In The News

WHO, FAO Call for Global Fight to Halt Bird Flu

January 27, 2004
In Vietnam, another case of the bird flu has been found in a human. More worrying is that the flu has spread all across Southeast Asia as well as into Pakistan. Should the virus jump species, as did SARS, another major epidemic may be at hand. The World Health Organization has asked for an unspecified amount of money, saying that a vaccine may take up to six months to develop. Farmers are urged...

Cuba Ailing? Not Its Biomedical Industry

Tom Fawthrop January 26, 2004
One does not frequently hear of Cuba when discussing today's integrating global economy. Cuba appears isolated, politically and economically, mainly due to trade restrictions placed on it by the US in the 1960's. No wonder, says the author of this Straits Times article, the world is surprised to learn of Cuba's flourishing biotech industry which has contributed much to the field of...

Human Bird Flu Cases Confirmed in Thailand

Nopporn Wong-Anan January 23, 2004
As six Thais tested positive for the bird flu, World Health Organization (WHO) officials raised alarm over a potential epidemic. The flu is believed to be carried by migrating birds, and could infect individuals in several countries. A potential epidemic will not only create a global public health crisis, but impede economic growth and tourism in the Asia- Pacific region. The bird flu outbreak...

An Ancient Model for China's New Power

Eric Teo Chu Cheow January 21, 2004
Asia is changing politically and culturally as a result of China's rise, says this article in the International Herald Tribune. Harkening back to the days of the Ming and Qing dynasties, China's recent approach to its neighbors in the Asia-Pacific region emphasizes securing its immediate borders, placing itself as the 'heart' of the region, and giving more 'favors'...

Globalisation: The Forgotten Strategy

Pankaj Ghemawat January 21, 2004
Multinational corporations have employed different global corporate strategies in their efforts to adapt to the growing mobility of capital resources. Originally, the approach was to use economies of scale to compete in foreign countries with large domestic markets. Large firms can use their size to average fixed costs over many more products, bringing overall costs down compared to their smaller...

Will Washington Return to Supporting Freer Trade?

Susan Ariel Aaronson January 20, 2004
Has the US led the world in promoting a pro-free trade agenda? Looking at the rhetoric emanating from Washington in the early days of the Bush administration, one may think so, says globalization scholar Susan Ariel Aaronson. But looking at Washington's actions over the past two years, we must reach a different conclusion, she argues. US intransigence on decreasing subsidies to its...

EU Seeks Sanctions Against US

Mark Tran January 15, 2004
Just days after US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick called on other countries to renew global trade negotiations, the US is under fire for failing to comply with the trade rules it helped establish. Last year, the World Trade Organization (WTO) declared that the 'Byrd Amendment' put the US in breach of the organization's rules. The amendment allows the US to distribute funds...