In The News

Mediterranean Pomp

Pascal Boniface July 15, 2008
The extraordinary success of the European project inspired French President Nicolas Sarkozy to initiate a cooperative union for the Mediterranean states. As Sarkozy describes it, the union of projects would cooperate on shared goals, from securing energy and water to removing pollution from the Mediterranean Sea. Yet author Pascal Boniface, director of the Institute for International and...

Guidelines Call for Chinese Pay to Rise With Inflation

Kang Yi July 11, 2008
Chinese workers could soon receive a pay raise. To combat rising prices for food, energy and other basic goods, the government mulls proposals to address income inequality. Guidelines for salary reform mostly target private companies, report a team of authors for the Economic Observer Online, "as most of the low pay and low growth rate in salaries occurred in the private sector, especially...

Globalization Requires Safety Net, UN Says

Michael A. Fletcher July 10, 2008
As globalization continues to connect distant places of the globe together, many citizens, even those in wealthy nations, face the consequences of “severe economic swings.” Disturbances in the economy resulting from intense competition come in many forms, including food shortages, rising income inequality or steadily increasing fuel prices. According to separate reports from the United Nations...

Time to Cut the Knot

July 9, 2008
Ideally, the US would possess its own energy sources, thus ensuring energy independence and stability. Unfortunately, a dependence on fossil fuels leads to drilling around pristine beaches and using technologies that exacerbate global warming. During a presidential- election year, politicians are less willing to take a firm stance on environmental protection – and pursue any short-term measures...

Zimbabwe Can't Paper Over Its Million-Percent Inflation Anymore

Marcus Walker July 9, 2008
After losing a March election, Robert Mugabe clung to power in Zimbabwe and his supporters relied on irregularities and violence to discourage the opposition. German politicians have been among the most outspoken in rejecting Mugabe’s refusal to transfer power – and quickly pressured a Bavarian printing company to stop providing expensive blank notes used for printing money to Zimbabwe. With...

Indian Investors Enter the Caribbean

Loro Horta July 8, 2008
Following the footsteps of China, Indian firms have been investing in the Caribbean nations, building infrastructure in exchange for the opportunity to purchase natural resources. Foreign direct investments represent a large slice of the Caribbean economic pie; China and India could effectively determine the speed and direction of some nations’ growth, explains analyst Loro Horta, visiting...

UK Is Wasting Far Too Much Food - Brown

Patrick Wintour July 7, 2008
The United Kingdom wastes about 4 tons of food a year, and Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called upon the British to be more conservative on their food purchases and preparation. Even as people in some developing nations go without food and other countries hoard, demand remains high in the wealthiest nations. The high demand, combined with some grains being siphoned off for biofuels, contributes...