In The News

NPR: Net Neutrality Rolled Back – But Not Dead Yet

Laurel Wamsley June 12, 2018
The US Federal Communications Commission has rolled back net-neutrality rules but telecommunications companies may be slow to charge more for popular sites or slow down smaller sites that cannot pay new charges: “The net neutrality rules were approved in 2015,” explains Laurel Wamsley. “Companies couldn't pay service providers like Verizon or AT&T extra to make their site or app load...

Bloomberg: Why East Germans Invest and Vote Differently

Leonid Bershidsky June 12, 2018
Political ideologies wield cultural influence long after communities move on to new systems. Separate research studies suggest that people of East German demonstrate cautious investing patterns, with preference for former state companies, as well as those associated with Russia and China rather than the United States. “The eastern ‘investing identity’ is more pronounced in communities that were...

African Business: Will Facebook’s Troubles Cost Africans?

Rafiq Raji June 7, 2018
Facebook admits to collecting data on people who are not users, who did not agree to terms of service, for security reasons. Such collections may clash with efforts of the EU General Data Protection Regulation that aim to give people control over their data. “The GDPR may become the global model for regulating tech firms that collect personal data and earn income by selling or drawing profitable...

Washington Post: Cruel US Immigration Policies

Paul Waldman May 30, 2018
The US since its founding flourished with the help of immigrants fleeing persecution, poverty and conflict. Supporters of US President Donald Trump view the vulnerable newcomers as competitors for jobs and a threat to a way of life. The administration aims to tighten border controls and deter immigration with harsh rhetoric and policies – including separating parents from children. “The cruelty...

BBC: Why Humans Need Stories

David Robson May 28, 2018
Stories provide lessons for people to understand one another and their world. Some stories are region-specific, and the most popular tales can fascinate audiences around the world over the course of centuries – whether the cave paintings in France from 30,000 years ago or the Epic of Gilgamesh engraved on tablets 4,000 years ago in Babylonia. Scholars offer theories on why some themes – escapism...

The Economist: Syria Is Erasing the Palestinians’ Largest Refugee Camp

May 14, 2018
Recent bombing by Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria and its Russian allies devastated Yarmouk camp, located on the southern edge of Damascus. The camp was once the Palestinians’ “largest and liveliest refugee camp, sheltering displaced Iraqis and Syrians too.” However, war, attacks by extremists and bombing have resulted in the violent displacement of 350,000 people who once called Yarmouk home....

Center for Public Integrity: TPS Cancellations in the US

Susan Ferriss May 8, 2018
Since 1990, the United States could grant temporary protected status for citizens of select countries with challenging conditions including conflict or disasters that prevented safe return. The Trump administration has announced an end of this protected status for citizens of Honduras as of January 2020 and Nepal as of June 2019. The limited status was granted to Hondurans after a 1998 hurricane...