In The News

A Question for the Global Community

Rachel Clogg August 14, 2008
As regions gain new freedoms, minority groups with longstanding differences and gripes try to break away from central governments, too often stirring international conflict in the process. Attempting to separate from Georgia, provinces South Ossetia and Abkhazia have fueled tensions between the West and Russia. “For years the Georgian government has failed to engage seriously with the needs and...

Radicalization of a National Dialogue

Steven A. Cook July 25, 2008
The new millennium ushered in a period of stability for Turkey, and many observers expected the naton to join the European Union. But now the country is in political turmoil, as the Turkish Constitutional Court considers a ban of the ruling party, the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, to which the president and prime minister both belong. “The old establishment is seeking to regain its...

Mediterranean Pomp

Pascal Boniface July 15, 2008
The extraordinary success of the European project inspired French President Nicolas Sarkozy to initiate a cooperative union for the Mediterranean states. As Sarkozy describes it, the union of projects would cooperate on shared goals, from securing energy and water to removing pollution from the Mediterranean Sea. Yet author Pascal Boniface, director of the Institute for International and...

UK Is Wasting Far Too Much Food - Brown

Patrick Wintour July 7, 2008
The United Kingdom wastes about 4 tons of food a year, and Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called upon the British to be more conservative on their food purchases and preparation. Even as people in some developing nations go without food and other countries hoard, demand remains high in the wealthiest nations. The high demand, combined with some grains being siphoned off for biofuels, contributes...

Nestlé Asks EU to Soften Line on GM

Raphael Minder June 30, 2008
The European Union sets trends in trade, agriculture and culture, and so the decision to reject genetically modified food for its markets carries influence beyond European borders. For example, African nations produce crops for export to Europe, and most African countries do not want to risk including genetically modified organisms in their harvests, for fear of being excluded from the lucrative...

Spain, Like US, Grapples With Immigration

Jason DeParle June 19, 2008
Millions of non-citizens, with 600,000 recently legalized, power Spain’s economy. The once illegal immigrants now command higher wages and enjoy job security. But a recent economic downturn has spurred unemployment, and Spanish citizens looking for work are understandably dissatisfied. Throughout open Europe, many critics question whether legalization programs approved in the southern countries...

Pioneering Power From Geothermal Energy

Tobias Lill June 18, 2008
As oil prices climb, researchers and communities scramble for substitutes, including geothermal energy. Producers run pipes deep below the ground, with its constant temperature, and a system relying on a mixture of water and ammonia maximizes power generation. “Geothermal energy has one big advantage over other forms of renewables," writes Tobias Lill for Spiegel Online. "Since it uses...