In The News

Britain's Carbon Strategy “Up in Smoke”

Steve Connor December 17, 2007
Nations closed the climate conference in Bali with vows to tackle climate change. Scientists are taking the government leaders at their word. Jim Hansen – director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in the US, who has long warned that global warming poses real dangers to the planet, including species extinction, raised sea levels and ruined coastlines – urges governments to back away...

Bali Climate Change Conference: “We Have Very Little Time to Act”

Patrick McGroarty December 3, 2007
As evidence of climate change is increasingly accepted, the need to counter the phenomenon becomes more pressing. The Kyoto Protocol has been in effect since early 2005, and yet less than 800 million out of the world’s 6.6 billion people live in countries that have agreed to reduce emissions. Since then, carbon emissions continue to climb and deforestation has intensified. Without the support of...

Taiwan Squeezed as US and China Negotiate

Simon Tisdall November 20, 2007
The issue of Taiwan has been a thorny one since the Kuomintang’s relocation from mainland China in 1949. A sense of irredentism has been present on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, though now it persists predominantly on the mainland. The surge in China-US relations in recent years has complicated the Taiwan question even more. Though Taiwan has depended on deals with the US military in the past...

Time for Reality Check in Iran

Dilip Hiro November 19, 2007
With Iran continually expanding its uranium enrichment program despite warnings from the UN Security Council, there has been growing talk of strict sanctions against the country, even murmurs of military action. The idea of military action floated by American neo-conservatives is strongly opposed by many in the US administration. A UN sanction against Iran also appears to be problematic. A...

China Takes Tough Line on Olympic Protests

Jonathan Watts November 2, 2007
World attention will focus on Beijing with the 2008 Olympics, and China anticipates activists to use the event to draw attention to a variety of causes. The country intends to uphold anti-protest laws and stop advocates from taking the spotlight away from athletic events and the host nation. Backed by a UN resolution supporting action to “observe and promote peace” at the Olympics, China could...

The United States Risks Walking Into a Trap in Iran

David Ignatius October 29, 2007
The West, including Russia, is serious about keeping nuclear weapons out of the Middle East. The 2003 invasion of Iraq removed a dictator – but cost billions, ruined the nation’s economy and displaced millions of refugees, even though no weapons of mass destruction were found. Other countries in the region now worry that the US plans an attack on Iran for refusing to stop a nuclear program that...

UN Warns of Environmental Threats

James Kanter October 26, 2007
A report released by the United Nations Environment Program warns that the planet’s resources are not enough to provide for the current consumption patterns of the world population. Highly industrialized regions have developed habits of living beyond their means and pass these habits on to people in every corner of the globe. The rapidly expanding world population has increased the speed of...