In The News

World Banker Assails Indonesia’s Corruption

Jane Perlez August 28, 2002
Of the “Asian tiger” nations, Indonesia has been the slowest to recover from the financial crisis of the 1990’s. Mark Baird, the World Bank’s chief representative in Indonesia, argues that this is in large part because of pervasive corruption present in the Indonesian government, which deters foreign firms from investing in the nation. While expressing his belief that it will take years before...

Brazil Relief Rests on Hopefuls' IMF Stances

Raymond Colitt August 14, 2002
After the 1998 Russian financial crisis and Argentina's economic collapse, the International Monetary Fund's latest target for support is Brazil’s struggling economy, lending that country 30 billion US dollars last week. This seemed like good news for Brazil which hoped that the IMF loan would attract international investment. However, despite the IMF's support, international...

Cybercafe Crackdown May Trip up Leering Boys

Ian Fisher August 1, 2002
In the name of fighting terrorism, the Government of Pakistan has imposed new regulations that would keep track of cybercafe users. The new rules require cybercafes to register with the government and to ask every customer for proof of identity so as to track terrorists and deny them access to public computers. However, like the rest of the world, porn sites, email accounts and chat sites are...

U.S. Independence Day

July 4, 2002
A recent series of developments – from the US rejection of the Kyoto Protocol to the imposition of tariffs on steel imports to opposition to the International Criminal Court – has been raising questions about American leadership in a globalized world. An editorial in the Jakarta Post notes “Perhaps it is in the nature of a sole superpower to act unilaterally on major global issues without wasting...

The War on Terrorism Takes Aim at Crime

James Dao April 7, 2002
The United States has expanded the global war on terrorism to include fighting drug and crime syndicates that operate in countries across Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas. Officials are targeting these networks because evidence shows a complex nexus between crime, drugs, and terrorism. The link between these networks has strengthened since the end of the Cold War, when terrorist...

In Kashmir Sequel, Seeking a New Ending

Celia W. Dugger January 2, 2002
According to New York Times writer Celia W. Dugger, ''confrontations between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, the beautiful Himalayan land, have unfolded like movie sequels with the same discouraging plot line. But recently, the sheer force of events seems to have fast-forwarded the story line between these old enemies and suddenly a different, more hopeful ending seems possible, if...

Spread of AIDS in Rural China Ignites Protests

Elisabeth Rosenthal November 12, 2001
For the first time, China announced its observance of World AIDS day. However, lack of AIDS awareness and unrest in some provinces prove that China still has a long way to go to address the epidemic. Several provinces in rural China, whose HIV incidence is still undetermined though believed to be very high, have either been ignored or suppressed by the government. Protesters and journalists were...