In The News

To Lift Afghan Women, Educate All

Susan Froetschel April 8, 2013
As NATO plans to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, stability is in doubt for a country with inept governance and stubborn opposition from an obscurantist group. Crime reports from Afghanistan suggest the Taliban are waging attacks on police and schools, including the recent attack on a convoy delivering school textbooks, which killed a young US State Department staffer. NGOs and diplomats, often...

Experimenting on Good Governance in Latin America

Humphrey Hawksley April 3, 2013
Association Agreements are trade agreements between the EU and non-EU countries on bilateral relations, progressive trade liberalization, political and economic cooperation, while emphasizing human rights and democratic principles. A region-to-region agreement between the EU and Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama was signed in 2012. Putting the eurozone crisis...

Google Glass to Be “Made in USA”

Tim Bradshaw April 3, 2013
Google Project Glass is a wearable computer, much like a smartphone, that connects a user via voice-recognition software to an array of programs and apps, including maps, email, calendar and more. The company announced that the digital eyewear will be manufactured in California, near the company’s Silicon Valley headquarters with many Asian components. “Google is working with Hon Hai Precision...

Pressured by China, Apple Apologizes for Warranty Policies

David Barboza, Nick Wingfield April 3, 2013
Consumer and labor advocates in the West often gripe that trade with China is a “race to the bottom” for wages or environmental standards. But China increasingly demonstrates the power of a huge, united market. On International Consumer Day, “China Central Television criticized the American company’s after-sales iPhone customer service in China because it gave only a one-year warranty, while in...

American Cows Have Indian Origins, Scientists Find

Subodh Varma March 29, 2013
Genetic research is showing that breeds of cows in the Americas, including the Texas Longhorn, are descendants of cows from India, reports Subodh Varma for the Times of India. India has the world’s largest cattle population in the world, followed by Brazil, China and US. The Indian breeds were shipped to East Africa, then to Spain and eventually to the Caribbean, suggests a study from the...

IMF Signals Push to Scrap Energy Subsidies

Robin Harding March 29, 2013
The globe could solve many fiscal woes by ending nearly $2 trillion in fuel subsidies, the International Monetary Fund claims. “The fund’s call suggests higher fuel prices could become a central condition of IMF help in the future, with subsidies proving a sticking point in its talks with countries such as Egypt, Pakistan and Ukraine,” reports Robin Harding for the Financial Times. The IMF lists...

India’s Agriculture on the Brink

Deepak Gopinath March 27, 2013
Sound food policy should be a priority for India, on track for the world’s largest population by 2025. India has also achieved status as a major food exporter with rice, wheat and buffalo beef. Indian policies emphasize minimum support prices for farmers and subsidized crops for the poor, but these in turn spur food inflation, price volatility, overproduction of grains and overworked land. The...