In The News

Small Screen, Smaller World

Walid Mougayar October 11, 2002
When TV manufacturers outsource their products along a global supply chain, they create a win-win-win situation. The manufacturers have lower costs, the consumers have cheaper TV sets, and the sets are better made. Standardization of parts, economies of scale and lower transportation costs have made most TV factories assemblers rather than manufacturers. Parts from all the over the world are...

Bhopal Seethes, Pained and Poor 18 Years Later

Amy Waldman September 21, 2002
When a gas cloud leaked out of the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal 18 years ago, the health threat was the immediate concern. Although health complications continue to loom over the residents – 30,000 people have been diagnosed as suffering from long-term harm – new worries plague the community. The desire for accountability, retribution, and compensation play out on a local stage that seeks global...

Russian Oil ‘Can Ease Reliance on Mideast’

Nancy Dunne September 13, 2002
In an effort to decrease dependency on oil sources in the Mideast, US Senator Conrad Burns called for increased cooperation with Russian officials and oil companies. The senator hopes the development of Russian oil infrastructure will reduce the U.S.’s reliance on “rogue-oil” – an issue of particular sensitivity in light of President George Bush’s recent talk of war with Iraq. On October 1-2, the...

China Raises Estimates of HIV-AIDS Cases to 1 Million

Elisabeth Rosenthal September 6, 2002
China's "closed attitude" toward its growing AIDS epidemic opened slightly today when officials acknowledged that at least a million Chinese were infected with the disease and appealed for international assistance. Officials also admitted that the Chinese government had been aware of the growing AIDS problem as early as 1995. This confession was issued in compliance with the...

Bush Scales Back Steel Tariffs

Edmund L. Andrews August 23, 2002
American steel companies and their representatives in Congress called on President Bush to rescue their dying industry and increase steel tariffs this spring. He did so, infuriating the European Union, which then filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization, arguing that the U.S. was violating free trade rules. Bush has tried to satisfy both sides, discreetly excluding some steel...

War On ‘Blood’ Diamonds Ramped Up

Ursula Owre Masterson August 21, 2002
Civil war has ravaged countries like Sierra Leone and Angola for decades. These conflicts, as much about money as about politics, often center around one of the African continent’s most precious resources: diamonds. Rebel groups often sell the gems to developed countries and use the profits to fund their fighting. After years of benefiting from the cheaper stones, Western governments, led by...

Mining Company to Offer H.I.V. Drugs to Employees

Henri E. Cauvin August 7, 2002
AIDS has had a devastating impact on the mining industry in southern Africa. Anglo American P.L.C. estimates that 28 percent of its workers are afflicted, and after months of indecision, the company has finally decided to provide them with antiretroviral drugs. This is a significant step in the fight against AIDS; the influence of a major company may provoke governments in Botswana and South...