In The News

Israel, Palestinians Close to Agreement to Reduce Violence

Robin Wright February 7, 2005
Newly confirmed US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice began her visit to the Middle East by naming a security coordinator to facilitate the new Israel-Palestine peace process. Rice also held meetings with new Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, highlighting the "hard decisions" both parties must make in the coming months. While Rice...

Local Tricks to Tackle Climate Shifts

Mustak Hossain February 4, 2005
Though the recent Indian Ocean tsunami had little do with climate change, it highlighted the vulnerability of the coastal areas of the region. As scientists anticipate rising sea levels in the coming decades, new strategies are needed to protect low-lying countries and small island states across the world. At the "Community Level Adaptation to Climate Change" in the Bangladeshi capital...

Where Trade Trumps Politics

Quentin Peel February 3, 2005
In an effort to further ties with China, the European Union appears poised to lift an arms embargo imposed on the country for the past 15 years. From a military standpoint, the practical consequences may not be severe: China already buys sophisticated arms from Russia and Israel. However, any arms repeal would only further strain US relations with Europe; at this point, US officials are left...

Can the World Deliver for Africa?

Larry Elliott February 2, 2005
2005 may be the year of Africa, if UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and other officials have anything to do with it. Britain, charged this year with the coinciding presidencies of both the EU and the G8, has vowed to make African economic revival a priority. The poorest continent in the world is steadily growing poorer, as standards of living, health, education, and economic productivity are far...

A Fiesta of Protest at Porto Alegre

Dominic Sachsenmaier January 31, 2005
Each year, over 2000 corporate and political bigwigs congregate in a luxurious skiing resort in Davos, Switzerland, at the World Economic Forum. Simultaneously, at the far less opulent locale of Porto Alegre, a much larger, less well-heeled, and considerably more diverse body gathers at the World Social Forum. This diversity, however, may be its weakness, argues Professor Dominic Sachsenmaier....

How Globalization Train is Overrunning Nigeria

Etim Imisim January 27, 2005
A member of the World Trade Organization for the past ten years, Nigeria should be well-situated to reap the benefits of free trade. Yet thanks to a set of domestic and international factors, the country may even be sliding backwards. In an interview with Nigerian newspaper This Day, development expert Bankole Olubamise argues gloomily that much has gone afoul in Africa's most populous...

Japan's Nuclear Nightmare

Eric Johnston January 19, 2005
A recent fatal accident in a nuclear power plant in Mihama highlighted many often neglected aspects of nuclear plant safety and power regulation in Japan. Plants are now older and inspections less thorough, as utility companies seek to maximize operations and minimize costs in an age of deregulation. Scandals and accidents throughout Japan's nuclear history have been serious problems that...