In The News

Global Risk of US Credit Crisis – Part I

David Dapice September 21, 2007
Uncertainty swirling in the US financial markets and the Federal Reserve's rate cut leave world players, along with US homeowners and investors, in a quandary. In the first part of this series, economist David Dapice analyzes the global implications as the uncertainty and lack of confidence associated with the credit crunch spread beyond US borders, hurting banks in Europe and investors in...

Disowned by Mentor, Bin Laden Seeks New Pastures

Fawaz A. Gerges September 19, 2007
Just before the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Osama bin Laden released a new videotape, in which he adopts a neo-Marxist posture, suggesting that mortgage debt, global warming, growing wage inequality and other ills are a result of greed from multinational corporations and politics of the West. “The capitalist system seeks to turn the entire world into a fiefdom of the major corporations...

Doing God’s Work for the Taliban

Shim Jae Hoon September 4, 2007
Missionaries from South Korea travel to remote and dangerous lands, intent on spreading their Christian faith. Christianity contributed to modernization in South Korea, and missionaries often link their beliefs with the country’s miraculous economic growth. In July, the Taliban kidnapped 23 young Christian volunteers in Afghanistan, killing two before releasing the remaining hostages in late...

Why Africa Fears Western Medicine

Harriet A. Washington August 14, 2007
Africa has a history of Western doctors who claim to provide health care while in reality “administrating deadly agents.” The most infamous example is Wouter Basson, who killed hundreds through injecting poisons, but was never convicted. More recently, a Libyan court convicted a foreign physician and five nurses of infecting children with AIDS, before releasing the providers to Bulgaria. Many...

Moroccan-Born Mayor Dispenses Tough Love to Immigrants

Erich Wiedemann August 6, 2007
Ahmed Marcouch immigrated to the Netherlands when he was 10 years old. With help from teachers, he caught up in school and assimilated into Dutch culture. As mayor of a Slotervaart – a rough neighborhood in Amsterdam with high crime, unemployment and dropout rates – he takes a hard-line stance and urges fellow immigrants to integrate in a country known for its tolerance. The former police...

Interrupting a History of Tolerance – Part III

Fahad Nazer July 26, 2007
Any religion with global stature, such as Islam, must accept diversity in terms of culture, beliefs and practices. Tolerance for evolving beliefs demonstrates confidence. This YaleGlobal series explores how external forces encouraged intolerance, such as anti-Semitism, in the Middle East throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. However, Saudi Arabia, as the guardian of holy Islamic sites, had its...

Denmark Secretly Evacuates Iraqi Aides From Basra

Fred Attewill July 24, 2007
Countries with troops in Iraq rely on Iraqis for many essential tasks, from driving to translating. Insurgents often target such Iraqis with violence, accusing them of collaborating with coalition forces. Denmark, which will withdraw troops from Iraq soon, secretly evacuated 200 interpreters from Basra to Denmark, offering them asylum. Since the invasion began in March 2003, millions of Iraqis...