In The News

U.S. Threatens to Act Against Europeans Over Modified Foods

Elizabeth Becker January 10, 2003
US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said yesterday that the European Union's position on genetically modified (GM) foods was "immoral" and caused greater suffering in starving African nations. The EU has banned imports of GM foods, and earlier last year several African nations refused American food aid for fear that GM foods from the US would contaminate their own local crops...

Latin America's Explosive Debt

Hilton L. Root December 19, 2002
The spiraling economic woes of Argentina, Brazil, and other Latin American countries virtually fill the headlines every few months. What can governments in the region do to reverse negative trends and move their economies back to an era of growth and prosperity? Many people in Latin America blame open-market economic policies for their dilemma, and many politicians looking to win on election...

North Korea Suspends Nuclear Moratorium

Kim Min-bai December 12, 2002
Already the focus of nations worried about the proliferation of nuclear and conventional weapons, North Korea announced Thursday that it will resume development of nuclear power facilities to meet its energy needs. The communist country and the United States had agreed in 1994 that if North Korea stopped its nuclear programs, the US would supply it with enough oil to meet its needs until a safer...

The Next Africa?

Nicholas D. Kristof December 10, 2002
Argentina has preceded its South American neighbors in one of the worst financial crises the continent has ever seen. Its once-prosperous inhabitants are scrounging for food and collecting recyclables to make a living, and Argentina is poised to become the next Africa, Nicholas Kristof writes. Tumultuous political situations and falling per capita income are leaving the people Venezuela, Brazil...

Mexican Immigration Still Up in Air

Dane Schiller November 27, 2002
A meeting between US Secretary of State Colin Powell and Mexican Foreign Secretary Jorge Castañeda ended with a $25 million pledge to help coordinate border security efforts between Mexican and US law enforcement officials. The larger issue of whether the US will permit temporary workers to enter the US from Mexico is still elusive, despite being one of Mexican president Vicente Fox's main...

Gates Urges IT, Education, Telecom Funds

November 13, 2002
On his four-day tour of India, Bill Gates encouraged investment in India’s information technology sector. Though Americans and Europeans tend to emphasize the recent slowdown in the information technology industry, Gates expressed faith in India’s potential for growth in that area. He dismissed concerns that the Linux operating system would pose a threat to his own company, Microsoft. Gates...

A Fight Over Farms Ends, Opening Way to Wider Europe

Elaine Sciolino October 25, 2002
One of the most contentious issues for the European Union as it prepares to admit 10 new members are the farm subsidies to the Eastern European economies. The question of who should foot the bill generates the greatest wrangling. Yet, much of the disagreement has suddenly disappeared now that France and Germany have negotiated a scheme in which subsidies to French farmers will be slowly reduced...