In The News

Africa Unplugged

November 9, 2016
Two of three people in Africa lack access to electricity, and for the poor, connecting to an electricity grid is unfathomably expensive. Costs of solar panels have fallen dramatically in recent years, and off-grid solar systems are providing the sun-rich continent an inexpensive way to connect to power. New technologies allow residents of African communities the means to charge smartphones and...

Russia Sets Out to Bring the Middle East Under New Order

Chris Miller November 8, 2016
With a combination of low-cost intervention in Syria, counterterrorism resources and support for Iran, Russia is making strides in bringing the Middle East into multipolar balance. “Moscow is eyeing a new order,” explains Yale scholar Chris Miller. “The main fracture dividing the Middle East will not be between US allies and insurgent groups, the Kremlin hopes, but between fluctuating coalitions...

The World Is Watching America's Election

Frida Ghitis November 8, 2016
The US election had its bizarre moments, and global interest runs high. Citizens of Canada, Mexico and elsewhere sense that their countries have a huge stake in the outcome. Newspapers around the globe detail poll closing times for the 50 states, and small crowds gather around televisions, laptops and smartphones to monitor results. “But watching America is not just a spectator sport -- people...

China Bars Activists From Taking Seats in Hong Kong Legislature

Jason Thomson November 8, 2016
China bypassed courts by blocking two Hong Kong legislators from taking office – not allowing them to retake oaths after they modified the oath the first time and failed to swear allegiance to the larger power. “The move by mainland China is the latest chapter in an ongoing tussle between Beijing and Hong Kongers who worry that the city’s relative autonomy, protected until 2047 under the handover...

In the Art World, Globalism’s New Spin

Holland Cotter November 7, 2016
When the struggling US economy turned to globalization as its saving grace in the 1990s, the art world embraced globalism as a key principle. However, the promise of economic globalization has faded for many, and similarly, globalism fell out of favor among some curators. Globalism is returning to the world of contemporary art in the form of global consciousness, explains Holland Cotter of the...

The Rise and Rise of Fake News

November 7, 2016
News spreads quickly via the internet, and research suggests that increasing numbers of US adults rely on social media for their news. “There are hundreds of fake news websites out there, from those which deliberately imitate real life newspapers, to government propaganda sites, and even those which tread the line between satire and plain misinformation,” reports BBC News. The purpose of some...

UNICEF: 300 Million Children Breathe Toxic Air

November 4, 2016
Air pollution is an increasing danger for children’s health. One out of every seven children, 300 million in all, are exposed to toxic levels of outdoor air pollution, reports the United Nations Children’s Fund, or UNICEF. “The World Health Organization, WHO, says air pollution kills about seven million people a year, nearly 12 percent of all deaths worldwide,” reports the Environment News...