CNET (June 28)
“Another widespread ransomware attack is threatening to wreak havoc across the world.” The latest variation of the Petya ransomware is disrupting businesses and governments worldwide, including WPP, Merck, A.P. Moller-Maersk, Rosneft and government agencies in Ukraine. “This is the second global ransomware attack in the last two months. It follows the WannaCry outbreak that ensnared more than 200,000 computers.”
Tags: A.P. Moller-Maersk, Attack, Computers, Havoc, Merck, Petya, Ransomware, Rosneft, Ukraine, WannaCry, WPP
Newsweek (June 27)
“Sea level rise is real, and it’s getting worse,” accelerating some 50 percent between 1993 and 2014. “The biggest factor driving sea level rise is thermal expansion,” but it’s likely that “melting glaciers account for 15 to 35 percent.”
Tags: Accelerating, Factor, Glaciers, Melting, Real, Sea level rise, Thermal expansion
LA Times (June 27)
“Slightly more Europeans now view the United States unfavorably under President Donald Trump than favorably, according to a survey of public attitudes.” Though Europeans consider Trump a strong leader, 75% think he is arrogant, 65% think he’s intolerant, and 62% believe he is dangerous. Looking beyond Europe, only “a median of 22% across all 37 countries surveyed expressed confidence that Trump will do the right thing when it comes to international affairs.”
Tags: Arrogant, Confidence, Dangerous, Europe, Intolerant, Public attitudes, Survey, Trump, U.S., Unfavorable
Toronto Star (June 26)
“A deep national revulsion toward President Donald Trump has sent Canadians’ opinions of the United States plummeting to a level of antipathy never before seen.” The decline is particularly steep when compared with “the final year of Democrat Barack Obama’s presidency, when Pew found 65 per cent of Canadians favourably disposed to the U.S.” The figure has dropped to 43 per cent. Equally stunning, “under Obama last year, 83 per cent of Canadians had confidence in the president to do the right thing in world affairs. Under Trump this year, it is a mere 22 per cent.”
New York Times (June 26)
“Mr. Trump’s demonizing of Iran, and his unwillingness to engage its government, could result in a broadening of the American military mission from defeating ISIS to preventing Iranian influence from expanding. This would be dangerous. Iran is a vexing state to be smartly managed, not assumed to be an implacable enemy.”
Tags: Broadening, Dangerous, Demonizing, Enemy, Influence, Iran, ISIS, Military, Mission, Trump, U.S., Vexing
The Economist (June 24)
“Mr Modi’s admirers paint him as the man who at last unleashed India’s potential. In fact, he may go down in history for fluffing India’s best shot at rapid, sustained development. And the worries about a still darker outcome are growing.”
Tags: Admirers, Best shot, Fluffing, India, Modi, Outcome, Potential, Sustained development, Worries
Wall Street Journal (June 23)
“Saudi Arabia has resisted modernity since its founding in 1932. But the political sands are shifting, and the change will accelerate with Wednesday’s appointment of Mohammed bin Salman as Crown Prince.” Remarkably, he is a reformist and less than half the age of the typical heir. This is “squarely in the U.S. national interest. Washington should support and encourage the young prince as he pursues change.”
Tags: Age, Change, Crown Prince, Modernity, National interest, Reformist, Salman, Saudi Arabia, Support, U.S.
Washington Post (June 22)
“Trump will never get anything done” and the reason “goes beyond the usual factors that bedevil any new president — overpromising on the pace of action, underpreparing for the challenges of office, trouble in staffing up…. Trump’s failure to get key agenda items to the starting line reflects more fundamental problems in policymaking—problems that will persist even after this administration is fully staffed and acclimated.”
Tags: Administration, Agenda items, Failure, Fully staffed, New, Overpromising, Policymaking, President, Trump, Underpreparing
Bloomberg (June 22)
“In the culmination of a long-running saga, MSCI Inc. yesterday announced that it would include some Chinese stocks in its widely used benchmark indexes, starting next year.” The decision beggars belief. “China is undeniably an increasingly important market…. But lowering the standards of what constitutes a market and obfuscating real problems just exposes unknowing foreign investors to elevated risks. If Chinese investors and even regulators are so wary of Chinese stocks, why encourage foreigners to enter the fray?”
Tags: Benchmark, China, Foreign investors, Index, MSCI, Problems, Regulators, Risks, Saga, Standards, Stocks
CNN (June 21)
“If ever there were a country in need of modernization, Saudi Arabia is it.” The newly named Crown Prince “is deeply committed to carrying major reforms to fruition. He embodies dynamism, youthful boldness and a vision of possibility. But the far-ranging changes he is bringing to the conservative kingdom and to the region carry risk and no guarantee of success. In a region roiled with instability, they add another element of uncertainty.”
Tags: Boldness, Conservative, Crown Prince, Instability, Modernization, Reforms, Risk, Saudi Arabia, Success, Uncertainty, Youthful
