In The News

Somini Sengupta September 19, 2006
More than 17,000 farmers in India committed suicide in 2003, and the government admits that, from all appearances, the despair continues to rise. Market-oriented economic reforms in recent years gave farmers access to global competition and genetically modified seeds that withstand extreme drought or pests. But the new seeds are costly, and lenders charge 5 percent monthly interest and take...
Manfred Ertel September 15, 2006
As the world’s third largest oil exporter and a country that prides itself on promoting social justice, Norway has a pension fund of $250 billion, one of the largest in the world. Teams of ethicists investigate firms, when accusations emerge about exploited workers or environmental degradation, and offer advice. The fund, which earned more than 11 percent in 2005, influences corporations to...
Matthew Philips September 13, 2006
In February 2002, the parents of Daniel Pearl, a reporter for “The Wall Street Journal” received notice that their abducted son had been killed. Through the Daniel Pearl Foundation, his parents arrange for Muslim journalists to work as fellows in US newsrooms. The father, Judea Pearl, partners with Pakistani scholar Akbar Ahmed to sponsor dialogue about Islamic-Jewish relations and promote peace...
Rüdiger Falksohn August 31, 2006
For more than 20 years, the Tamil Tigers have fought to establish their own state in Sri Lanka. Representing about 18 percent of the small island’s population, the largely Hindu group suffered persecution for years before signing a treaty with the Sri Lankan government in 2002. Not long after the December 2004 tsunami, brutal ethnic violence broke out with assassinations and bombings of schools...
Syed Mohammad Ali August 18, 2006
The difficulties in the appropriation of international aid are nothing new, writes researcher Syed Mohammad Ali. Donor governments have long faced accusations of distributing aid to countries deemed strategically important while shortchanging other crises. Aid groups struggle to distribute supplies in dangerous combat zones or simply in undeveloped areas with minimal infrastructure. Receiving...
Michael Krepon August 17, 2006
Fierce military operations may eliminate individual terrorists, but do nothing to destroy their strategy. Some analysts go as far as to argue that excessive force only encourages hatred, boosting the networks that nurture new recruits. In the second article of this two-part series, author Michael Krepon suggests that India – with almost 20,000 civilians killed in terror attacks since 1994 – has...
Fawaz A. Gerges August 15, 2006
The world remains divided about the best way to respond to extremism – fierce military retaliation versus controlled anger that focuses on diplomacy, tolerance and the power of example. This two-part series examines the viability of two responses: Israel’s fierce invasion of Lebanon after the kidnapping of two soldiers and India’s restrained reaction after train bombings in Mumbai that killed...