
State of the Union: looking far beyond 2016, Obama claims post-presidency bully pulpit
Jan 13, 2016 05:30 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics
On Tuesday night (Washington time), US President Barack Obama delivered his last State of the Union address, and his first post-presidency speech. Obama said early on: For my final address to this chamber, I dont want...

Governments undermining encryption will do more harm than good
Jan 13, 2016 02:25 am UTC| Insights & Views Law Technology
Western governments, notably the UK and the US, are pushing the software industry to open backdoors into our encrypted communications. The argument touted by government agencies for nearly 20 years is that terrorists...
Lessons from a would-be suicide bomber on how to defeat terrorism
Jan 13, 2016 00:29 am UTC| Insights & Views
A picture given to me for my 40th birthday hangs in my home study. It is a lovely still-life of a fruit bowl masterfully drawn in coloured pencil. Amarah (not her real name), a 19-year-old intern, drew it for me during the...

Is the January barometer providing an early warning for 2016 equity returns?
Jan 13, 2016 00:21 am UTC| Insights & Views
So far, it has not been a happy new year for equity market investors. The Australian equity market lost A$100 billion in market value in the first week of trading, mirroring a dire global trend. If we are are to believe...

Why we should learn to love all insects – not just the ones that work for us
Jan 12, 2016 14:50 pm UTC| Insights & Views Life
Insects, which include more than a million described species, represent roughly two-thirds of the biodiversity on Earth. But they have a big PR problem many think of insects as little more than crop-eating,...

Why is Sweden tightening its borders after years of welcoming migrants?
Jan 12, 2016 14:18 pm UTC| Insights & Views
Swedens decision to introduce identity checks on all incoming traffic from Denmark represents a significant step away from what was, until recently, among the most generous refugee policies in Europe. Since January 4,...

How China's Huawei is taking on Samsung and Apple
Jan 12, 2016 14:15 pm UTC| Insights & Views Technology
Chinese telecoms giant Huawei posted an eye-popping 70% growth in 2015. It is now beating HTC and Sony when it comes to market share in Europe and is third only to Apple and Samsung when it come to global smartphone...