In The News

Nations Gradually Reopen Business: Washington Post

Rick Noack and Loveday Morris April 24, 2020
Several countries plan to ease coronavirus restrictions, implying the cautious optimism that life may return to normality. Germany, which took effective measures early, is slowly reopening businesses even though some scientists argue that the country should keep the restriction policy until tracking cases becomes easier, a strategy allowing for a greater degree of freedom in the long term....

World After Covid-19: The Economist

Kishore Mahbubani April 23, 2020
Kishore Mahbubani, founding dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, has long observed that the era of Western domination is ending. The Covid-19 pandemic hurries the demise and marks the start of an Asian century. “The crisis highlights the contrast between the competent responses of East Asian governments (notably China, South Korea and Singapore) and the incompetent responses of...

Sweden’s Approach on Covid-19: Euronews

Darren McCaffrey April 22, 2020
Sweden rejected economic lockdowns and border closures as overly cautious in managing the Covid-19 pandemic. The country did ban large gatherings, closed some schools, and told its older population to self-isolate, reports Darren McCaffrey for Euronews. Restaurants, primary schools and most businesses remain open. The disease has not overwhelmed hospitals, and Swedish people support the approach...

Covid-19 Effects on Body: Medical News Today

Hilary Guite April 22, 2020
Researchers concede Covid-19 as a new virus presents many unknowns. Hence, community leaders and individuals should practice caution. Hilary Guite reports on studies that monitored subjects day by day. About 80 percent of patients report mild or no symptoms, yet the disease is infectious during the presymptomatic phase, and she writes, “SARS-CoV-2 can bind 10 times more tightly to insert its RNA...

China Passes US in Global Patent Race: WIPO

April 21, 2020
The World Intellectual Property Organization reports that China filed more applications for international patents in 2019, surpassing the United States, which held the lead since the organization began in 1978: China filed 58,990 applications, and the United States filed 57,840. The organization received more than 265,000 applications, most from Asia. Patents signal innovation, economic strength...

Belt and Rebranding Initiative: Interpreter

Nora Schlenzig April 21, 2020
The Belt and Road Initiative represents a wide variety of Chinese overseas initiatives, explains Nora Schlenzig of the Lowy Institute. “The initiative itself has gone through several rounds of rebranding since its official launch by Xi Jinping in 2013,” she explains, including One Belt, One Road Initiative and New Silk Road. “Supporters see it as a long-overdue plan for global infrastructure...

Authoritarianism Going Viral: Project Syndicate

Patrick Gaspard April 20, 2020
The Covid-19 pandemic has created the opportunity for leaders with authoritarian tendencies to consolidate power and reduce human rights. Many governments have used the pandemic to discriminate against strongholds of political opponents as well as ethnic, religious or racial minorities. After the virus emerged in China, the government applied coverup efforts and punished whistle-blowers. India’s...