In The News

Financial Times: China’s Balancing Act on Debt Is Becoming Trickier

November 17, 2017
Some factories in China are paying workers to stay home, part of a plan to ease the nation’s serious debt levels – which has grown nearly fivefold over the past decade to $29 trillion today. “The debt, equivalent to 260 per cent of gross domestic product, has brought with it dramatic declines in credit efficiency,” explains the Financial Times. “The International Monetary Fund points out that in...

Project Syndicate: Ending the Business of Child Labor

Kailash Satyarthi November 16, 2017
Child labor is wrong, unnecessary and especially vile when wealthy consumers turn a blind eye to indulge in low-cost goods and services. In 1997, global leaders expressed a deep commitment to ending child labor, explains advocate and Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi, but since then “the world has not even halved the number of children in the workforce.” He estimates that more than 150 million...

The Guardian: United by Blood: Afghan Artists Come Together for Iran Exhibition

Saeed Kamali Dehghan November 16, 2017
An exhibition in Tehran showcasing Afghani artwork has shed light on a deep-seated problem in the country: the marginalization of Afghani peoples. Saeed Kamali Dehghan, writing for the Guardian, describes Elyas Alavi’s performance piece: He “invites participants to give blood. Samples are taken by a professional nurse and splashed on the wall next to each other.” Alavi was inspired “after his...

The Ecologist: Leaders Must Look to Pacific Islands to Understand the Need for Building Water Resilience

Mark Fletcher November 15, 2017
Water is among nature’s most destructive forces. “Too little or too much - climate change will be felt most through its impact on the water cycle,” writes Mark Fletcher for the Ecologist. “I'm at COP23 to work with colleagues from around the world to continue to push for water to become an even greater priority. Addressing water issues across the water cycle is key to adapting to climate...

BBC: Zimbabwe's Mugabe “Under House Arrest” After Army Takeover

Andrew Harding November 15, 2017
Zimbabweans had been anticipating the departure of President Robert Mugabe, who is 93. Mugabe had been president since 1987 and prime minister before that since 1980, when the country known as Rhodesia won independence from Britain. Zimbabwe’s military ended his long stretch in power with a coup, possibly prompted by removal of Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa and replacing that officials with...

CNET: China's Supercomputers Race Past US to World Dominance

Stephen Shankland November 14, 2017
China dominates the list of the world’s list of the 500 fastest supercomputers. with 202 in all along with total performance. The United States has 144 supercomputers. The list is released twice a year. “The news … marks a notable shift in the international balance of high-end computing power that's closely tied to industrial, academic and military abilities,” writes Stephen Shankland for...

Sports Illustrated: Tennis and Globalization

Jon Wertheim and Aryeh B. Bourkoff November 14, 2017
Tennis, while not the world’s most popular sport, has gained in global popularity largely because organizers and players have relied on globalization and technology to pursue top talent and expand interest. “Scan the top 25 players in the ATP rankings and, save Antarctica, you'll find representatives from every continent,” explain Jon Wertheim and Aryeh B. Bourkoff for Sports Illustrated. “...