In The News

UN Warns on Development Goals

Carola Hoyos October 1, 2002
Following the World Summit on Sustainable Development held recently in Johannesburg, the United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, reports that global efforts at development are falling short. Funding pledges made by richer developed countries two years ago have not been fulfilled, and little progress has been made in addressing global development issues such as poverty, disease, and...

A Valuable Stick

October 1, 2002
Private creditors who hold the sovereign debt of nations argue that collective action clauses are the best way to deal with countries on the brink of loan default. Collective action clauses entail a majority decision among creditors that will prevent individual creditors from blocking debt restructuring. When a country faces a cash-flow problem, creditors tend to withdraw funds or block debt...

Final Text of Environment Deal Hammered Out

John Mason September 3, 2002
With the understanding that environmental issues are not containable to any one region, representatives from all over the world have gathered at the World Summit on Sustainable Development to finalize a global agreement of cooperation. Issues on the table include universal access to clean water, globalization of trade and finance, new targets on renewable energy production, protection of fish...

Bid to Break Deadlock Over GM Food

John Mason August 28, 2002
The World Bank will launch an international biotechnology initiative aimed at opening up policy possibilities for the use of genetically modified (GM) foods. The global initiative sits against the backdrop of environmental, social, and economic concerns regarding the role of GMs. Economically, the biotechnology proposition has found European consumer opposition, creating rifts in trade with the U...

Chinese Will Move Waters to Quench Thirst of Cities

Erik Eckholm August 27, 2002
The Chinese have a history of monumental construction projects. Now the Beijing government is planning one of the largest industrial endeavors in history in which millions of gallons of water from the Yangtze River basin will be rechanneled over one thousand miles to parched northern cities. While the need for more water in the north is unquestioned, how Beijing will overcome the heavily...

RI's 'Madrasah' Producing Techno-illiterates

Mochtar Buchori July 3, 2002
Mochtar Buchori contrasts the difference between political and cultural madrasas. The political madrasas, which are found mainly in Pakistan and Afghanistan, teach Islamic fundamentalism. However, the cultural madrasas, found in Indonesia with some supported by the government, teach respect for Islam along with a liberal education. Buchori argues that the challenge for Indonesia is to increase...

Study Warns of Stagnation in Arab Societies

Barbara Crossette July 2, 2002
Arab intellectuals specializing in sociology, economics, and cultural life have compiled the Arab Human Development Report 2002 which uncovers the obstacles to development in the Middle East. The report, which is the result of a year of planning, was initiated by Rima Khalaf Hunaidi, director of the United Nations Development Program's Arab regional bureau. Ms. Khalaf Hunaidi put the...