In The News

Growing in India: Food for the World

Anand Giridharadas June 14, 2006
While India is the world’s second-largest grower of fruits and vegetables, it accounts for only 1 percent of the world’s exports of such products. Furthermore, nearly two thirds of India’s population lives in rural villages where millions struggle to grow enough to feed their families. Given the country’s tropical climate and natural resources, not to mention the explosive success of IT growth...

Biotech Food Tears Rifts in Europe

Elisabeth Rosenthal June 6, 2006
Europe’s resistance to genetically modified foods places it at odds with the WTO, the US, Canada and Argentina, all of which push for greater acceptance of the products. No evidence suggests that such crops are dangerous, but the European public remains suspicious. Farmers argue that it’s ludicrous to grow crops that consumers detest. The issue has divided nations such as Greece, where the head...

Africa Held Back From Manufacturing Success

Larry Elliott June 5, 2006
While some African nations can count themselves as rich in natural resources, a great proportion of raw materials produced in these mainly poor countries are exported to other continents for manufacture into finished goods. While Africa has potential for industrial development, the obstacles to growth are daunting. To begin with, the lack of infrastructure and training are widespread problems...

Africa Cannot Catch Up Until the West Keeps to Its Deal

Larry Elliott June 1, 2006
Ghana benefits from relative economic advantages over many of its neighbors in Africa. The country does, after all, have its own stock exchange. Alan Kyerematen, Ghana’s minister of trade, points to four levels on which improvement is needed for sub-Saharan countries to rise from debt: the firm, where investment is needed in both physical and human capital; the government, which must pursue...

When Germans Join Migrant Field Hands, the Harvest Suffers

Andreas Tzortzis June 1, 2006
Polish nurses take time off during the asparagus harvest in Germany, where they can earn six months of nursing wages with only two months in the fields. Polish migrants traditionally harvest the spring asparagus crop in Germany – and appreciate the pay for work that is long and strenuous. The system pleased both migrants and farmers, but the German Labor Ministry – responding to a 11 percent...

Arcelor, Trying to Fend Off Suitor, Is Buying Russian Steel Company

Heather Timmons June 1, 2006
Arcelor is going to great lengths to avoid hostile takeover by Mittal Steel Company, even wooing a Russian billionaire who controls Servestal. If successful, an Arcelor-Servestal merger would create the world’s largest steel company in the world – moving Mittal to second place. Mittal is based in London and Rotterdam, yet Arcelor executives have turned to Aleksei Mordashov, describing him as a “...

The Arabs and Africa: A Topic for Discussion

Mustafa el-Fikky Al-Hayat June 1, 2006
The current rift in Arab-African relations can be traced to a historical residue of opposition and colonialism, which must be understood in order to be mended. Egyptian Author Mustafa el-Fikky Al-Hayat offers 10 points for understanding the Arab-Africa relationship. From myths concerning the Arab role as African slave traders during the colonial era to the split of the Organization of African...