In The News

Appropriate Response to COVID-19: Korea Herald

Robert J. Fouser February 28, 2020
As the coronavirus spreads, some countries respond by closing borders, blocking visas for some travelers and blocked cruise ships from ports. At the community level, some protest arrival of patients for monitoring in secure locations and discriminate against Chinese nationals. Societies must resist fear and panic, balancing public safety and individual rights in fighting the coronavirus, argues...

Turkey-Syria Tensions Escalate: Al Jazeera

Linah Alsaafin and Zaheena Rasheed February 28, 2020
The Syrian government's indiscriminate air raids, backed by Russian airpower, aim to crush opposition forces in Idlib. The attacks killed more than 30 Turkish troops. “The toll is the deadliest suffered by the Turkish army since it intervened in Syria in 2016 and is raising fears of a direct confrontation between Turkey and Russia on the battlefield,” reports Al Jazeera. By one rescue worker...

WHO Waits to Call COVID-19 Pandemic: NewScientist

Debora MacKenzie February 27, 2020
The world prepares for a COVID-19 pandemic, described as inevitable by many health officials. A pandemic requires worldwide spread and deaths, according to the US Centers for Disease control. With confirmed cases reported in 47 nations, the World Health Organization has held off on declaring a pandemic. “Countries have pandemic plans that are launched when one is declared, but these plans may not...

New Delhi Riots: Reuters

Devjyot Ghoshal and Manoj Kumar February 27, 2020
For more than two months, protesters in India have objected to the Citizenship Amendment Act that opens a path to citizenship for non-Muslims in three neighboring countries. Riots broke out and turned violent in New Delhi, disrupting the capital and contributing to 27 deaths and hundreds of injuries. “The Citizenship Amendment Act has sparked accusations that Modi and his BJP are undermining...

China Media as Government Entities: New York Times

Lara Jakes and Steven Lee Myers February 26, 2020
Rejecting concerns about press freedom, the Trump administration has designated five Chinese media entities as foreign government functionaries. The action comes at the heels of a trade war and scrutiny of Chinese involvement in education, research and telecommunication. Five news outlets will be required to report staff names, personal details, property holdings and US staff turnover under the...

When China Sneezes: Project Syndicate

Stephen S. Roach February 26, 2020
Cases of the new coronavirus, confirmed in more than 30 countries, strikes when the global economy is already vulnerable and many countries struggle with debt, stagnant growth, reduced industrial output and job creation. COVID-19 has triggered an unexpected disruption to supply and demand. China is at the center of global value chains, explains Stephen S. Roach, an economist based at Yale...

What Happens If a Pandemic Hits? TechCrunch

John Evans February 25, 2020
The World Health Organization monitors the coronavirus as a group of epidemics and suggests it has the potential to become a global pandemic. Declaration of a pandemic would not mean closed borders, a shutdown of air travel or mass quarantines and drastic containment efforts could be counterproductive, argues Jon Evans for TechCrunch. “The focus will switch from containment to mitigation: slowing...