27 Results for:

March 19, 2024

Hong Kong
Hong Kong’s Freedoms: What China Promised and How It’s Cracking Down

Beijing has tightened its grip on Hong Kong in recent years, dimming hopes that the financial center will ever become a full democracy.

Hong Kong police force a man's arms behind his back, as an officer stands close to the camera, in Hong Kong.

February 8, 2024

Taiwan
Why China-Taiwan Relations Are So Tense

Taiwan has the potential to be a flash point in U.S.-China relations. U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taipei in 2022 heightened tensions.

A statue of a Taiwanese soldier looks over the Taiwan straight at a Chinese city.

December 27, 2023

Artificial Intelligence (AI)
What Is Artificial Intelligence (AI)?

Artificial intelligence breakthroughs promise unprecedented opportunity but also economic, political, and social disruption. Experts say AI needs oversight to ensure the changes it engenders are for …

A woman stands on stage, appearing to fade away as she faces a metaphorical representation of AI.

July 12, 2007

United States
The Shifting Capital of Capital

New York remains a global heavyweight in financial services, but markets in London and East Asia are gaining strength and posing a serious challenge to the Big Apple.

December 19, 2012

United States
U.S. Patents and Innovation

The U.S. patent system has generated growing debate over whether it helps foster innovation or stifles it through unnecessary protections, as this Backgrounder explains.

June 15, 2018

Democratic Republic of Congo
The Cobalt Boom

Demand has skyrocketed for cobalt, focusing attention on its complex and controversial supply chain. The mineral is an important component in lithium-ion batteries, which power everything from electric cars to smartphones.

A man digs through some mine waste searching for leftover cobalt.