In The News

South Africa: Xenophobia in South Africa - a Lack of Visionary Leadership

Ozias Tungwarara April 17, 2015
Xenophobia thrives in South Africa as is the case with much of the world. Citizens, especially those experiencing hard times, blame less fortunate foreigners, often from neighboring states, for poverty, crowded conditions, and crime. “In 2000 a major scenario exercise: ‘Southern Africa in 2020’ painted a grim picture of the southern Africa region in two decades, suggesting that only a new...

Creative Self-Disruption

Mohamed A. El-Erian April 9, 2015
New businesses emerge and expand, disrupting established businesses with unprecedented speed: “companies like Airbnb, Amazon, Apple, and Uber exemplify a different kind of transformation: agile players invade other, seemingly unrelated industries and brilliantly exploit huge but previously unseen opportunities,” writes economist Mohamed A. El-Erian for Project Syndicate. “Central to these...

The Persian Paradox: Iran Is Much More Modern Than You Think

Erich Follath April 8, 2015
It’s a mistake to judge a nation by its most vocal extremists. Iran, a country of 80 million, is young, diverse, urbanized and entrepreneurial. The literacy rate is 85 percent and many Iranians pursue advanced degrees. The country’s ranking for inequality is near that of the United States. “There are few countries in the world that are subjected to as much Western prejudice and misunderstanding...

What the West Can Learn From Japan’s “Lost Decades”

Roland Kelts April 3, 2015
Economists often label Japan as the “the sick man of Asia,” but the country’s stagnation may also reflect its leadership on sustainability. “Japan’s stagnation, pilloried by economists and analysts in the west, may turn out to be the catalyst for its greatest strengths: resilience, reinvention and quiet endurance,” writes Roland Kelts for the New Statesman. He points out that unending population...

Norway Muslims Encircle Synagogue to Support Jews

Kjetil Malkenes Hovland February 25, 2015
A group of young Muslims formed a symbolic ring in front of an Oslo synagogue to protest anti-Semitism, extremism and violence conducted in the name of Islam. The Jewish rabbi expressed gratitude. “Our common God is everywhere in the world, but most of all God is where rings are formed and bridges are built between people,” the rabbi said to the crowd, according to the report by Kjetil Malkenes...

Google's Vint Cerf Warns of “Digital Dark Age”

Pallab Ghosh February 18, 2015
Creators of all types, whether in businesses or universities, rely on computers for storage of countless documents and images. But computer hardware and software quickly become obsolete, warns Vint Cerf, a Google vice president, and many items could be lost before their value is even recognized. Users often neglect to make backup files, and viruses could destroy documents, too. “Vint Cerf is...

Germany’s Nationalist Movement Rides on a Wave of Islamophobia

Frank Griffel January 29, 2015
Nationalists in Germany are making Islamophobia a scapegoat for troubles, with protests in Dresden and support spreading throughout the country. Political, business and cultural leaders are determined to block parties with xenophobic rhetoric, explains Frank Griffel, professor of religious studies at Yale University. Adolf Hitler published Mein Kampf in 1925, exposing his ideology and anti-...