In The News

UN Development Goals Ignore Population Growth

Joseph Chamie September 22, 2015
Population growth is linked to conflict, water shortages and resource depletion, climate change and mass migrations. The global population is now 7.3 billion people, up from 2.5 billion in 1950, and is expected to swell to near 11 billion by the end of the century. World leaders convene this week at the United Nations and prepare to adopt new Sustainable Development Goals for 2030. The draft...

How the Piano Became Chinese

Sheila Melvin September 14, 2015
In planning a trip to China in 1601, Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci gathered gifts including a clavichord. At that time, China had many musical instruments and traditions but nothing like the clavichord, explains journalist Sheila Melvin for Caixin: “That's why Ricci chose it, hoping that the unusual instrument would so excite the emperor's curiosity that he would agree to receive Ricci...

Migrants' Bodies Pulled From Mediterranean

Ahmed Elumami and Marton Dunai August 31, 2015
Europe lacks coherent policies on the refugee crisis as thousands flee conflict in the Middle East and poverty in Africa. The desperate pay smugglers for transportation. The report from Reuters suggests that at least 2,500 died since January, but the numbers are likely much higher with more than 10 million displaced people in Syria and Iraq alone. “As bodies pile up, so does criticism of Europe...

Inside the Migrant "Jungle" in Northern France

Peter Wieben August 26, 2015
An unprecedented mass migration is underway with millions displaced, fleeing poverty, conflict and unsustainable conditions in the Middle East and North Africa. The most resourceful leave all possessions behind to live in the squalor and relative security of European camps rife with ethnic, religious and racial tensions. Peter Wieben describes a crowded camp in Calais, near the entry to the...

New Delhi’s Soft Power Push

Harsh V. Pant August 20, 2015
Harvard University’s Joseph Nye identified a centuries-old concept, “soft power,” in the late 1980s: the ability of countries to attract admiration and followers through culture and values rather than coercion, military or “hard power.” Countries want to be liked, increasingly investing in soft power. Portland, a communications and public relations firm, studied 50 nations and ranked the top 30...

Denmark: First EU Country Planning to Run Anti-Refugee Adverts in Foreign Papers

Emmanuel Akinwotu August 20, 2015
Europe struggles to manage a refugee crisis. Tens of thousands of people are fleeing conflict in the Middle East and poverty in Africa; 2,000 have died trying to cross the Mediterranean this year to reach Italy or Greece, which have their challenges with tight budgets. The wait for asylum applications is long, and conditions of camps holding asylum seekers are grim. Smugglers pass out brochures...

Beheaded Scholar Refused to Lead ISIS to Hidden Antiquities

Kareem Shaheen and Ian Black August 19, 2015
An antiquities scholar renowned for leading excavations and restorations in the ancient city of Palmyra defied the Islamic State terrorists by refusing to divulge the location of hidden artifacts, according to a report in the Guardian. “The brutal murder of Khaled al-Asaad, 82, is the latest atrocity perpetrated by the jihadi group, which has captured a third of Syria and neighbouring Iraq and...