All The Monitor's View
Green light for reform of UN’s blue helmetsAs 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 povertyFewer 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 tableThe 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 homelessnessA 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.
A golden lesson from the 2008 financial crisisOn 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 best way to curb illegal migrationThe 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 FDA’s crackdown on teen vapingThe 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.
Frat houses refine the purpose of brotherhoodIn 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.
In China, a great leap in corporate governanceBucking 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.
The truth about South African ‘land seizures’The country is undertaking a difficult but needed debate on how to put more farmland into the hands of its poor black majority.
Ending North Korea’s nuclear program: What now?President Trump’s domestic troubles could endanger – or perhaps impel – a deal with North Korea’s Kim. The benefits for both sides remain in place.
A year later, Puerto Rico says ‘Come on down’New studies on the effects of hurricane Maria highlight a much greater loss of life than reported earlier, as well as inadequate responses by both federal and local governments. But Puerto Ricans see brighter skies ahead.
Where are we headed? Answers may lie in the pastThe Great Recession saw interest in the humanities, such as history, plummet in favor of ‘practical’ college studies. But today’s turmoil may have reawakened interest in just how we got here.
The women activists for peace in SyriaAs the Assad regime prepares to take the last opposition stronghold, women in that province are working to remove the main excuse for such an attack.
Tackle the rush to sports gamblingA Supreme Court ruling has left states free to legalize sports wagering, raising issues of how to protect the integrity of sports. Congress is starting to weigh in.
Why Myanmar must look in the mirrorA UN probe of military atrocities against the minority Rohingya also points to the country’s need to unify around a national identity, preferably one that is inclusive.
Argentina tries breaking corrupt habitsA trove of evidence about payoffs to former presidents has accelerated a two-year campaign against corruption and brought greater promise of clean governance.
McCain’s mutiny against war bitternessOf all his admirable traits, it was the former POW’s forgiveness toward Vietnam that helped reconcile the US to its former adversary.
How to help China’s MuslimsThe mass internment of minority Uyghurs in western China is just the latest assaults on Muslims and demands far more than denunciation. What’s needed is religious response to such religious intolerance.
