In The News

Crimes Under Flags of Convenience

Michael Richardson May 19, 2003
The Sept. 11 attacks on the US may have awakened the world to the dangers of a passenger airliner being turned into a missile, but in malevolent hands a much more traditional mode of transport - a ship on the oceans - could be turned into dangerous tool. On the high seas, ships registered under flags of cash-strapped nations operate with very little oversight or regulation. As Singapore-based...

Fewer People Are Crossing Border Bridges

Jeorge Zarazua May 19, 2003
The war on Iraq has negatively affected the traffic on the international bridges between Southern Texas and Mexico, with substantially fewer travelers crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in the past two months. Making the situation worse, say some Texas-side business owners, are Mexico's decision to lower its gas prices along the border - which gives Mexican drivers one less reason to visit the...

Latest SARS Victim Is Clothing Industry

Tracie Rozhon May 17, 2003
Clothing manufacturers in China, Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam and Hong Kong have been the biggest suppliers for the American clothing industry. With the Sars outbreak, however, many garment merchants in the US have experienced time delays when they want to examine the samples and inspect the production. The US Customs has decided to hold packages from Sars-affected countries for four days before...

Be Thai, Use Thai

Wijit Boonchoo May 16, 2003
Despite efforts by the Thai government to support local manufacturers, consumers continue to believe in the superiority of imported goods. Although a few Thai audio makers have succeeded in competing locally and exporting abroad, with foreign rivals becoming increasingly competitive in both price and perceived quality, most Thai products still have a tough battle in this globalized economy. –...

Globalization Squeezes Rural Factories, Jobs

David Pitt May 16, 2003
Factories in rural America are experiencing significant layoffs that threaten the stability and growth of the rural American economy. A major factor for this economic downturn is globalization: workers in rural America now compete with workers everywhere. A refrigerator factory in rural Illinois is scheduled to close, leaving 1,600 workers without jobs, and crippling the local economy. The...

The Essential Agenda

Osama El-Ghazali Harb May 16, 2003
Would granting aid to Iraq now appear as if Egypt and other Arab countries support the Anglo-American occupiers of Iraq? Most Arabs considered the war on Iraq unjustified, says this opinion article from Egypt's Al-Ahram Weekly. But at the same time, they also agreed that Saddam Hussein needed to be brought down. In response to his critics, Egyptian scholar Osama El-Ghazali Harb argues that...

Roh Stresses 'Win-Win Model' in Industrial Relations

Roh Moo-hyun May 15, 2003
In his speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the U.S.-Korea Business Council in Washington, South Korean President, Roh Moo-hyun, spoke at length on two major aspects of market reforms in South Korea: corporate transparency and labor-management relations. The public engagement also provided an important opportunity to reiterate South Korea's commitment to strengthening its relationship...