In The News

Why China Should Not Revalue Its Currency

Linda Lim September 12, 2003
Many Americans are searching for someone to blame for their currently struggling economy. Higher unemployment, a drop in the value of the dollar, and low consumer confidence have made the booming 1990s a distant dream. Some US industries have reacted to the economic slowdown by accusing a top exporter, China, of purposefully undervaluing the yuan. Demands to decouple the yuan from the dollar...

Foreign Views of US Darken Since Sept. 11

Richard Bernstein September 11, 2003
The world largely reacted with sympathy after the terrorist attacks on the US two years ago. Nonetheless, this feeling of solidarity and cooperation shifted to anger and resentment, especially after the US war in Iraq, which was conducted without large global support. As these brief interviews in the New York Times reveal, people around the world believe the Bush administration’s decision to go...

Two Years on, ASEAN Breaks Terrorism’s Deadly Lock

Daljit Singh September 11, 2003
In the two years since the September 11 attacks on the US, Southeast Asian nations have taken significant steps to eliminate terrorism, despite the serious obstacles that they must contend with. Many governments have struggled to crack down on terrorism and maintain relations with Muslim groups. For example, Thailand and Indonesia have made some headway with the recent arrests of Al-Qaeda and...

Agriculture on the Table at Trade Talks in Mexico

Kevin Sullivan September 10, 2003
Protesters gathered yesterday around the heavily guarded convention center in Cancun where the latest WTO meeting is taking place. The agricultural subsidies of developed countries is at the top of many representatives' agenda. Negotiators from Mexico to Australia are arguing that the US and the European Union's agricultural subsidies hurt their farmers by 'artificially'...

Who's Winning the War on Terror?

Ahmed Rashid September 5, 2003
Two years after the September 11 attacks on the US, the American-led war on terror is far from over. Writing from the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, veteran journalist and author Ahmed Rashid says that the Taliban is growing in strength, drawing support from Islamic extremists and tribal brethren in Pakistan. US forces and the Afghan soldiers they've trained are under persistent attack from...

US Said to Shift Approach in Talks With North Korea

David E. Sanger September 5, 2003
In nuclear disarmament talks last week with North Korea, the US negotiators appeared to adopt a more moderate incentive-based approach advocated by the US Department of State. While any major benefits to North Korea would come only after it fully and verifiably disarms, the mention of reducing sanctions, increasing aid, and even a peace treaty has provided a clearer vision of where talks could...

India and Israel Ready to Consummate Secret Affair

Edward Luce September 4, 2003
At first glance, India and Israel seem like improbable allies. India has long championed Palestinian rights, and the country’s large Muslim population makes cooperation with Israel politically dangerous. But 11 years after New Delhi established full relations with Tel Aviv, the two countries share increasingly strong ties based on a common desire to defeat violence rooted in Islamic...