In The News

September 23, 2019
For more than 25 years, Israel’s leading Arab political parties declined to endorse candidates for the prime minister post. This time they endorsed Benny Gantz, a move that could end the lock on power by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “Gantz's centrist Blue and White party won the most seats in the September 17 election with 33 out of parliament's 120 seats, while Netanyahu's...
September 23, 2019
Global leaders are failing youth, and 16-year-old activist Greta Thunberg addressed 60 world leaders at the UN Climate Action Summit about the need for urgent action on climate change, warning “we’ll be watching you.” Her assessment was concise, blunt and searing: “People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you...
Jane Lubchenco, D. James Baker and Kathryn D. Sullivan September 10, 2019
Accurate weather forecasting saves countless lives and prevents property damage. The agriculture, defense, transportation, energy, travel and other industries rely on accurate forecasts and an expensive infrastructure of observational equipment, supercomputers and models, and researchers. Also, the National Weather Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration contribute to global...
August 29, 2019
Italy has formed a new government under Premier-designate Giuseppe Conte nine days after he resigned. The new coalition of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and the center-left Democratic Party is less hostile to the European Union than the previous coalition that included the far-right Nationalist League. The 5-Star Movement led all parties in the 2018 legislative election, with more than...
Sebastian Payne and Philip Georgiadis August 28, 2019
The UK prime minister is determined to meet the October 31 deadline for Brexit, hard or soft, and suspended parliament for time than usual to stop efforts by a sizable opposition hoping to block the nation’s withdrawal from the European Union. Parliament was set to return on September 3 and suspension extends that until October 14. Boris Johnson suggests the suspension allows focus on other...
Nayan Chanda August 25, 2019
Donald Trump, intent on winning reelection as US president and avoiding corruption investigations, is doubling down on “America first” policies and transactional foreign policies. “America’s foreign partners will now more than ever be evaluated on whether they help or hurt his election outlook,” explains Nayan Chanda in his column for the Times of India. Chanda is the founding editor of...
Georgi Kantchev August 23, 2019
Russian leaders who once belittled climate change's urgency have reversed course after wildfires and floods. “Smoke from massive wildfires raging across an area the size of Belgium has engulfed hundreds of villages in Siberia – and spread as far as Seattle and Vancouver,” reports Georgi Kantchev for the Wall Street Journal. Russian scientists point to climate change and temperatures rising...