In The News

Global Trade Talks Collapse Over Agricultural Subsidies

Carter Dougherty June 25, 2007
Another attempt to revive the Doha round of negotiations, the goal of which is a global trade agreement for reducing poverty in small developing nations, collapsed once again. The US and Europe resist slashing their own agricultural subsidies as much as developing nations, including India and Brazil, would prefer. Brazil and India refuse to open their markets to goods from the industrialized...

China Overtakes US as World's Biggest CO2 Emitter

John Vidal June 22, 2007
Nations seek to achieve superiority in all sorts of endeavors – but not with carbon-dioxide emissions. A report released by the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency recorded China’s emissions as 8 percent higher than those of the US. China’s reliance on coal contributed to the high rates, as did cement production, which produces 9 percent of China’s total emissions. China’s lead in...

In Ukraine, Illegal Mines Beckon the Jobless

Andrew Matheny June 21, 2007
Under communism, miners in Ukraine earned three times the national wage average, and mining jobs included perks like an apartment and early retirement. The transition from communism to capitalism has not been easy for Ukraine’s state-run mines, since the nation gained independence in 1991. Independence brought new competition from competing energy sources, mostly gas and oil from Siberia. The...

South Africa's Exodus

June 20, 2007
The South African government’s strategy for economic stability, pushing annual growth to 6 percent and controlling inflation, is threatened by spending outpacing productivity. A substantial shortage of skilled workers could lead to a rise in prices. The public sector bears most of the burden, with infrastructure crumbling, power outages becoming a common occurrence, and the need to import basics...

Discount Dentistry, South of the Border

Manuel Roig-Franzia June 20, 2007
Consumers who lack insurance for health care tend to make decisions based on price – and travel to neighboring countries known for low costs. US consumers who don’t have dental insurance head to Mexico, where prices are about one quarter what’s charged in the US. Costa Rica, Hungary and Thailand also offer low-cost dental havens. Some US consumers even decline insurance, because the premiums cost...

How Dr. Chan Intends to Defend the Planet from Pandemics

June 19, 2007
Diseases can emerge on any point on the globe, spreading quickly, and health providers cannot have vaccines ready for every disease in every location. Complicating the treatment of any infectious disease: Entities within any country may regard disease as a business opportunity, a security risk, a reason for shame or a matter to hide. Indonesia only recently provided the World Health Organization...

Fake Lipton Tea, Nescafe Leak Into EU, Hurting Unilever, Nestlé

Stephanie Bodoni June 19, 2007
Low costs in shipping and packaging allow counterfeiters to apply their skills beyond luxury goods to ordinary products, including tea, shampoo or soap. Some counterfeit toothpaste contained chemicals found in anti-freeze, and imitation teabags include sawdust or dyed wood chips. One factory in Pakistan with 20 people made a ton of counterfeit tea each day. With the internet easing ways to find...