In The News

Davos 2016: Questions About Globalization's End and What Comes Next

Paul Laudicina January 22, 2016
Each year the World Economic Forum convenes government, industry and activist leaders to offer regional and international proposals along with private-public partnerships. Uncertainty and the expectations for “fundamental, radical global shifts” have permeated the 2016 meeting, explains Paul Laudicina for Forbes. “How leaders manage this system shift in years to come will determine the course the...

The Smart Way of Healing

Nayan Chanda January 22, 2016
Hospitals face challenges in preventing one patient’s infection from spreading to other patients. Nayan Chanda, founding editor of YaleGlobal Online, writes about the troubling phenomenon of patients being successfully treated before succumbing to hospital-acquired infections. “This problem is not a uniquely Indian one,” he writes. “Modern hospitals in the developed West are also struggling to...

Worries Over China’s Slowdown Drive Global Markets

Farok J. Contractor January 21, 2016
Global markets are plummeting, in part a response to slowing growth in China and volatility in the nation’s stock markets. “World markets turn needlessly bearish – failing to understand that the Shanghai or Shenzhen markets are not necessarily good indicators of the fundamentals of the Chinese economy or cultural root causes driving Chinese investors,” writes Farok Contractor, a professor at...

How to Make Sense of Plummeting Global Markets

Neil Irwin January 21, 2016
The globe economy is in “reasonably solid state,” according to most leading forecasts as reported by the New York Times. Yet market “volatility and direction are consistent with the prospect of a new crisis or global recession, explains Neil Irwin. The evidence does not yet indicate whether such levels of market turbulence are rational or irrational, he explains, with the S&P 500 falling 9...

Charsadda Attack: It Is Time to Ask Pakistan Army Some Hard Questions

Umer Ali January 20, 2016
Militants stormed Bacha Khan University in northwestern Pakistan, killing at least 20 and injuring 60. A Pakistan Taliban official quickly claimed and then withdrew responsibility. The attack comes just after a year after 134 were killed at a school in nearby Peshawar. Pakistan endures repeated attacks on schools as symbols of progress and idea centers. Pakistan must confront the extremism in its...

It’s Both Unethical and Unhelpful for Governments to Strip Refugees of Their Assets

Tania Cheung January 20, 2016
Governments are debating mean-spirited policies to discourage refugees fleeing brutal conflict. “Denmark is debating a bill to allow authorities to seize cash and personal items valued over 10,000 kroner (just £1,000) from asylum seekers,” writes Tania Cheung for New Statesman. “Switzerland has followed suit, already acting to seize financial assets over 1,000 Swiss Frances (£690) from refugees....

The World Is Hemorrhaging Methane, and Now We Can See Where

Christina Nunez January 19, 2016
Since late October, a natural gas storage well in California has been leaking 100,000 pounds of methane per hour. The colorless and odorless gas is hazardous to health and the environment. The Aliso Canyon leak is accidental but many companies deliberately burn off excess natural gas at energy sites, explains Christina Nunez for National Geographic. Researchers with the US National Oceanic and...