US presidential debates. Chinese interest in the debates leading to the November election is...

Iran Unveils Western Art Largely Unseen Since 1979

Kia Makarechi November 26, 2015
An exhibition at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art features works by some of the great names in modern art. The works were acquired by Farah Diba Pahlavi, whose husband was deposed as Iran’s leader in the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Works by Andy Warhol and Jackson Pollock serve as context for a collection by Farideh Lashai, an Iranian artist who died in 2013, explains Kia Makarechi for Vanity...

Not Just Paris: Why Is Beirut's Brutal Terrorist Attack Ignored?

Anna Lekas Miller November 16, 2015
Every act of terrorism is an act against humanity. Anna Lekas Miller questions decisions by news and social media and the global audience to rally in support of France, after attacks killed more than 120 and injured more than 300, yet regard a Beirut attack, killing more than 40 and injuring 200, as routine. She expresses concern for “borders that are rapidly closing for Syrians and Iraqis...

Egypt Can’t Blame Everyone Else

H.A. Hellyer November 9, 2015
Egypt initially resisted theories that a bomb brought down Russian Metrojet Flight 9268 in the Sinai Peninsula, killing 224. Evidence suggests that extremists may have planted a board onboard the plane, and other countries are reacting, including the United Kingdom, which suspended flights to the region, and Russia, which eventually suspended flights to the nation. Egyptian authorities waited a...