In The News

Computers add to the challenges of censorship in the world’s most populated nation. “Tens of millions of mice over-ran China's internet trap this year, swamping it with chatter, nibbling towards freedom of speech,” explains Kirsty Needham, writing for the Sydney Morning Herald. China has more than 100 million bloggers, and natural disaster, political protests, business fraud and corruption...

Immigrants tend to flow from poorer nations to wealthier ones, but on second thought, perhaps attitudes are more attractive than wealth. Indians moved to the West, escaping India’s constraints in the 1970s. But India’s economy has since enjoyed ample growth and its politicians matured, enacting policies that focused on privatization, liberalization and globalization. In recent years, the...

Most of the languages spoken around the world, up to 90 percent, could disappear by the end of the century, and debate ensues on what to do: Language conservationists pose a range of arguments, including “multilingual children do better academically,” but policymakers find that educating children in a dominant language, such as English, Mandarin or Spanish is more practical than a regional tongue...