In The News

N Korea Could Scrap Nuclear Plan for Pipeline

Andrew Ward March 30, 2003
Both South Korean and American officials have claimed that a resolution to the North Korean nuclear weapons crisis should be achieved using different methods than in Iraq. The latest suggestion by the South Korean government is to route a Russian gas pipeline to its northern neighbor, in exchange for Pyongyang's renunciation of all nuclear programs. If the needs of North Korea’s struggling...

French's Unmentioned British Flavor

Floyd Norris March 28, 2003
American resentment over political issues has begun to take its toll on goods and services imported from countries such as France and Germany. French’s Mustard's ‘All-American’ publicity campaign aimed to distance its company (British-owned, in fact] from any connection to France – except the name. On French’s website, however, there were no American flags waving in the background, so as to...

WTO Rules Against U.S. on Steel Tariff

Elizabeth Becker March 27, 2003
The World Trade Organization made an interim decision that the steel tariffs imposed by US President George Bush last year were illegal, and the decision is not likely to be overturned on appeal. Last spring, Mr. Bush imposed tariffs on most types of steel imported from Europe, Asia and South America. The tariffs received support from the US steel industry, but also protests from US industries...

Halliburton Charges Into Iraq

Jeff Fischer March 25, 2003
American soldiers rushing into Iraq on military missions are only a short distance ahead of American oil and construction companies. US Vice President Dick Cheney's former employer, Halliburton, has been granted a contract from the US Army to work on the reconstruction of post-war Iraq. Other US companies are also expected to get lucrative deals once the US military secures Iraq. –...

With Little Loans, Mexican Women Overcome

Tim Weiner March 19, 2003
Still struggling after decades of failed poverty alleviation schemes and IMF-imposed structural adjustment programs, poor women in some developing countries are finding hope and success in micro-loans. In Mexico, where banks have generally ignored the financial services needs of the poor, microcredit organizations offer poor people loans of a few hundred dollars to start new small businesses....

Iraq Rift Could Threaten US-EU, Global Economy

March 19, 2003
A new study out from an American university says that the EU-US rift over military action in Iraq could do great damage to the cause of global free trade. "The US and the Europeans have to collaborate and lead the way, or else there's really no other real incentive for other countries to put things on the table" in global trade talks, said the author of the study. He also warned...

Asia Braces for Iraq War Fallout

March 18, 2003
From Afghanistan to Australia, countries across Asia are preparing for the effects of a US war on Iraq that is expected to begin any day now. Anti-war protests in Australia are on a scale not seen since that country sent troops to help the US in Vietnam. In other countries, worries run the gamut from stock market disasters to rage and terrorist attacks by Islamic extremists. – YaleGlobal