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Timor-Leste: Lessons of a Failing State?

May 22, 2014
Timor-Leste shares the island of Timor and a bloody history with Indonesia. The former Portuguese colony was part of Indonesia from 1976 until 2002, when it was declared an independent state. The country’s small population is less than half of 1 percent of that in neighboring Indonesia, and one...

North-South Divide in Nigeria Is Hiding a Humanitarian Crisis

September 21, 2016
Boko Haram has terrorized northeastern Nigeria for seven years, leaving almost 2 million people displaced and many communities impoverished. The country of 180 million is ethnically diverse. The humanitarian crisis that also stretches into Chad, Niger and Cameroon has prompted outrage around the...

The Observer: Facebook Profiles Harvested

March 19, 2018
A whistleblower has exposed how Cambridge Analytica, a data analysis firm, relied on a software program and Facebook user profiles to target voters with political advertisements. The number represents about a quarter of the US electorate. “Documents seen by the Observer, and confirmed by a Facebook...

The Statesman: The Cryptocurrency Conundrum

December 11, 2017
Investors are contributing to Bitcoin’s rapid rise. Bitcoin and Ethereum are among 900 digital currencies based on algorithms issued by private creators rather than governments. Such currencies and their software offer blockchain capabilities. “The safety, integrity and balance of ledgers within...

Differing Approaches to Immigration on Two Sides of the Atlantic

April 24, 2014
Politicians opposed to immigration are making electoral gains throughout Europe, and legislators in the United States are also polarized over immigration reform, especially the status of an estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants. Michael Mandelbaum, author and international studies professor...

Boeing Suspends 737 Max, Hits Supply Chain: FT

December 18, 2019
Boeing announced a temporary suspension in production of its 737 Max airline. Regulators and airlines grounded the plane after two crashes within five months. The world's largest aerospace manufacturer depends on a deep global supply chain for the plane’s many parts, and the suspension in...

Growing Vulnerability of Seaports from Terror Attacks

March 5, 2004
Global trade is heavily dependent on shipping, with hundreds of port cities worldwide offering open doors to goods from other countries. Unfortunately, writes Michael Richardson, this same openness allows terrorists the possibility of bringing into the target country devastating means of attack –...

Devalued Yuan Seeks Reserve Currency Status

August 13, 2015
China is pushing for the renminbi to join the ranks of reserve currencies as designated by the International Monetary Fund. The IMF may delay such designation and gave a nod to China’s abrupt devaluation of the yuan, letting the unit respond to market forces. Reserve status for the yuan would be...
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