In The News

Madrid Residents Help Stranded Asylum Seekers: El País

Julia F. Cadenas December 9, 2019
About 50,000 asylum seekers have arrived at the Madrid airport in 2019 and overwhelmed social service programs. The asylum seekers head to the police station and make appointments to begin pursuing international protection. As political leaders debate who bears responsibility for the asylum seekers, ordinary citizens struggle to look at a desperate human being and not assist. Hundreds have...

PISA Results Can Mislead Policymakers: Economist

December 9, 2019
The OECD initiated the Programme for International Student Assessment, or PISA, about two decades ago, and students in select schools of member and some non-member states take the test every three years. PISA analyzes reading, math, and science skills of 15- and 16-year-old students. OECD released the newest results and although the expenditure per pupil in the OECD has increased by 15 percent in...

Public Misled on Afghan War: Washington Post

Craig Whitlock December 9, 2019
The war in Afghanistan has been underway since 2001, and confidential documents suggest that US officials hid evidence that the longest war in US history was unwinnable, reports Craig Whitlock for the Washington Post. Those documents entitled "Lessons Learned" were obtained after a three-year legal battle and include assessments from generals, diplomats, aid workers and Afghan officials...

China Needs More Babies: Caixin

James Liang December 8, 2019
China’s fertility rate has barely budged even though the government has loosened its one-child policy for families. Population is linked to economic growth yet uncertainty combined with a rising living standard and cultural acceptance of small families contribute to the trends. China’s fertility rate is 1.8 children per women, below the 2.1 replacement rate. The nation posted 17 million births in...

Megafire, Exhaustion in Australia: Sydney Morning Herald

Peter Hannam, Michaela Whitbourn and Rachel Clun December 7, 2019
Three bushfires have combined into a megafire in Australia’ New South Wales of Australia. “The 'unparalled' fire season in NSW is being to strain resources, with potentially months to run,” reports a team for the Sydney Morning Herald. “About 40 of 90 bushfires across the state were yet to be contained and conditions were expected to worsen around Tuesday, with officials urging...

China Pushes NATO Together: CNN

James Griffiths December 6, 2019
NATO members gathered to celebrate the alliance’s 70th anniversary in London, but relations seemed rough. NATO, a legacy of the Cold War, originally focused on confronting the Soviet Union and communism. However, with the collapse of the common enemy, NATO member states increasingly disagree about the meaning of its existence. Under President Donald Trump, the United States has questioned the...

Macron and International Digital Tax: Reuters

Richard Lough December 6, 2019
France seeks an international tax on digital services like internet advertising. The United States has responded with proposed tariffs on French champagne, handbags, cheese and more. “The French leader is keen to reach an international agreement on taxing big tech companies and has urged the Trump administration to help reform global corporate taxes,” reports Reuters. “Internet giants … are...