In The News

South Asia and Trump: Times of India

Nayan Chanda August 25, 2019
Donald Trump, intent on winning reelection as US president and avoiding corruption investigations, is doubling down on “America first” policies and transactional foreign policies. “America’s foreign partners will now more than ever be evaluated on whether they help or hurt his election outlook,” explains Nayan Chanda in his column for the Times of India. Chanda is the founding editor of...

Wave of Fires Hits Brazil: Folha de S. Paulo

Fabiano Maisonnave and Phillippe Watanabe August 22, 2019
More than 70,000 fires have broken out in Brazil for this year, representing an 83 percent increase over the same period last year, according to the National Institute for Space Research, reports a team for Folha de S. Paulo. More than 60 fires are burning indigenous and other protected lands, with large swaths of vegetation lost. “The fire outbreak is often associated with deforestation,” report...

Indian IT Fears US H-1B Moves: Economic Times

August 20, 2019
The United States, in efforts to slow legal immigration, is planning changes for the H-1B visa process that allows skilled workers from around the world to work in the United States. One regulation would “mandate employers to register without paying the H-1B visa fees of those employees they intend to sponsor” and a “lottery system would shortlist people for the work permit.” About 70 percent of...

Ban for Omar-Tlaib and Democracy: Times of Israel

August 16, 2019
Polarization and fear of criticism erode democracy. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu banned two American Democratic congresswomen from visiting the Israeli-occupied West Bank soon after US President Donald Trump suggested as much. The ban on the two representatives reveals the extent of Israel’s control over Palestinian territories. Ilhan Omar, once a Somali refugee who was elected to...

The US Deficit Economy: Project Syndicate

Joseph E. Stiglitz August 12, 2019
The Trump administration is delivering shocks to the economy before experts can assess the consequences, suggests economist Joseph Stiglitz. All that is sure about the US economy is volatility and uncertainty. Reductions in the interest rate by the US Federal Reserve as central bank have little effect. “Long ago, John Maynard Keynes recognized that while a sudden tightening of monetary policy,...

How Do Raids on Undocumented Workers Help? Examiner

Brad Polumbo August 9, 2019
US immigration agents conducted raids on seven food processing plants in Mississippi, arresting almost 700 workers without documents, creating confusion as communities stepped up to assist weeping children, many US citizens, abruptly abandoned. “One U.S. citizen who worked alongside many of the detained illegal immigrants told the Washington Post that the food processing companies were not...

China's Central Bank Saves the Day: Forbes

Kenneth Rapoza August 6, 2019
A trade war and US tariffs have eroded the value of China’s currency. The US president announced tariffs and global stock markets declined. The US Treasury Department designated China as a currency manipulator, and China’s central bank announced removing about 30 billion yuan, or $4.2 billion, from the Hong Kong market. China denies the currency manipulation charge. “Many emerging market central...