In The News

We Are Getting Richer, But More Insecure and Cynical About Politicians. What Can Be Done?

Hamish McRae July 8, 2007
On the surface, the British economy is doing well. It is the richest EU country in terms of national net income per head, and has a reputation for attracting global talent. Yet citizens express little trust in their government and report a feeling of insecurity. Worrying economic signs include rising levels of debt and dissatisfaction about public services. Low morale presents a challenge for...

The Rising and Falling Power of Hydrocarbon States

Dilip Hiro July 3, 2007
The global economy runs on oil. Unequal distribution of oil throughout the world bestows power on the few states with ample supplies. Venezuela is one example of a nation that uses oil as leverage in foreign affairs: Besides consolidating his popular base at home, President Hugo Chavez has helped debt-ridden countries in that region, openly mocks the US and signed an arms-procurement deal with...

Legitimacy Contested

Dina Ezzat June 27, 2007
Governments throughout the Middle East are torn apart by factions, categorized as “moderate” or “extremist,” notably in Palestine and Lebanon. Popular public opinion, weary of corruption, poverty and external influences, tends to support parties described as “extremist,” while governments – including the US, Egypt, Jordan and Israel – tend to support traditional parties labeled as “moderate.”...

Global Trade Talks Collapse Over Agricultural Subsidies

Carter Dougherty June 25, 2007
Another attempt to revive the Doha round of negotiations, the goal of which is a global trade agreement for reducing poverty in small developing nations, collapsed once again. The US and Europe resist slashing their own agricultural subsidies as much as developing nations, including India and Brazil, would prefer. Brazil and India refuse to open their markets to goods from the industrialized...

A Sacred River Endangered by Global Warming

Emily Wax June 25, 2007
One of Hinduism's most revered traditions is a trip to the Ganges River. But the sacred river may vanish as the Himalayan source, the Gangotri glaciers, melt with rising temperatures. With the current rates of melting, the glaciers could vanish by 2030 – and scientists predict that, in the long term, the Ganges will become a seasonal river that relies on monsoon rains. An immediate effect of...

China Overtakes US as World's Biggest CO2 Emitter

John Vidal June 22, 2007
Nations seek to achieve superiority in all sorts of endeavors – but not with carbon-dioxide emissions. A report released by the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency recorded China’s emissions as 8 percent higher than those of the US. China’s reliance on coal contributed to the high rates, as did cement production, which produces 9 percent of China’s total emissions. China’s lead in...

India: The Price of Choice

Gwynne Dyer June 22, 2007
Officials in India had assumed that land disputes with China – over Aranachal Pradesh, in the eastern Himalayas and Aksai Chin, near Kashmir – ended with a visit by the Chinese premier in 2005. India would take the first and China got the second. But India was wrong, and journalist Gwynne Dyer points out that the premier’s overture was merely a low-key effort to stop India from entering a 10-year...