Article written by Joseph Chamie; read by Zachariah Postle Globalization ensures that the global threat of a severe influenza pandemic is inevitable. The world, while informed, is poorly prepared.

Asian allies and partners are working overtime in response to America"s rejection of traditional diplomacy and shifting regional power dynamics. writes Atman Trivedi, managing director at Hills & Company, International Consultants. And the United States cannot afford to take such allies for granted.

Foreign powers find the region hard to control, writes military strategist Ehsan Ahrari for YaleGlobal. The most significant uniting force for Iran, Turkey, and Russia is a resolve to safeguard their respective regional strategic interests

The United States must convince India that a sustainable strategy for the Indo-Pacific region is in place. Marc Grossman, a vice chairman of The Cohen Group and former US under secretary of state for political affairs, suggests that energy relationships and Quad cooperation present two options.

Consumers have a choice on how much data to share and with whom, and technology companies are generally upfront about their hunger for data. Big-data analysis is shaping communities, and even the most cautious cannot escape the consequences.

Values are a uniting force around the globe, slowly replacing an era of industry and economics, and soft power is more enticing than hard power for a global audience. National leaders may try to set new conditions for universal standards of justice, known as the moral high ground, but they can anticipate a struggle in justifying extreme and unreasonable claims for informed citizens in their own nations and elsewhere. Increasingly, cities, states and other entities reject the foreign policy...

Sand is indispensable for construction, roads and oil recovery even as nations try to protect coasts and supplies.

Disasters no longer seem like rare events with the internet and smartphones delivering instant, compelling stories for a global audience that is curious, observant and active on social media. Most odious are false reports drafted to misdirect responsibility and create an atmosphere of mistrust.

As the globe's population swells from about 2 billion people a century ago to more than 7 billion today, migration numbers are on the rise, too, from about 173 million in 2000 to about 250 million today. Will Hickey, author and associate professor with the School of Government and Public Policy in Indonesia, analyzes the dilemma for countries in trying to separate refugees based on their motivation, economic or political. Refugees search for a better life, and the line between economic and...