The real threat posed by emergent infectious diseases like the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), which first appeared last December in China’s Wuhan City and is now causing global concern, is not that it is deadlier than other known viruses or bacteria. It is rather that while the principal carriers of these diseases—human beings—now travel faster and … Read more
Taal Volcano, which has been showing signs of an imminent eruption after spewing a huge column of stones, ash, and sulphuric steam last Sunday, and Mount Pinatubo, which in 1991 produced the most powerful volcanic eruption of the 20th century, are a study in contrast. Taal is one of the two (the other being majestic … Read more
No one who has seen real war can possibly want it. Its long-term consequences are difficult to calculate. Yet this truism does not prevent some individuals, groups, or nations from edging toward it. They have short-term interests to pursue or protect, and they hope that the enemy would blink in the face of mere display … Read more
This is no way to welcome the start of a new year or of a new decade. But, how can we not worry that the assassination the other day of Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, Iran’s most admired military commander, on orders of the president of the United States, could trigger the escalation to a more … Read more