In The News

A Road That Death Often Travels

Norimitsu Onishi September 18, 2002
For many in West and Central Africa, the only hope for decent work lies in reaching Libya, and from there Europe and the Americas. For these illegal immigrants, the journey often means traveling across the punishing Sahara desert. But while surviving the trip is a victory itself, it is no guarantee that they will find the better life they seek. – YaleGlobal

Step Aside, L.A. and Bombay, for Nollywood

Norimitsu Onishi September 16, 2002
In the Surulere district of Lagos, Nigeria the lure of the silver screen beckons aspiring actors and actresses. Quickly assuming the role of the African counterpart to Bombay’s Bollywood and L.A.’s Hollywood, “Nollywood” represents a trend towards the globalization of the entertainment industry. Once Nigeria began exporting its blockbuster films throughout Africa, the market soared, producing...

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...

Amnesty Urges Malaysia to Stop Whipping Illegals

Reuters August 12, 2002
Until recently, caning was an infrequent practice in Malaysia, authorized as a supplementary punishment for many crimes but used only 13 times in 2001. The practice has been revived now as a punishment for illegal immigrants, most of whom come from Indonesia. Amnesty International has requested that the practice be stopped, calling it cruel and unlikely to deter immigrants or asylum-seekers....

Vegetable Prices Set to Soar After Exodus of Illegals

August 8, 2002
When more than 320,000 illegal immigrants left Malaysia during a four month amnesty, the agricultural sector took a bad hit. Farms in Johor Baru and Bukit Kempas were left unattended or worse, completely weeded over. With supply down by 40 percent, officials fear that consumers in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore might have to pay 30 percent more for all their vegetables. Farmers say they hired illegal...

Aids to slash South African savings funds

James Lamont August 5, 2002
The Aids crisis in South Africa is presenting new challenges to the pension fund industry. As death rates increase – life expectancy for males is expected to fall to age 38 by 2010 – the costs of death benefits and taxes will halve many pension funds. These predictions have led some portfolio managers to limit contributions to death benefits. South African companies still don’t see Aids as...

Gephardt Is Preparing a Measure to Legalize Illegal Immigrants

Carl Hulse July 23, 2002
The United States is home to millions of illegal immigrants, many of them from Mexico, who have become a major chunk of the American labor force. Before September 11, President Bush talked with Mexican President Vicente Fox about the possibility of granting amnesty to some of those immigrants, but heightened concerns about national security have left that plan hanging. Democrats in the House of...