In The News

The Guardian: Syria Summit Opens in Tehran

Patrick Wintour September 7, 2018
The Syrian civil war – resulting in more 400,000 deaths and the displacement of millions since 2011 – may be winding down as Syrian forces plan to attack the last rebel stronghold. A large number of rebels, including extremists as well as moderates and democracy supporters supported by Turkey and the United States, have been corralled in Idlib. Leaders of Russia, Iran and Turkey are meeting in...

New York Times: Resistance Inside the Trump Administration

September 6, 2018
The United States is in democratic crisis with chaos in the White House and ongoing questions about the president’s capabilities. The New York Times took the extraordinary step of publishing an anonymous opinion essay said to be written by a senior official in the Trump administration, among the many “working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations…. But...

Project Syndicate: China Is Losing the New Cold War

Minxin Pei September 5, 2018
The Communist Party of China seeks to avoid the fate of the Soviet Union and its political system, and that is why China adopted some features of capitalism with a focus on economic growth. Nominal per capital income increased from $333 in 1991 to $7,329 in 2017. But China, much like the Soviet Union, is being drawn into a costly arms race with the United States. China’s defense budget, standing...

Reuters: US Accuses China of LinkedIn Spy Campaign

Warren Strobel and Jonathan Landay September 5, 2018
Social media platforms are designed to gather data from users in order to promote connections. US counterintelligence chief William Evanina warns that Chinese agencies are using fake LinkedIn accounts “to recruit Americans with access to government and commercial secrets,” reports Reuters. “LinkedIn says it has 575 million users in more than 200 counties and territories, including more than 150...

Al Jazeera: Rohingya Refugees Made Permanent, a Cycle Repeated

Linah Alsaafin September 2, 2018
As the United Nations invests in improved infrastructure and living conditions for refugees, risk emerges that temporary homes become permanent and discourage a return home. Camps housing 1 million Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, are overwhelming, writes Linah Alsaafin, and she compares the experiences with those of Palestinian refugees. The Rohingya camps confront challenges...

Los Angeles Times: Syria Prepares for Final Showdown With Rebels

Nabih Bulos August 29, 2018
The Syrian government is eager to end the civil war that has raged since 2011 and prepares “for a multi-front offensive it hopes will provide a path for finally ending a grinding civil war, the fate of Idlib province and its 3 million residents is now the subject of diplomatic jockeying among the world powers that have had a hand in the war,” reports Nabih Bulos for the Los Angeles Times. After...

Esquire: The Water Crises Are Here

Alec Wilkinson August 29, 2018
Earth has a limited supply of water, and an increasing amount could become unusable due to every imaginable contamination, explains Alec Wilkinson in an article for Esquire. “Water cannot be created or destroyed; it can only be damaged,” he writes. “Having evaporated from lakes and rivers and oceans and returned as snow and rain, the water we consume has been through innumerable uses. Dinosaurs...