Russia has long sought to establish a parallel, separate Internet minimizing U.S. control and influence, including Vkontakte, the Russian Facebook, and other social media copycats, as well as a separate “intranet” for the Russian military. Now the Russian government is preparing to test RuNet, an internal Internet infrastructure intended to allow the […]
Author: Erik Sass
Tesla fortunes turn – but will it last?
After several years in the Wall Street doghouse Tesla shareholders received a boost from an optimistic forecast from occasionally erratic boss Elon Musk, predicting a profit in the third quarter. But after a number of disappointments analysts and shareholders are understandably skeptical: will the world’s leading electric carmaker finally deliver on its disruptive […]
Winds of change for the EU and Morocco
By James Moran, CEPS After a period in the doldrums, it has been a good year so far for EU-Morocco relations. In February, the European Parliament approved amendments to the EU-Morocco association and fisheries agreements, addressing the dispute about the inclusion of Western Sahara in the scope of those accords. This helped […]
Brexit deal leaves future details wide open
By David Shiels, courtesy of Open Europe Tomorrow the House of Commons will sit for the first time on a Saturday since 1982. MPs will have the opportunity to approve or reject the revised Brexit deal, which was published by the Government and the European Commission yesterday. In a press conference on […]
Pay-for-performance didn’t help student achievement in Peru (but it could)
“Does pay-for-performance in education work at scale?” By Cristina Bellés Obrero and María Lombardi, courtesy of IZA Teacher quality is key for student achievement. Individuals exposed to better teachers perform better in school, and are more likely to attend college and earn higher salaries. However, the payment schemes in most educational systems are based on lifetime job tenure […]
TES Weekly Update: Russian Bear Gets Cozy In The Tropics
Meet your fuzzy new best friend everyone Vladimir Putin may have promised that the “Russian bear” will stick to the cold climes of Siberia, but perhaps he wasn’t being entirely truthful (shocking, shocking). It seems the famous ursine avatar is sniffing around the Middle East and Africa — and Russia’s moves in these regions […]
Eco-friendly jets fueled by “meat waste”
Just because something is disgusting doesn’t mean it’s not good for the environment, and vice versa. To this interesting category we may add environmentally friendly airplanes fueled by “meat waste,” as well as other nontraditional combustibles such as used cooking oil. Reuters reports […]
Singapore wants those fake chicken nuggets
Artificial meat, referring to protein grown from animal cells in laboratories, has obvious attractions for rich, high-tech places without much land for raising livestock. No surprise, then, that Singapore is one of the countries most interested in developing facilities for growing artificial […]
Macron hits brakes on EU enlargement
“Macron’s ‘Non’ to EU Enlargement” By Erwan Fouéré, courtesy of CEPS “I am counting on you”. With these words, President Macron appealed to the citizens of North Macedonia to vote in favour of the Prespa Agreement in the referendum on 30 September […]
Tax cuts didn’t boost business investment in UK
“Low rates of capital gains tax on business income lead to large tax savings but do not boost investment” By Helen Miller and Kate Smith, courtesy of IFS People who work for their own businesses are taxed at lower rates than employees. […]