In The News

A Change in the Climate

Vanessa Houlder May 19, 2004
The efficacy of the 1997 Kyoto environmental treaty, designed to limit greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, hangs on Russia’s actions in the coming months. The protocol requires the participation of 55 percent of industrialized nations, and without Russian support, it lacks a deciding vote. Internal debate in Russia has focused the potential economic impacts on its struggling economy; those in...

Burma: Feel-Good US Sanctions Wrongheaded

David I. Steinberg May 19, 2004
President Bush's recent decision to extend sanctions against Burma for another year is emotionally satisfying but ineffective as a means of promoting democracy in the military-ruled state, argues David I. Steinberg, Director of Asian Studies at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. Although US allies like India or Southeast Asian nations share its concern about the junta...

Biotech Crops Could Help Poor Farmers, U.N. Says

Justin Gillis May 17, 2004
The debates over biotechnology have centered on the environmental, health, and global equality issues implicit in any major agricultural technology change. Some charge that genetically modified food crops are detrimental to environment, biodiversity, long-term health, and benefit rich nations at the expense of poor. The other side – which now seems to be joined by the Food and Agricultural...

A New Coalition To Keep WMD Out of Terrorists' Hands

Michael Richardson May 10, 2004
Current arms control treaties make it easy for countries like North Korea and Iran to import the materials needed to make WMD. Yet despite widespread fear about terrorism, observes correspondent Michael Richardson, no effective international laws exist to prevent the sale or transfer of weapons or related technology to state or non-state actors. To remedy this worrisome loophole, Richardson,...

Ambassadors' Letter to Blair

April 26, 2004
More than fifty former British ambassadors and senior government officials signed a letter criticizing Prime Minister Tony Blair for his unflinching support of the Bush administration's policies in the Middle East. The signatories included former ambassadors to Israel, Iraq, and other Middle Eastern countries, as well as senior British envoys to the United Nations. The letter asserted that...

Hit by Spanish Withdrawal Syndrome

Shada Islam April 21, 2004
After winning March elections that attracted tremendous international attention, newly-elected Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero forewarned a significant shift in Spanish foreign policy. He declared his disapproval of the previous Popular Party's government active support of the American invasion of Iraq, which many Spaniards felt provoked March's deadly terrorist...

A Matter of More Than Economics

Martin Wolf April 13, 2004
As the United Kingdom and the European Union (EU) opened up to more and more immigrants to satisfy their domestic labor needs, many have started thinking about the implications for such sizable immigration. Martin Wolf, columnist for the Financial Times, says that the choice for more immigration should not just be based on economic incentives, but also on the values of a country's citizens...