In The News

Teochews Can Take Pride in Successes

Lee Hsien Loong November 24, 2003
Since at least the 1800s, Chinese immigrants speaking the Teochew dialect have moved to many regions of Southeast Asia in search of a better life. Many of them have become the most successful groups in their adopted countries, says Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Sometimes they seem "more than proportionately represented" in top-notch positions such as the Thai...

Species Red List Makes Bleak Reading

George Wright November 18, 2003
The World Conservation Union (IUCN) published its latest "red list" of endangered species, expanding the list by 15 percent from last year's. The list now includes 12,259 species classified as critically endangered, endangered, or vulnerable. These species are distributed around the world, but Indonesia, India, Brazil, China and Peru are among the countries with the highest number...

In Turkey, a History Lesson in Peace

Seyla Benhabib November 18, 2003
Escaping from the Spanish Inquisition in the 15th century, many Sephardic Jews sought refuge in Turkey, founding a community that has survived for 500 years. The relations between the Jewish people and their Muslim hosts – from the Ottoman Empire to the secularized state – have been traditionally cordial and friendly, argues author Seyla Benhabib. But the recent bombings of two synagogues in...

Turkey Says Foreign Terrorists May Be Behind Suicide Blasts

Craig S. Smith November 17, 2003
Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades, a little-known group with ties to Al Qaeda, is taking responsibility for Sunday's coordinated bombings of two Jewish synagogues in Istanbul. The group has also claimed responsibility for the bombings of the UN headquarters in Iraq in August and of the Baghdad hotel used by the Iraqi Governing Council in October. Neither of the past claims has been substantiated...

The New Leviathans

Nayan Chanda November 12, 2003
One of the major agents of globalization - the multinational corporation - has been alternately portrayed as global villain and global economic booster. In "Global Inc.", a new "atlas of the multinational corporation" by Medard Gabel and Henry Bruner, companies with an extensive global reach are subjected to a more objective critical eye. In this review article, Nayan Chanda...

Antiglobalism's Jewish Problem

Mark Strauss November 12, 2003
Anti-Semitism is again on the rise, says Mark Strauss, a senior editor for Foreign Policy. Globalization is being pinned on the Jews – the traditional 'villain' of capitalism – and thus the Jewish people are being blamed for all perceived negative effects of increased market integration, Strauss writes. In the Middle East especially, where economies are stagnant everywhere but Israel,...

After the Crossing, Danger to Migrants Isn't Over

Charlie LeDuff November 11, 2003
A wave of violence has hit the Southwest US that is reminiscent of the drug wars of years past. But the victims now are illegal immigrants, caught in the crossfire of competing gangs, not members of rival drug cartels. Because of increased security after September 11, the price demanded for human smuggling across the US-Mexico border has increased drastically, rendering such operations almost...