In The News

Martin Chulov November 13, 2017
The abrupt resignation of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hairiri has raised numerous questions and exacerbates political tensions in the Middle East. As Martin Chulov observes for the Guardian: “Hariri’s unexpected departure has placed Lebanon at the heart of an intensifying power tussle between Riyadh and Tehran, and has alarmed allies of the fragile state who are scrambling to contain a move they...
Steven Mufson November 6, 2017
Global investors study a series of events in Saudi Arabia and how those may disrupt global oil prices. The crown prince announced a modernization drive, Vision 2030, with plans to create a new city. He also launched an anti-corruption drive, quickly followed by arrests of princes and ministers who might be seen as potential rivals. Saudi Arabia is in the process of selling a small portion of...
Micah White November 2, 2017
Social movements can expect infiltration by undercover domestic or foreign intelligence agents. Micah White, an Occupy Wall Street organizer, describes an interviewer who asked questions about an online group, later learning that the phony group was “run by the nefarious Internet Research Agency, a Russian private intelligence and propaganda firm.” Such troll groups target both conservatives and...
Wang Tao October 21, 2017
China will soon be the world's largest economy, and the world’s eyes are on China’s 19th National Congress of the Communist Party, which lays out an agenda and priorities for the next five years. President Xi Jinping admits that “uneven and inadequate development” is at odds with “people’s ever-growing demand for a better life.” China will not embark in any major policy shifts and aims for...
Jon Russell October 18, 2017
China’s leaders are convening for the National Congress, held every five years for outlining policy priorities, and government censors are taking no risks. The goal is to prevent internal protests or external disruptions from outside trolls who used social-media messages to influence the 2016 US election. Posting anonymous content is banned in China, and social-media platforms WeChat and Weibo...
David Alandete October 12, 2017
The Catalan regional premier relied on results of a referendum to declare and then quickly suspend independence for Catalonia. The declaration has been “received by an unshakeable rejection on the part of the opposition in Catalonia, all of the parties in Spain – whether on the left or the right – and the entire European Union,” explains David Alandete for El País. Opponents of independence held...
David Child and Charlotte Mitchell September 28, 2017
Voters in Catalonia have scheduled a referendum to decide if they want to break from Spain and become an independent republic. The region of 7.5 million people accounts for 15 percent of Spain’s population and 20 percent of economic output, report David Child and Charlotte Mitchell for Al Jazeera. “The region, which forms one of Spain's 17 ‘autonomous communities,’ has its own police force...