In The News

As China Gallops, Mexico Sees Factory Jobs Slip Away

Juan Forero September 3, 2003
The search for profit drives companies to look for the lowest production costs possible, and that search is taking more and more American companies from factories in Mexico to factories in China. America's southern neighbor received a boom in employment after the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement in the 1990s, but China's rise as a supplier of cheap labor is now...

Indonesia Questions US Commitment to Fight Terrorism

September 3, 2003
The United States is dragging its feet in the war on terrorism, says Indonesia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda. By failing to grant Indonesian detectives access to Hambali, a terror suspect captured three weeks ago by US and Thai authorities, Washington effectively prevented Indonesia from getting information needed to prosecute another suspect, Hassan claimed. Just yesterday...

How Not to Be a Boiled Frog

Chua Lee Hoong September 3, 2003
Wages are not the only factor that leads to higher labor costs; corporate payments to retirement plans do as well. Foreign companies seeking to raise the bottom line search for countries with the lowest labor costs, often leaving formerly cheap nations for even cheaper ones. And Singapore has felt such a phenomenon first hand. Ten years ago Singapore enjoyed foreign direct investment (FDI) of...

Chinese Aide Says U.S. Is Obstacle in Korean Talks

Joseph Kahn September 2, 2003
With North Korea balking at holding another round of talks, diplomatic maneuvers are underway to coax it back to the table. A Chinese official who hosted multilateral talks in Beijing last week said that the discussions were stymied by Washington's insistence that Pyongyang dismantle its nuclear program before other issues are addressed. Wang Yi, vice minister of foreign affairs, called on...

Korea: The Hexagon of Uncertainty

Francesco Sisci August 30, 2003
The six-way talks on North Korea's nuclear program made significant headway, even if the communist country did threaten to test a nuclear bomb. This article in the Asia Times notes that amidst much of its usual belligerent rhetoric, North Korea backed down on two previous demands by partaking in the talks, simultaneously giving up on bilateral negotiations with the US and meeting without a...

Heroic Capture at Sea Highlights Gaping Cavities in Toothfish Defence

Andrew Darby August 29, 2003
The Patagonian toothfish – popularly known as the Chilean Sea Bass – has long been over-fished and is protected by international laws as an endangered species. Unfortunately, there has not been a comparable international response to enforcing these laws and preventing illegal fishing. This reality is evidenced by a recent three-week chase of a Uruguayan ship through treacherous Antarctic waters...

North Korea Says it Plans to Test Nukes

Yuri Kageyama August 28, 2003
Tensions may be higher now than at the start of the six-way meeting on North Korea's nuclear program. North Korean foreign minister Kim Yong-Il accused Japanese and Russian delegates of lying at the instruction of the United States when they tried to point out positive aspects of the American presentation. He then said that North Korea intends to formally declare that it has nuclear...