In The News

US Warms to Hague Tribunal New Stance

Jess Bravin June 14, 2006
Critics of the US suggest that the country considers itself to be above international law. To counter the complaints, the Bush administration is gradually recognizing the International Criminal Court. Washington strongly opposed the move to create the ICC – but has come to realize that the US simply cannot ignore a court that has the support of 100 countries, including key allies such as the UK....

UK Fears Record Afghan Heroin Output

Declan Walsh June 13, 2006
Despite 3,300 British troops deployed to the Helmand, Afghanistan, the province is on track to produce a record heroin crop. There are numerous reasons for the inability of British soldiers to control the trade. The UK government accused the Afghan minister in charge of counter-narcotics of having ties to smuggling. While the UK has not yet provided concrete proof, the allegation has strained...

Time to Lift North Korea’s Quarantine

John Feffer June 8, 2006
North Korea is suspected of a long list of disturbing activities – drug smuggling, counterfeiting, money laundering and, not least, the development of nuclear weapons. The international community must focus on creating a viable state in North Korea, according to Author John Feffer, and yet the current US strategy of sanctions and military containment probably does more harm than good. Sanctioning...

Arabs Split Over Zarqawi – Hero or Ruthless Killer?

June 8, 2006
The death of Al Qaeda’s commander in Iraq, Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, gives US president Bush something to crow over, but what are its true implications? Arabs themselves show conflicting opinions on Zarqawi and his legacy. For some, he was a freedom fighter, for others he tarnished the name of Islam. When one extremist leader dies, it is worth remembering, another just as bad or worse can take his...

A Taliban Comeback?

Ahmed Rashid May 23, 2006
Almost five years after the US invaded Afghanistan in retaliation for 9/11, the Taliban appears on a comeback trail, sparking a renewal of ethnic and warlord-based conflict with an overlay of ambition from neighbors. In confronting a powerful Taliban resurgence in southern Afghanistan, the Pakistan-US alliance is also at odds. Complicated politics and unrest place Afghanistan’s moderate...

As Death Stalks Iraq, Middle-Class Exodus Begins

Sabrina Tavernise May 23, 2006
Ongoing violence in Iraq forces middle class and wealthy citizens to abandon homes and confess a lack of faith in the newly forming government. Murders of teachers, sanitation workers and even children are routine. Businesses often receive warnings to leave, parents withdraw their children from schools in record numbers, and families move to countries like Jordan and Syria. About 7 percent of...

France Debates Downloads, With Teenager as Top Expert

Thomas Crampton May 17, 2006
At 18, Aziz Ridouan is a normal teen who likes to download music. But his adversaries compare him to a modern-day Robin Hood, and the French Interior minister gives him a note allowing him to skip school to meet with top government officials. Ridouan suggests that the internet is the library of the future and the entertainment industry must adapt. The teen started his own nonprofit –...