In The News

"Tsunami Effect" Likely to Hit Africa

Kevin J. Kelley February 24, 2005
In January, international donors quickly met the UN appeal for US$977 million for tsunami relief operations. That same month, member countries gave only US$21 million of the US$29 million requested by the UN World Food Program, resulting in ration cuts for some African nations. This disparity reflects a serious problem: While the international community has quickly responded to the tsunami...

Stand Up for People Power

Fareed Zakaria February 21, 2005
Former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s killing last week, possibly the result of his anti-Syrian remarks made at a summit months earlier, has now sparked a new Lebanese nationalism and international outrage that could seriously threaten the Syrian state. Among the many repercussions following Hariri’s death, an unprecedented partnership between the US and France has appeared, as both...

With Neighbors Like These

V. Sudarshan February 18, 2005
India's refusal to participate in the SARC summit earlier this month was a direct reaction to trouble in three of its neighboring countries: Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan. The crisis in Kathmandu has been particularly difficult for India, one of Nepal's biggest trading partners. Many New Delhi diplomats believe that India's best course is to successfully convince King Gyanendra of...

The Kyoto No-Show Can Still Go Green

James Gustave Speth February 16, 2005
The Kyoto Protocol to combat global climate change goes into effect today, February 16. This treaty, signed on December 11, 1997, is an international effort to protect the earth's climate and slow down global warming. Today, 141 countries have ratified the agreement, and 34 economically advanced countries have accepted the Protocol's targets on reduction of greenhouse gas emissions....

The Rise of a New Axis?

Leonard S. Spector February 11, 2005
North Korea is at it again. On the eve of a new round of diplomatic talks on its troubling nuclear program, Pyongyang has upped the ante: Announcing that it has already manufactured 'nukes,' the government suddenly suspended its participation in negotiations. This revelation comes in the wake of US reports that North Korea secretly shipped nuclear material to Libya, a shipment which...

World's Drinking Glass: More Than Half Full

G. Jeffery Macdonald February 8, 2005
Easy access to clean drinking water, along with hygiene system improvements, has been instrumental in enabling those afflicted by poverty to save time and money, as well as helping them avoid infectious diseases. However, some countries – particularly urban regions of South Asia – are falling behind, constrained by budget considerations and political pressures. As a result of difficulties with...

Letting Sudan Get Away with Murder

Ben Kiernan February 4, 2005
Over 200,000 people have died in the violence in Sudan's Darfur provinces. And as the bloodshed continues, genocide scholar Ben Kiernan writes, members of the international community – who may actually have the influence to halt the killings and prosecute the perpetrators – have been preoccupied with semantic and jurisdictional wrangling. Kiernan provides an historical background to the...