In The News

Security Measures May Not be Sand in the Wheels of Commerce

William Mougayar August 19, 2003
Seaports have been described as America's most vulnerable entry-point. Everyday, ships from around the world dock in American harbors and unload a vast array of cargo. Most inbound crates contain products from trusted trade partners. However, since September 11, concern has grown that the crates entering these under-regulated gateways could hold chemical, biological, or even nuclear...

Russia to Hold Large-Scale Naval Exercises

Vasily Bubnov August 18, 2003
The Russian Pacific Navy began large scale military exercises on August 18 y in its Far Eastern waters. Invitations to participate were sent to several of Russia's neighbors as well as to Canada and the United States. South Korea and Japan dispatched ships to join the exercise, but China, North Korea, and the US declined. The official aim of the navy maneuvers is to hone skills for...

Indonesia Interested in Interrogating Hambali

Febiola Desy Unidjaja August 18, 2003
US and Thai officials are in the midst of interrogating Hambali, the man believed to be the top operative of al Qaida in Asia, who they arrested last week in a joint operative. Hambali has not only been linked to the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington DC, but is also believed to be responsible for last year's Bali bombing and the destruction of the Jakarta Marriot two weeks ago...

Want H1B visa? Come to Gujarat

Tina Parekh August 18, 2003
Many Indians with cash and the right connections are finding it easy to obtain visas – legal or otherwise. According to this article in The Times of India, being denied a visa does not necessarily mean that Indian youths must give up their dreams of working in London or New York. Rather, they are bypassing the checks imposed by immigration authorities and entering "the murky world of fake...

Picking up the Pieces

Nyier Abdou August 15, 2003
The man who killed 202 people in Bali last year and the man who blew up the Jakarta Marriot last week were both suicide bombers. Both men are also believed to be members of the Southeast Asian Islamic group Jemaah Islamiah, which is increasingly linked in ideology and tactics to Al-Qaeda. And, though experts maintain that JI is "home-grown and local," they also caution that it is...

Exploited and Far from Home, Some Au Pairs Are Mistreated

Anna von Münchhausen August 15, 2003
Working and living abroad as an au pair should be an exciting and rewarding experience for young men and women. It gives them the opportunity to stay with a family while they experience an unfamiliar culture. But this very unfamiliarity – so exciting when the au pairs are warmly received – can also leave them vulnerable to abuse. In March 2002, the German au pair market was liberalized and...

Birds Trying to Fly South Face Many Roadblocks

Michael Richardson August 15, 2003
One of the oldest examples of globalization does not involve airplanes, the internet, trade agreements, or even human beings, says veteran Asia watcher Michael Richardson. Every year, shorebirds of the Asia-Pacific traverse the eastern hemisphere in a 25,000 mile odyssey that lands them in regions as far flung as Australia and Siberia. They take flight when winter arrives in their northern...