In The News

WHO Shoots Down Assembly Entry Bid

Melody Chen May 20, 2003
China again succeeded in mobilizing its allies to block Taiwan's bid for observership at the World Health Assembly (WHA), the highest decision body of the World Health Organization (WHO). Taiwan's bid was rejected for the seventh time in a row. This year, however, because of the Sars outbreak, many countries decided to back Taiwan up "for humanitarian sake." Taiwan officials...

A More Just Fair Trade Is Needed

H. A. Harry Hendrarto May 14, 2003
The World Fair Trade Day on May 17 highlights sustainable development and the connections between economic production and the environment globally. Free trade has benefited the developed world and contributed to increasing poverty in the developing world, says the author of this article. Countries in Europe and North America have the greatest share of revenues from free trade. International...

U.S. to Blame for Derailing Process of Denuclearisation on Korean Peninsula

May 12, 2003
As the new South Korean Prime Minister begins his first official visit to the United States, North Korea's Central News Agency released a report detailing the central role the United States has played and continues to play in the nuclearization of the Korean peninsula. The report is a scathing indictment of US foreign policy and holds the US solely responsible for undermining North and...

A Trusteeship for Palestine?

Martin Indyk May 12, 2003
Worrying that US President Bush’s "road map" agenda for the end to the Israel-Palestine conflict will fall through, Martin Indyk, the former US ambassador to Israel, and other members of the Saban Center's Israeli-Palestinian Workshop have proposed an alternative solution. They suggest a three-year international governing force in Palestine, headed by the UN, IMF, WTO, and various...

Why the Security Council Failed

Michael J. Glennon May 1, 2003
The UN was weak and irrelevant long before the divisive US-led war on Iraq made this painfully obvious, International Law scholar Michael Glennon maintains. He explains that Iraq is more a symptom of UN structural problems and changes in its geopolitical environment than a cause.. The UN was created to preside over a multi-polar world and now finds itself dealing with an unrivalled US hegemony...

Sharon, Abbas Receive Middle East 'Road Map'

Harvey Morris April 30, 2003
A ‘road map’ to Middle East peace, drawn up by the US, the EU, the UN, and Russia, was presented to Ariel Sharon, Israel’s prime minister, and Mahmoud Abbas, the new Palestinian prime minister. EU aid to Palestinians is linked to reform, and it is hoped that the plan will contribute to a stronger Palestinian Authority administration, better conditions for the Palestinians, and a reduction in...

Saving the Remains

Nevine El-Aref April 24, 2003
When Baghdad fell, looters used the chaos to rush into the city’s museums and libraries and steal priceless ancient artifacts, including copies of the Koran, maps, and the world’s first calendar. Archaeologists around the world, furious that such important cultural objects were now lost, mounted a campaign to find them. The Arab League, in conjunction with Iraqi officials, has taken steps to...