In The News

Senators Demand Ban on Imports from Burma

Anwar Iqbal June 5, 2003
In the wake of the detainment of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and other leaders of the opposition party in Myanmar, two US senators are proposing a legislation to ban all imports from the country until it improves its record on human rights and democracy. If the bill passes, the US will join business and labor groups that have already united in support of sanctions. Already, many major...

Policing the Sea Is a Job for Everyone

Tony Tan June 3, 2003
In a speech at the Asia Security Conference, Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Tony Tan tried to raise an alarm about the threat of terrorism on the high seas. "Individual state action is not enough," he says. "The oceans are indivisible and maritime security threats do not respect boundaries. The very nature of commercial shipping is multinational."...

Globalization with Few Discontents?

June 3, 2003
As a sub-section of the Pew Global Attitudes Project survey, "View of a Changing World," this article examines the global public's attitudes towards globalization in the past five years. Generally, peoples of the world agree - albeit to different degrees - that after experiencing globalization through trade, finance, travel, communication and culture, they favor an interconnected...

International Tension Isn't Good for U.S. or Mexico

Enrique Rangel May 28, 2003
When U.S President George Bush and Mexican President Vicente Fox took offices in their respective countries, the U.S. and Mexico promised to have the friendliest relationship seen in years. However, the strain caused by differences on Iraq and Washington's focus on terrorism is worrying more and more people on both sides. Immigration issues have further worsened this relationship. Despite...

Nations Join the U.S. in Banning Canada's Beef

Clifford Krauss May 22, 2003
For the first time, mad cow disease appeared in a ranch in North America. While Canadian officials are trying to find out where this cow might have gotten infected and convince people that beef from Canada is still safe to be eaten, several countries have decided to put a temporary ban on beef imports from Canada. Farmers and people in related businesses in Alberta complain that their cattle...

Vietnam Cutting Back on Coffee to Ease Glut

Jason Folkmanis May 19, 2003
After increasing coffee production more than six-fold in the past ten years to becoming the world's second biggest coffee producer, Vietnam is now trying to decrease its farmers' reliance on coffee. Global prices are simply too low to justify coffee's large role in Vietnam's agriculture, say officials. – YaleGlobal

Crimes Under Flags of Convenience

Michael Richardson May 19, 2003
The Sept. 11 attacks on the US may have awakened the world to the dangers of a passenger airliner being turned into a missile, but in malevolent hands a much more traditional mode of transport - a ship on the oceans - could be turned into dangerous tool. On the high seas, ships registered under flags of cash-strapped nations operate with very little oversight or regulation. As Singapore-based...