In The News

Invisible Export – A Hidden Cost of China's Growth: Mercury Migration

Matt Pottinger December 20, 2004
When an American hockey player suffered symptoms from mercury contamination, he never expected that he might have power plants half way across the world in China to blame. With its growing appetite for energy, China is finding its many coal-burning power plants hard at work generating the much needed electricity power – as well as huge amounts of air pollutants like sulfur dioxide and mercury....

African Renaissance

Gamal Nkrumah December 17, 2004
When the Egyptian and Nigerian presidents met recently to discuss bilateral and trans-African issues, top items on their agenda included economic cooperation, and most importantly and urgently, the Sudanese peace process. For both leaders, this process is both a crisis and an opportunity: If solved successfully, it will help enhance African-Arab cooperation. African leaders are more interested...

Moment of Truth as UN Chief Confronts Fiercest Rival

Michael Fullilove December 16, 2004
The past month has been difficult, at best, for the United Nations and its Secretary-General Kofi Annan. As Annan prepares to announce a reform package for the organization, this is a crucial moment for both the organization and its leader. In what may be a true test of grit, Annan will fight to pass a report on global security threats, which will outline the UN's role in addressing...

What the Bush Victory Means for East Asia

Lee Kuan Yew December 15, 2004
As US President George W. Bush eases into his second term of office, governments in East Asia and around the world are reevaluating their place within an American foreign policy. The upcoming elections in Iraq, recently endorsed at a summit attended by the EU, the Arab League, China, and other nations, may prove a test of international dedication to security and democracy in the Middle East. Bush...

Learning the Hard Way in Kosovo

Alkman Granitsas December 9, 2004
A newly released report on UN reform suggests that the path be cleared for the world organization to intervene in sovereign nations and send peacekeepers to places like Darfur or Rwanda. But before rushing the blue berets to the next political crisis, the international community would do well to learn from past missteps in other parts of the world. In the past 15 years, the nature of peacekeeping...

Business is Blooming

Peter Willems December 8, 2004
A recent United Nations report shows that Afghanistan's poppy production is reaching worrisome new heights. As newly-inaugurated president Hamid Karzai steps into the spotlight, the problems of opium growth continue to increase. The effort to stop the drug trade has been hampered by local infighting, governmental corruption, and an unsuccessful attempt to wean farmers off the profitable, but...

A UN for This Century, Not the Last One

Robin Cook December 3, 2004
Amidst mounting pressure over external and internal scandals, this is a truly embattled time for the United Nations. On Wednesday, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan received the report of a high-level panel outlining possible reforms to the governing body. Formed in the wake of the invasion of Iraq, the panel investigated ways by which the organization could better adapt to the exigencies of...