In The News

Unilateral Action Would Make for a Very Difficult World - Kofi Annan

October 4, 2002
In a wide-sweeping question and answer session following a speech at Yale University, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan emphasized that peace and security in the international order were the responsibility of all nations, not only the US. The UN Security Council was charged with this duty, he said, and any nation that ignored that would undermine stability in the world. - YaleGlobal

Transcript of Q&A with Kofi Annan, UN Secretary-General

October 3, 2002
United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, responded to a series of questions posed to him following his speech on globalization at Yale University. Mr. Annan offered his views on the current Iraq-US conflict, the global AIDS pandemic, the Kashmir conflict, the International Criminal Court. He also shared his personal thoughts on the challenges of leading the world's largest...

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...

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...

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....

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...

America Aloof

July 12, 2002
Since the fall of the Soviet Union as a counter superpower, the United States has found itself in the singular position of global super power – which has also come with its own contradictions. This op-ed article from the New York Times argues that while the Bush administration has been good at working with Russia on global terrorism, for example, it has not been as good when it comes to dealing...