In The News

Ten Nations Scour Sea for Malaysia Jet Lost in “Unprecedented Mystery”

Eveline Danubrata and Nguyen Phuong Linh March 10, 2014
A Malaysian airliner disappeared during a flight to Beijing, prompting a massive air and sea search operation over the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand. “Dozens of ships and aircraft from 10 countries scoured the seas around Malaysia and south of Vietnam as questions mounted over possible security lapses and whether a bomb or hijacking attempt could have brought down the Boeing 777-200ER...

Emerge, Splurge, Purge

March 7, 2014
Multinational makers of phones, cars, beverages, and household products of all types have long eyed the emerging markets – the “geography seduced everyone,” suggests the Economist. Then the US Federal Reserve announced in mid-2013 that it would reduce bond purchases. Currencies of emerging economies in India, Turkey and South Africa fell in value along with a drop in consumer demand. The...

Nepal Forces Mount Everest Climbers to Double as Trash Collectors

Mark Johanson March 7, 2014
Leave no trace is a motto for many hikers – but not for those who attempt the treacherous climb of Mount Everest. “There are empty oxygen cylinders, tent debris, batteries and climbing gear -- not to mention human refuse and the bodies of fallen climbers, whose corpses don’t decompose in the permanently frozen highlands,” reports Mark Johanson for International Business Times, adding that Nepal...

The New Ukraine: Inside Kiev's House of Cards

Christian Neef, Wladimir Pyljow and Matthias Schepp March 6, 2014
Ukraine is ranked 144th on Transparency International’s corruption index; by comparison, neighbors Russia and Poland are ranked 127 and 38, respectively. Business owners with close ties to the former president, described as oligarchs, have fortunes worth billions even as the country owes billions in debt, much of that to Russia. Many of the wealthy have fled to Russia and tried to destroy...

Women More Educated Than Men But Still Paid Less

Joseph Chamie March 6, 2014
Women now outnumber men in global university attendance and graduation rates. Most gains are in developed nations; in some countries, as many as two thirds of graduates are women, though discrimination still lingers. Globally, the ratio is 93 men to 100 women; men tend to concentrate in engineering and the sciences while women gravitate toward less lucrative degrees in humanities and arts. Women...

Europe Flood Losses to "Increase Fourfold" by 2050

Matt McGrath March 5, 2014
Forecasting models predict flood damage losses could increase fourfold for Europe by 2050. Governments are not engaging in adequate planning. “The scientists believe that the continent's annual flood costs may be 23.5bn euros by the middle of the century,” reports Matt McGrath for BBC News. “Two-thirds of the projected increase in flood damage will be caused by human development, not climate...

US FDA Chief: If You Want Our Market, Meet Our Standards

March 4, 2014
US regulators seek cooperation on quality control from its supplier of foods and medicines. "If Indian pharmaceutical companies want to sell in the US, they need to comply with our standards, practices and expectations,” said Margaret Hamburg, commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration, according to a report in the Times of India. She offered the comments during a trip to India and...