All The Monitor's View
- Why a nuclear-arms pact can save Europe
Russia and Trump challenge a 1987 treaty on short-range nuclear-tipped missiles. They need to listen to the person who signed the pact to understand its larger purpose.
- Identity politics on the ropes in Iraq?
In forming a new government, a prime minister-designate tries to take Iraq beyond a quota system for sharing power by religion and ethnicity. Young Iraqis seek a broader identity.
- Afghans choose ballots over bombs
Popular support for Saturday’s election reflects the spirit of a post-2001 generation eager for clean, no-Taliban governance.
- Helping Saudis be led by truth, not fear
The best response to the disappearance of a Saudi dissident is to invite transparency in the investigation.
- To fight corruption, Kenyans study integrity
The country’s anti-corruption body, alarmed at a rise in bribery, starts a Bible-based campaign to educate people on their role in standing up to corruption.
- A lesson from the Sears bankruptcy
The retailer largely defined an identity for Americans as consumers while not investing enough in local communities that thrive on the social bonding of local commerce.
- Better alerts to feed a hungry world
To end famine by 2030, more nations should use artificial intelligence to track data from areas in a drought or a conflict zone.
- Brazil alters a 'destiny' of corruption
The Oct. 7 election not only ousted many corrupt incumbents, it showed Brazilians reject a presumed ‘culture of corruption’ in favor of equality before the law and clean governance.
- Why Apollo missions still inspire
The 50th anniversary of the first moon mission and a new movie on Neil Armstrong are good reasons to recall how this cosmic venture lifted humanity.
- A Nobel for ennobling ingenuity
Paul Romer, a winner of this year’s Nobel Prize for economics, showed how societies that manage a sustaining flow of new ideas can sustain long-term economic growth.
- Dashing myths about wartime rape
This year’s Nobel Peace Prize, awarded to two global activists against the use of rape as a tool of war, will add to a quarter century of change aimed at relegating such sexual violence to history.
- Britain’s nudge on screen time for kids
As studies pile up about the effects of social media on young people, Britain plans to issue ‘guidance’ for parents about screen time for their children. The advice needs to balance caution against the benefits of digital devices.
- Indonesia’s gift-horse response to post-tsunami aid
Despite a giant disaster in Sulawesi, Indonesia was long in accepting outside aid. Its delay went against a global trend toward ensuring a right to life in natural disasters and international cooperation.
- Amazon sets a high bar on wages
Its new $15 minimum wage and its lobbying for a higher federal minimum wage could inspire other companies to see a grander purpose of investing in the well-being of workers.
- A trade accord that can mend North American ties
A replacement for NAFTA has the potential to fix trade problems as well as the torn ties between the US and its two important neighbors, Canada and Mexico.
- The two Koreas eye a test zone for peace
A little-noticed agreement could create trust for talks on nuclear weapons by first lowering the risk of war along the border.
- Brazil’s WhatsApp election campaign
The Oct. 7 election is a test case of what happens when citizens use social media to take charge of campaign information.
- China’s faithful, under siege, can shine a light
As the Communist Party cracks down on religion, the faithful can find the best response in their teachings.
- Saving Venezuela with the long arm of the law
Five Latin American countries have asked an international court to prosecute Venezuelan officials for crimes against humanity. Such neighborly concern is a new norm in global affairs.
- The key to recovery from a sports scandal
One big difference between Russia’s doping scandal and the sex abuse of American female gymnasts: contrition in their governing institutions.