In The News

Incredible Edible Todmorden

Julian Dobson January 23, 2014
Todmorden in Yorkshire, England, has taken community gardening to a new level. Every patch of once unused land and space in the town of about 15,000 is now used for vegetable gardens, with crops available for the picking by passersby; schools teach horticulture; families share recipes and meals. It’s “the beginning of a survival strategy for towns and neighbourhoods in the 21st century,” writes...

Going the Distance

David Remnick January 22, 2014
President Barack Obama is a man with strong opinions but cautious about imposing those on others. The first quality irritates his opponents and the second frustrates supporters. David Remnick, editor of the New Yorker, profiles Obama and tackles the array of issues confronting any president. Depending on luck and which issues are pursued, Obama still has potential for presidential greatness. Yet...

Chinese Journalists Face Marxist Ideology Exam

Jonathan Kaiman January 17, 2014
Leaders in China must be unnerved by assessments from Chinese journalists. The government will require them to pass an exam demonstrating an understanding of communist ideology in early 2014 to keep their press cards. The test is based on a 700-page manual that suggests “the relationship between the party and the news media is one of leader and the led,” reports Jonathan Kaiman for the Guardian....

Americans Want to Turn Away From World’s Problems

Bruce Stokes January 16, 2014
The United States may no longer view itself as the world’s leading advocate for military engagements or multilateral efforts to promote freedom, democracy and human rights, suggests a study by the Pew Research Center. Americans are war weary, and about half of 2000 adults surveyed in the fall 2013 suggest that the country is overextended, writes Bruce Stokes, the center’s director of global...

The Plight of the Globe’s Domestic Workers

Susan Froetschel January 15, 2014
Domestic workers and diplomats may be but pawns for nations struggling with their own internal quarrels and place in the world. The arrest of an Indian consulate officer in New York City for filing false information on a nanny’s wages triggered outrage in India. The immediate official reaction was that Devyani Khobragade has immunity from arrest including a standard body search and that the crime...

EU Must Open Doors to Avoid Syrian Refugee Catastrophe, Says UN

Martin Chulov, Harriet Grant January 14, 2014
The United Nations is calling on Europe to accept more refugees from Syria’s civil war. More than 2 million refugees live in temporary camps with substandard conditions in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Turkey, and more are displaced inside the country or live outside without aid or registration. Relocation for the most vulnerable refugees is only a temporary solution. “The UK government has refused...

Easing One-Child Policy May Be Too Late

Joseph Chamie January 7, 2014
A Chinese policy that generally limited families to one child has been revised: Couples can have two children if either spouse is an only child. But China may discover that increasing family size is tougher than reduction, warns demographer Joseph Chamie. “This mid-course correction in population policy will have marginal effect as China is aging at a much faster pace than occurred in other...