In The News

Singapore Calls for 30% Population Growth

Jeremy Grant February 4, 2013
Asia’s vibrant city state has a problem: Its citizens are not producing enough children to sustain the economy. The government’s response is traditional and paradoxical: More people spur a society’s economic growth and wealth, but more children for individuals can curtail careers and prosperity. Singapore’s government has released a report pointing to a need for foreign workers as long as...

Ambassador: Germany Needs Skilled Workers From India

February 4, 2013
Germany’s ambassador to India has announced that his country welcomes skilled workers from India and noted that immigration procedures and education regulations have been eased, reports the Times of India. One catch: Ambassador Michael Steiner urged Indians interested in studying or working in Germany to learn German. Language study unites country and people, and the ambassador was quoted as...

Cultural Revolution

February 1, 2013
From “cultural backwater” to trendsetter – that’s how the Economist describes the transformation of the Nordic region in just two decades. Immigration, globalization and the internet have contributed to the region’s burst of innovation in the high-tech, entertainment, restaurant and other industries. “The bigger reason why the region’s writers and artists – and indeed chefs and game designers –...

Hackers in China Attacked the New York Times

Nicole Perlroth January 31, 2013
Hackers attacked the New York Times after the newspaper reported on an investigation suggesting that relatives of former Premier Wen Jiabao had accumulated a fortune of billions while he was in office, a report based on public US records. The hackers routed the attacks through US universities, sending malware to individuals, before entering the system and obtaining passwords. Computer security at...

Pakistan’s Two Worlds

Hassan Siddiq January 30, 2013
Pakistan’s youth confront two stark realities: one that’s ambitious and cosmopolitan and the other radical and inward looking. Oddly enough, young Pakistanis obtain much of their news from international sources like BBC or CNN, even as those same broadcasts focus on violence and radical elements of society. Young, educated Pakistanis are as disturbed as audiences in the West about a vicious...

The Legacy of the Silk Road

Valerie Hansen January 25, 2013
Modern-day diplomats in Asia and beyond envision reviving the Silk Road, an ancient network of routes crisscrossing the continent for trade and security. But Valerie Hansen, author and professor of history at Yale University points, out that trade was not the primary purpose of the network. “Instead, the Silk Road changed history, largely because the people who managed to travel along part or all...

High-Tech Fork Counts Your Mouthfuls

Bruce Kennedy January 25, 2013
Inventors in one part of the world often observe problems elsewhere and develop solutions. Researchers have long pointed out that eating too fast leads to weight gain and obesity. Quick eaters take in too much before realizing their stomachs are full. So engineer Jacques Lépine invented a fork with electronics in the handle, designed to vibrate and turn red if users insert food into their mouth...