In The News

Why Billions Do Not Have Glasses: BBC

Tim Harford November 23, 2019
As many as 2.5 billion people worldwide need but do not have eyeglasses. The Vision Council of America suggests that 75 percent of adults need eyeglasses to read, drive and work. Glasses, often taken for granted in developed nations, support worker productivity and safety. Yet millions worldwide lack access to eyewear. “And many of those people may have no idea glasses could help them,” explains...

Impeachment and the World: Project Syndicate

Carl Bildt November 22, 2019
US diplomacy is under a cloud as details emerge from US impeachment proceedings. The investigation focuses on efforts to persuade Ukraine’s new president to announce an investigation into activities of a US politician's son. Ukraine, at war at Russia, depends on a show of US support, including a meeting with President Donald Trump and release of military aid approved by Congress. Witnesses...

Fake Media Outlets on India Topics: EU DisinfoLab

EU DisinfoLab November 18, 2019
A EU Disinformation Task Force exposed a publication that purports to cover the European Parliament, eptoday.com, and is managed by Indian interests. The magazine has “ties to a large network of think tanks, NGOs, and companies from the Srivastava Group.” The task force quickly figured out the network produced a number of odd publications, hosted by the same server and sharing staff. A tip by an...

Vietnam’s Human Trafficking: Diplomat

Thoi Nguyen November 16, 2019
Human trafficking and slavery continue in poor and advanced nations alike, with people forced into situations they would never choose. Only a fraction of these horrific cases are exposed, as when 39 Vietnamese people were found dead in a freezer truck in England. “Traffickers take children and adults for labor or sexual exploitation from Vietnam to countries such as Russia, Germany, or France...

The Age of Globalization: Dhaka Tribune

Arafat-Al-Yeasin November 13, 2019
The recent embrace of populists and protectionism reflects an overall decline in trust and worries about trade and differences in general. “Unemployment, relocation, poverty, and inequality -- for many people, these are the consequences of a process of global integration, which more and more think has gone too far,” writes Arafat-Al-Yeasin for the Dhaka Tribune. Globalization is the scapegoat,...

Rising Seas Threaten 300 Million People: Guardian

Jonathan Watts November 11, 2019
Homes of 300 million people are facing threat from rising sea levels across the world, more than three times the previous estimate of 80 million, according to a study published in Nature Communications. The risk assessment was revised after a more sophisticated method applied artificial intelligence to compensate for overestimation of land altitudes. The biggest change in estimates occurs in Asia...

Global Minimum Corporate Tax Rate: Financial Times

Chris Giles November 10, 2019
Multinationals can sell products and services in more than 200 nations, and many, especially big technology firms, shift profits across borders to minimize tax bills. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, which represents democracies, is reviewing global tax policies: one recommendation would allow countries to tax operations even if the companies have no physical presence,...