Topics Archive
General Interest - Analyses & Assessments - Oct 13, 2018
Breakthrough in genetic genealogy
Progress in genetic genealogy seen soon able to ID most Americans via a family member’s DNA. Scientists issue a soft warning about the potential misuse of the tool by hackers for a Facebook-type…
General Interest - Analyses & Assessments - Oct 11, 2018
SC Demands Clarification on Rafale
The Indian Supreme Court asked for clarification on the Rafale Deal. The details so sought would not cover the pricing or the suitability of the equipment for the Indian Airforce. In 2007, the Indian…
General Interest - Analyses & Assessments - Oct 8, 2018
US’s new counter-terrorism policy
The White House has issued a new counterterrorism policy for the first time since 2011 which promises to fight “radical Islamist” extremists and Iran to end the terrorist threat to the U.S.…
General Interest - Op-Eds - Oct 4, 2018
Escalating Waste Generation Requires Drastic Action
Global waste generation is expected to double by 2050 given the current system in many regions. As the damaging effects of waste become more apparent, many countries and communities are taking active…
General Interest - Analyses & Assessments - Oct 4, 2018
The Risks of Replacing LIBOR
Ending the global borrowing index poses a potential threat to financial stability. LIBOR, or the London Interbank Offered Rate, has been called the most important number in the world. It is derived…
General Interest - Analyses & Assessments - Oct 3, 2018
Physics Nobel for laser pioneers includes first woman in 55 years
A trio of American, French and Canadian scientists won the 2018 Nobel Prize for Physics for breakthroughs in laser technology that have turned light beams into precision tools for everything from eye…
General Interest - Analyses & Assessments - Oct 1, 2018
Petrobras to pay massive corruption fine
Brazil's state oil company has agreed to pay more than $853m (£650m) to the US and Brazil, ending a long-running corruption investigation. Petrobras is a semi-public Brazilian multinational…
General Interest - Analyses & Assessments - Oct 1, 2018
F-35 crashes in training exercise
The US military has suffered the first crash in its hugely expensive F-35 fighter jet programme. The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth…
General Interest - Analyses & Assessments - Oct 1, 2018
Game changing discovery in Cancer therapy
American James Allison and Japanese Tasuku Honjo won the 2018 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for discoveries leading to new approaches in harnessing the immune system to fight cancer, the…
General Interest - Analyses & Assessments - Sep 30, 2018
Italy defies Europe with new Budget proposal
Rome has announced a new budget deficit target of 2.4% of GDP, and aims to expand government spending on welfare. The new target is in violation of the deficit limit set by the EU on countries which…
General Interest - Analyses & Assessments - Sep 30, 2018
Canada to revoke Suu Kyi’s honorary citizenship
Canadian MPs have voted unanimously to rescind the honorary citizenship of Myanmar's leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. Aung San Suu Kyi is the de facto leader of Myanmar. In 2015, she led her political party…
General Interest - Analyses & Assessments - Sep 29, 2018
Citizenship for Sale
As worldwide migration is on the rise, countries are offering the rich and wealthy a quicker path to residency, and in some cases citizenship. The pace of global immigration has accelerated since the…
General Interest - Analyses & Assessments - Sep 29, 2018
US Federal reserve hikes interest rates
It raised US short-term interest rates for a third time this year and signalled it will forge ahead with plans to tighten policy. The interest rate hike comes despite the US being locked in a trade…
General Interest - Analyses & Assessments - Sep 29, 2018
Elon Musk accused of Securities Fraud
The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a lawsuit accusing Tesla boss Elon Musk of securities fraud. The US financial regulator says Mr Musk's claims that he had secured funding to take the…
General Interest - Analyses & Assessments - Sep 28, 2018
Supreme Court curbs the use of biometric ID program
India’s top court upholds world’s largest biometric ID program but outlines limits and strikes down controversial clauses from the act. Aadhaar is a 12-digit unique-identity number issued to all…
General Interest - Analyses & Assessments - Sep 28, 2018
South African President reassures the UN over seized lands
Seized South African farmlands ‘to be shared by all’ says Cyril Ramaphosa. Dutch settlers landed in the Cape of Good Hope in 1652 and began setting up farms in and around Cape Town. In 1795, the…
General Interest - Analyses & Assessments - Sep 28, 2018
Global Entrepreneurs: “Invest in Africa's youth”
The call for more participation was made during the UN’s unveiling of “Youth 2030”, a youth-centred action plan which aims to include the youth in more policy decision making roles across the world…
General Interest - Analyses & Assessments - Sep 27, 2018
WhatsApp working with Reliance Jio to stop fake news
Facebook’s WhatsApp is working closely with Reliance Jio to spread awareness of false messages, weeks after the Indian telecoms operator opened up the messaging service to tens of millions of…
General Interest - Analyses & Assessments - Sep 21, 2018
Incurable plant disease threatens U.S. rose business
American-grown roses are becoming a bit less rosy, with the spread of an incurable virus that’s causing major damage to the nation’s $250-million-a-year rose business. A rose is a woody perennial…
General Interest - Analyses & Assessments - Sep 21, 2018
Zimbabwe needs more money to fight cholera
Zimbabwe’s government says it still needs $35 million to help fight a cholera outbreak that has killed 31 and infected more than 5,000. Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in southern Africa,…