In The News

Wall Street Journal: Fewer Foreign Students in US

Michelle Hackman and Douglas Belkin November 14, 2018
US enrollment of international students has declined for the second year in a row, amid worries about gun violence, harsh immigration policies, resentment over trade and a culture of nativism. “Foreign students are big business,” writes Michelle Hackman and Douglas Belkin for the Wall Street Journal, adding they added $42 billion into college and university coffers this current year. “The...

El País: Image Manipulation Technologies

Moisés Naím November 13, 2018
New digital technologies known as “deepfake” can manipulate images and faces in realistic ways that trickl viewers. Governments and companies have long adjusted photographs and videos for propaganda or advertising purposes. However, Moisés Naím explains that deepfake is more dangerous, with improved technology that is readily accessible: “Everything about these videos is hyper realistic, and the...

Rappler: Attempt to Silence Critics of Duterte

November 11, 2018
As their popular support wanes, leaders with authoritarian styles hurry to stifle criticism. Rodrigo Duterte was elected president of the Philippines in 2016, and his war on corruption has since expanded into attacks against critics. The Department of Justice has indicted Rappler Holdings Corporation for tax evasion. Rappler, which publishes articles critical of the Duterte regime, denies the...

DW: Childless People Should Pay More Tax?

Natalie Muller November 10, 2018
Proper care of children – including adequate shelter, food and clothing along with education and exposure to a range of opportunities and ideas – is costly for families and society. Germany’s health minister also views children as future workers who pay for expensive retirement pension programs. “Germany's aging population and the retirement of post-war baby boomers has led to a mounting...

The Atlantic: Education Divides the US

Adam Harris November 7, 2018
Political divisions that linger over decades are difficult to resolve quickly. Adam Harris, writing for the Atlantic, points to an emerging divide among US white voters: 61 percent of those without college educations select Republicans and 53 percent with college educations select Democrats. About 50 years ago, college degrees were less common, more often held by Republicans. The civil rights...

DW: The UN Migration Pact

November 2, 2018
Displaced peoples and global migration are at historic highs with climate change, conflicts, natural disasters and an oversupply of jobs in some countries and undersupply in others. “The United Nations' Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration marks the first time the world body has ever agreed on a list of global measures to tackle the risks and challenges involved in...

The Economist: El Salvador’s Óscar Romero Canonized

October 31, 2018
After 40 years, the Vatican canonized El Salvador’s Archbishop Óscar Arnulfo Romero as a saint, and the Economist describes this as a “controversial” choice: “Often seen as ideologically left wing, he was above all a martyr for his faith and his church.” In the 1970s, El Salvador’s long-ruling coffee oligarchy and army were confronted by left-wing trade unions and peasant groups, with aid from...