In The News

Why Epidemics Still Surprise Us

Andy Ho April 1, 2003
The world is not prepared for an outbreak of something like SARS, which has been plaguing much of Asia and is quickly spreading around the globe writes physician-turned-columnist David Ho. In this opinion piece in the New York Times, Ho says "the World Health Organization has been [ineffective] in creating and enforcing a public health policy suited for a global outbreak like this one....

WHO Says Mainland Officials Continue to Hinder Investigation

Leu Siew Ying April 1, 2003
The World Health Organization says that officials investigating the origin of the devastating pneumonia outbreak in Asia are still being denied permission to travel to southern China's Guangdong province, where the illness is suspected to have originated. With over 800 reported cases in the area – the largest number yet in any WHO member country – international health officials are...

Some of Hussein’s Arab Foes Admire His Fight

Neil MacFarquhar March 26, 2003
Saddam Hussein is not well liked in the Arab world. But the US-led war on Iraq is leading to more anti-American sentiment across the Middle East and galvanizing support for Iraqi resistance to US forces. Even the Arab intelligentsia, which has long hoped for the spread of democratic institutions in Middle Eastern countries, is applauding Saddam’s will to fight. "If Saddam's regime is...

Water Meet Highlights Isolation

Chiu Yu-Tzu March 25, 2003
24,000 people from almost all the world's countries met last week in Japan for the 2003 World Water Forum. The over 100 new commitments signed by attendees addressed broad issues of water management, including education and access to information, as well as cultural diversity and traditional knowledge. Local activists in Taiwan, however, criticized their government's water regulation...

A Harmonious Protest

Gihan Shahine March 10, 2003
Normally tense relations between the Egyptian government and opposition parties were quiet during a recent protest against the possible war in Iraq spearheaded by the U.S. The government did not engage in the customary pre-protest security checks and allowed all participants to freely express their views. A statement prepared by the organizers claimed that "any Arab country that facilitates...

Central Asia: Conference Asks What Lessons Can Region Learn from EU

Breffni O’Rourke March 5, 2003
Can the kind of economic integration that the European Union (EU) now enjoys be applied to Central Asia? The development of a single European market has raised standards of living across Europe, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is looking for ways to develop a similar system for Central Asian states. But with a markedly different history, and given the current...

China's Win-Win Globalization

Michael Yahuda February 19, 2003
Since the early 1990s, China has been making a concerted effort to integrate itself into the world economy and cultivate relations with its Asian neighbors, as well as the U.S., in order to promote stability and prosperity in the region. Michael Yahuda, professor of international relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science, explains how China's stance towards...