In The News

The Agency

Adrian Chen June 5, 2015
US companies, journalists and communities are being targeted with hoaxes about false disasters including fake videos and photographs over email and Twitter. Adrian Chen details a fake report of an explosion at a chemicals plant in Louisiana and describes a It was “a highly coordinated disinformation campaign, involving dozens of fake accounts that posted hundreds of tweets “fake screenshots from...

How Politics Will Seal the Fate of Greece

Philip Stephen May 25, 2015
The crisis in Greece increasingly centers around politics even as the economy continues to struggle, frustrating other members of the European Union and contributing to uncertainty for global investors. Many investors and politicians are planning for how they might proceed should Greece leave the European Union. Writing for the Financial Times, Philip Stephen notes: “the rest of the eurozone has...

Move Over, France – Here Comes China

Wei Gu May 15, 2015
China is shaping tastes in wine as both consumer and supplier. “China has edged ahead of France in the amount of land devoted to vineyards, according to the International Vine and Wine Organization, although France still produces more than four times the volume of wine that China does,” reports Wei Gu for the Wall Street Journal. Spain ranks first in land devoted to vineyards. For now, the world...

Future of Two Unions, the EU and the UK, Hangs in Balance

Alistair Burnett May 12, 2015
Voters in the United Kingdom surprised the world by re-electing Prime Minister David Cameron, whose ability to win concessions from the European Union could affect Britain’s influence abroad. “The Conservatives went into the election promising to renegotiate Britain’s relationship with the EU and then hold a referendum on continuing membership by the end of 2017,” explains Alistair Burnett,...

An Uneasy Friendship

May 11, 2015
Chinese-Russian ties have become closer since the West imposed sanctions on Russia for its interventions in Ukraine. Both China and Russia are permanent members of the UN Security Council: “Both, for different reasons, resent America’s ‘hegemony’ and share a desire for a more multipolar world order,” notes the Economist. “Russia, a declining great power, is looking for ways to recover at least...

Doubtful Result Will Endanger UK's Global Role

Catherine Field May 8, 2015
Belying forecasts Prime Minister David Cameron won reelection and is set to form a new cabinet. During the campaign Cameron promised to stage a referendum on British membership in the EU. Catherine Field, writing for the New Zealand Herald, points out that such ballot measures divide the electorate. If the referendum is held as planned and the electorate supports British exit from the EU, the...

China, Pursuing Strategic Interests, Builds Presence in Antarctica

Jane Perlez May 7, 2015
China is extending its global reach under President Xi Jinping, and that includes Antarctica. “He signed a five-year accord with the Australian government that allows Chinese vessels and, in the future, aircraft to resupply for fuel and food before heading south,” reports Jane Perlez for the New York Times. “That will help secure easier access to a region that is believed to have vast oil and...