Commentary

Global Newsstand Sweden’s elections need in-depth reporting abroad, ICC investigations should affect all countries equally, North Korea reaps benefits of American d...

A roundup of global commentary for the Sept. 24, 2018 weekly magazine.

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Global Newsstand Canada needs to make a statement about Aung San Suu Kyi, Question easy loans from China, Working mothers are assets, not liabilities, Tourism bump...

A roundup of global commentary for the Sept. 17, 2018 weekly magazine.

The Monitor's View A golden lesson from the 2008 financial crisis

On the 10th anniversary of the financial crash that triggered the Great Recession, one lingering result is the use of ‘risk officers’ in financial firms. They are really affinity coaches.
The Monitor's View The best way to curb illegal migration

The largest numbers of migrants caught at the US border now are from Guatemala, a country struggling to renew its efforts toward the kind of clean governance that can quell violence.
The Monitor's View The FDA’s crackdown on teen vaping

The agency's move against the makers and sellers of e-cigarettes is aimed at keeping children from addiction. But it joins a larger trend in the safeguarding the most innocent in society.
The Monitor's View Frat houses refine the purpose of brotherhood

In response to cases of tragic misuse of alcohol, fraternities decide to ban hard liquor at events. The next step is to restore the core purpose of these campus clubs.
The Monitor's View In China, a great leap in corporate governance

Bucking a deep tradition in private companies, the founder of tech giant Alibaba picks a successor – not a family member but a person with ‘professional talent.’ A kinship of qualities beat out succession by clannishness.

A shift in Islam – and beyond

What is the right balance between a living faith that embraces the changing times and the religious traditions and doctrines that are often millenniums old?
Green light for reform of UN’s blue helmets

As top leaders gather at the United Nations, they must back reform of UN peacekeepers in order to prevent abuses and assure better performance in new types of conflicts.
The prospect of no people living in extreme poverty

Fewer than 10 percent of the world’s people now live on less than $1.90 a day. As such progress shifts the attitude of the remaining poor, the rate could more easily get to zero.
An African model for ethnic reconciliation?

Ethiopia’s new leader has quickly begun democratic reforms but none will mean more than reconciling the country’s ethnic groups. Recent violence shows the urgency to develop a civic identity that he says starts with forgiveness.
The freedom driving North Korea to the table

The latest North-South summit is yet another test on whether the Kim regime feels pressure from its people to further embrace a market economy in return for giving up its nuclear arsenal.
Amazon’s Bezos clicks on homelessness

A big new focus of his philanthropy will be innovators solving this acute social problem. The best are nonprofit volunteers equipped with special qualities of care that can heal the homeless from the inside out.
Readers Respond Readers write: Buryatia coverage, book search, wildfire precautions, science at home

Letters to the editor for the Sept. 17, 2018 weekly magazine.