In The News

Arcane Agriculture Models: Manila Times

Ben Kritz September 7, 2019
Agriculture’s tremendous success in producing more food than the world needs with fewer resources is also reducing prices. Even as the UN Food and Agriculture Organization suggests that 30 percent of the world's food goes wasted, the agriculture industry represents an increasingly smaller share of economic growth and jobs for both advanced and emerging economies. The industry carries great...

Armed Conflict Possible in Europe? Spiegel

Dirk Kurbjuweit September 6, 2019
The rise of antagonistic nationalism triggered World War II – and a wake of destruction with more than 60 million dead worldwide. Fears emerge that another wave of nationalism, with disregard for minorities and democratic institutions and emphasis on competition, could put an end to 75 relatively peaceful years. Writing for Spiegel Online, Dirk Kurbjuweit summarizes the events leading to the...

Tensions at G-7: Wall Street Journal

Rebecca Ballhaus, Noemie Bisserbe and Max Colchester August 26, 2019
G7 leaders tried to present a cooperative image despite tensions over issues like trade, climate change and Iran. The United States under Donald Trump is isolated in this forum. “G-7 leaders tried to squeeze concessions from Mr. Trump on Iran and other issues over closed-door meals, beyond the reach of White House advisers and TV cameras,” reports the Wall Street Journal. “But Mr. Trump responded...

Bolsonaro’s Amazon Disaster: Climate News Network

Jan Rocha August 26, 2019
With the start of Brazil’s dry season, thousands of fires burn out of control, destroying large swaths of the Amazon rainforest. Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro campaigned for the presidency on a pro-development, anti-environment platform. Farmers in one town planned a “day of fire,” eager to expand their farms. Brazil’s INPE showed a massive increase in deforestation over the past year, though Bolsonaro...

Uncertainty for Italy: Guardian

Angela Giuffrida August 21, 2019
Italy and its populist forces are in political crisis. Giuseppe Conte resigned as prime minister and “The president, Sergio Mattarella, is now calling the shots in a crisis triggered when Matteo Salvini pulled the plug on the League’s tenuous relationship with the Five Star Movement (M5S) in an attempt to capitalise on his popularity and become PM,” reports Angela Giuffrida. The president has...

Six Foreign Policy Issues for Boris Johnson: BBC

James Landale July 24, 2019
Longtime Brexit proponent Boris Johnson is the UK’s next prime minister and he confronts a range of foreign policies besides Brexit. For the BBC News, James Landale offered a foreign policy to-do list: repair UK-US relations and replace the British ambassador described the Trump administration as dysfunctional; negotiate a trade agreement with the US while smoothing differences on China and Iran...

West Loses Appeal for FDI: Wall Street Journal

Tom Fairless and Paul Hannon July 23, 2019
Populist rhetoric, heightened security reviews and global tensions contribute to reduced foreign investment in the West, report Tom Fairless and Paul Hannon for the Wall Street Journal. Foreign investment in the United States fell by 9 percent and 30 percent in Germany. The writers point out that FDI data is volatile, easily distorted by a small number of large transactions. Still, UN statistics...