In The News

Global Casualty of an Escalating Local War

David R. Cameron July 24, 2014
Malaysian Flight 17 was presumably mistaken for a military plane and shot down by a surface-to-air missile over eastern Ukraine, near the Russian border. The blatant disrespect for the dead – images of pro-Russian separatists picking through the wreckage and passenger belongings, drunkenly and belligerently barring international investigators from the scene – have shocked the world. Tragically, “...

Malaysian Plane Downing: Will It Change Course of Ukraine Conflict?

Howard LaFranchi July 18, 2014
Ukraine and other nations are calling for an international investigation after a Malaysian Airlines passenger plane was downed in Ukraine, near the Russian border where insurgents have been fighting with support from Russia. The rebels have shot down several Ukrainian military planes in recent weeks. A separatist leader claimed responsibility early on, but backtracked after learning the target...

A Field Day for Fracking

Wenonah Hauter July 16, 2014
The US and EU initiated a new round of closed discussions on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, a free trade agreement, with much of the content still kept top secret. However, the EU position on raw materials and energy was leaked in May, and the deal could eliminate restrictions on US exports of natural gas to Europe, reports Wenonah Hauter for Other Words. Concerns have...

Big Projects Face Growing Resistance

Sven Böll, Horand Knaup and Paul Middelhoff July 16, 2014
The internet and social media have transformed grassroots protesters into rapid-response teams. Modern movements are “Well-informed, confrontational and devoid of respect for authority” with a “radical undercurrent,” notes an article in Spiegel Online: “Wherever ambitious construction ventures loom on the horizon in Germany – from the cities to the countryside, from the coastlines in the north to...

The Islamic World and the West: Recovering Common History

Nayef Al-Rodhan July 15, 2014
One out of five people in the world are Muslim, and many Europeans express fear about growing numbers of Muslim migrants. “Islam in Europe tends to be viewed as not only a recent, but also a foreign and threatening presence,” explains Nayef Al-Rodhan, University of Oxford philosopher, neuroscientist and geostrategist. “Europe and the Arab-Islamic world have brushed shoulders for centuries, and...

Russia Clampdown Stokes Fears of Balkanization of the Web

Kathrin Hille July 11, 2014
Governments and tech companies continue to tussle over control of the internet. Russia’s parliament approved “a bill requiring all technology companies to store the personal data of their Russian users in the country,” reports Kathrin Hille for the Financial Times. “The Russian clampdown is the first serious move to assert national control over segments of the web in the wake of the revelation of...

Ukraine Signs Landmark Agreement With EU

Michael Birnbaum June 30, 2014
Ukraine has signed an association agreement for trade with the European Union – despite threats from Russia, its neighbor to the east, including more intervention by militants, encouragement of separatists, higher tariffs and refusal to sell gas. A ceasefire remains in effect. “The document signed Friday was the same one that was rejected in November by Ukraine’s then-president, Viktor Yanukovych...