What Will a Joe Biden Presidency Mean for the Balkans?
Americans still have questions about their future, even a month after the elections. But for Europeans in general, and the Western Balkans in particular, a few things are clear. The style of American foreign policy will change, and it will align itself more with the efforts and preferenc…
A Revolutionary Change in Thailand: Protests Against the Monarchy Signal a Break With the Past
Thailand has experienced political convulsions before. In the past 15 years, street protests have precipitated the rise and fall of two governments, in 2006 and 2014, respectively. But the latest unrest reveals a revolutionary cultural shift in the country. In the past, the principal battle was amon…
The Countries With the Most to Gain—and Lose—Under a Biden Administration
Donald Trump may not be over the U.S. elections… but plenty of other countries sure are. As the congratulations for president-elect Joe Biden and vice president-elect Kamala Harris from foreign leaders stream in, here’s a quick look at which world leaders have the most to gain and lose with the chan…
Contribution of life in soil ‘remains largely underestimated’, says UN agriculture agency
“Soil biodiversity and sustainable soil management is a prerequisite for the achievement of many of the Sustainable Development Goals “, said FAO Deputy Director-General Maria Helena Semedo. “Therefore, data and information on soil biodiversity, from the national to the global level,…
Brexit: Are both sides running out of road to make a deal?
The EU – infamously talented at the old goalpost-moving – has admitted that not only does the European Parliament not need to ratify an agreement for it to be provisionally applied as of 1 January, but that EU leaders don’t even need to sign off on the treaty in person. An approved member of their g…
Pubs and venues may turn away people not Covid-vaccinated, says minister
Customers who have refused a Covid-19 vaccine could be turned away by hospitality and sports venues, the government’s vaccine minister has suggested, as he discussed the idea of using technology to reopen the economy. Nadhim Zahawi, who was appointed on Saturday to be responsible for ove…
The Unprecedented Challenge of Coronavirus Vaccine Distribution
The countries that get the vaccine first will also be the first to end their lockdowns, open up schools and restaurants and restart their economies. And those who control access to the best vaccines will gain power. “The pandemic offers an opportunity for some countries to establish themselves as pr…
How to Save Democracy From Technology
Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, and Twitter, already powerful before the COVID-19 pandemic, have become even more so during it, as so much of everyday life moves online. As convenient as their technology is, the emergence of such dominant corporations should ring alarm bells—not just because they h…
Market milestone: Dow closes above 30,000 for the first time ever
The Dow Jones Industrial Average crossed a major milestone on Tuesday, closing above 30,000 for the first time ever after United States President Donald Trump gave the green light to the formal transition of power to President-elect Joe Biden’s administration. The 30-share index vaulted out of the g…
Why U.S. Security Depends on Alliances—Now More Than Ever
The principal external threat the United States faces today is an aggressive and revisionist China—the only challenger that could potentially undermine the American way of life. The United States’ goal, however, should not only be to deter great-power war but to seek great-power peace and cooperatio…