In The News

Africa: Gender Inequality Fuels AIDS Crisis

December 3, 2003
Agencies trying to curb the AIDS crisis in Africa need to expand their approach, argues Human Rights Watch. There is a crucial link between gender inequality and the spread of AIDS. Sexual assault, the use of rape as a mechanism of war, the cultural acceptance of domestic violence, and women's lack of voice have kept women at the mercy of the disease in Africa. On that continent, women are...

Steel Tariffs Reported On Way Out

David Roeder December 2, 2003
President Bush is likely to avert a trade war by lifting the tariffs he imposed on imported steel in March of 2002. Bush originally established the duties to prevent the loss of steelworkers' jobs. However, keeping the tariffs would likely damage the economy far more by sparking a trade war with the European Union and Japan, both of whom threatened to retaliate by putting $2.3 billion...

Canada's View on Social Issues Is Opening Rifts With the U.S.

Clifford Krauss December 2, 2003
A long running joke among Americans has been that Canada will eventually become the 51st state, so alike are the attitudes and attributes of the two populations. In recent years, however, a chasm has grown between the neighbors with issues such as gay marriage, drug use, and church attendance revealing growing division on fundamental values. Canada has increasingly taken the progressive route,...

For the Iraqis, a Missile Deal That Went Sour

David E. Sanger December 1, 2003
Initially reported in the Central Intelligence Agency's October report on Saddam Hussein's weapons programs, it now seems that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il "took Saddam to the cleaners" by cheating him of $10 million. In exchange for the money, which may have been a down payment, North Korea reportedly promised to turn over the technology of their Rodong missile program....

Korean-Chinese Demand Citizenship

Kim So-young November 27, 2003
More than 5,000 ethnic Koreans from China have demanded citizenship in South Korea after living in the country illegally for some time. 2,200 of them have been on a 14-day hunger strike since the government in Seoul announced it would be deporting all illegal residents of the country. At least one former prime minister supports the immigrants' position, claiming a parallel with Jews wishing...

An Indigenous World

Moisés Naím November 25, 2003
Despite the spread of disease and exploitation, the rise of global forces has not been all bad for the estimated 350 million indigenous people around the world, says Foreign Policy editor Moises Naim. In fact, in can also empower them. Across Latin America, Naim says, "constitutional changes… have given indigenous peoples far more political advantages than ever before." Globalization...

Crunch Time for Thai Fishing Fleet

November 22, 2003
Over the past 19 years, thousands of Thai fishing trawlers and fishermen have been arrested for poaching in the waters of other countries in the oceans off Thailand's coast. The introduction of the dragnet in 1960 allowed Thai fishermen to net large amounts of fish every hour. But the increased catches soon caused a depletion in supply, which forced trawlers further out from shore and into...