In The News

Step 1 in Bolivian Takeover: Audit of Foreign Companies

Juan Forero May 9, 2006
Bolivia is taking steps to nationalize its natural gas industry, announcing plans to revise contracts with foreign energy firms and audit financial records. The multinationals have six months to negotiate new contracts or face takeover with compensation. Landlocked Bolivia has Latin America’s second largest gas reserves, which are largely undeveloped, with Brazil serving as the major market....

Sudan-Divestment Laws Draw Attacks From Fund Managers, Business Groups

Jane Spencer May 8, 2006
The UN accuses Sudan’s Khartoum government for the deaths of about 200,000 villagers in the Darfur region, and the US labels the atrocities as genocide. But a recent campaign to convince universities and public pension funds to divest any interests in companies with ties to Sudan has upset some business leaders. Pension-fund managers complain that such divestment policies or laws influence far...

The Problem Is: Iran Does Pose a Threat in Every Way Iraq Did Not

Jonathan Freedland May 4, 2006
After pursuing false threats in Iraq, the US and UK may have trouble convincing other countries to sanction or attack Iran. Regularly threatening Israel and boasting about every nuclear breakthrough, Iran’s president certainly does not hesitate in helping the US and UK make a case that the nation is a menace. Yet leaders in the world’s fourth largest oil producer insist that the nuclear research...

Militants Warn China Over Oil in Niger Delta

Craig Timberg May 2, 2006
Immediately after the Nigerian government signed agreements on oil access and other investments with Chinese President Hu Jintao, militants detonated a car bomb and threatened Chinese investors and officials, as well as oil workers, offices and storage facilities. One militant group labeled the Chinese, who have a $2.2 billion stake in Niger Delta oil field, as “thieves.” Currently, the US is...

East Asia’s Troubled Waters – Part III

William Underwood May 2, 2006
The bitterness from invasions and atrocities can last for generations, and international protocol calls for one-time aggressors to apologize for mistakes and extend some symbolic reparations, even if miniscule compared with the true costs of suffering. Before and during WWII, Imperial Japan invaded cities along the Asia Pacific coast, particularly north China, abducting young men to toil in...

When It Comes to Political Islam, Moscow Seems Confused

Konstantin Eggart May 1, 2006
Moscow has a contradictory relationship with radical Islam. On one hand, Russia embraces Islam as part of its general, sometimes subtle, oppositional stance towards the West. After inviting a Hamas delegation to Moscow, Russia deflected accusations from Israel and the US – suggesting that the group had not conducted terrorist acts on Russian soil – eager to prove it does not tow the US, EU or...

India Flexes Its Muscles With First Foreign Military Base

Nick Paton Walsh April 27, 2006
The Indian Air Force is reportedly refurbishing an airbase in the former Soviet republic of Tajikistan. Jane’s Defence Weekly reports that India will station two squadrons of Russian-built fighter craft and also help train the Tajik air force. Tajikistan and India refuse to confirm the report. Tajikistan, an impoverished and largely Muslim nation, is bordered by China on the east and Afghanistan...