In The News

Can Asia Count on Russian Oil?

Michael Richardson November 16, 2006
Nations rich in oil can wield great influence throughout the world, and the nations who must buy oil look for low prices and reliability. As the world’s largest exporter of natural gas and the second largest exporter of oil after Saudi Arabia, Russia is a major power broker when it comes to energy. Constructing pipelines across Asia, the Russian government is not clear about whether its earliest...

Competitiveness, Not Offshoring, Is EU Weakness

Natascha Gewaltig November 15, 2006
Inexpensive cheap global labor poses fewer problems for the EU than accelerating technological change and the inability to adapt, according to a study from the European Commission. The global outsourcing market grew over the previous decade, from 8 percent of the world GDP in 1990 to 11 percent in 2003. The EU outsourcing market represented almost 15 percent of its GDP in 2003. “Technical...

The Al Qaeda Challenge

November 10, 2006
Intelligence officers in the UK have investigated 200 extremist networks operating in the UK and thwarted at least five terrorist attacks since the London bus bombings in summer 2005. Many suspects are British citizens, and public officials reflect on their society and its policies, trying to determine why so many British youth join extremist causes. Statistics released by MI5 Security Service...

Strain in Spain

Sarah Wildman November 8, 2006
Europe represents opportunity to starving, desperate Africans. Spain and Europe agree that the continent cannot withstand unchecked immigration from Africa, but disagree about who’s responsible for enforcement. Spain insists that the European Union has responsibility for monitoring the continent’s borders, but other nations criticize Spain for lenient policies including amnesty for past...

Kremlin Puts Foreign NGO’s on Notice

C.J. Chivers October 24, 2006
The Russian government stopped operations of foreign non-profit organizations operating in Russia, such as Amnesty International, while reviewing bureaucratic registrations required under a new law. For now, the bureaucratic process, combined with closures and described as temporary, has quieted normally vocal non-government organization spokespeople. The closures, according to the “New York...

A Clash of Civilizations in Europe?

Patrick Sabatier October 17, 2006
Secular Europe and some of its Muslims citizens continue to clash – not in direct battle but over cartoons, operas, newspaper essays and school customs. The clashes are a product of a globalized media system, according to French journalist Patrick Sabatier, with instant information about any perceived slight to faith over satellite television or internet obscuring complex issues and provoking...

Across Europe, Worries on Islam Spread to Center

Dan Bilefsky October 13, 2006
Not long ago, politicians who questioned the possibility of reconciling European and Islamic values were accused of extremism and bigotry. Today, however, even moderates are pondering whether multiculturalism and tolerance should have limits. Europeans have begun to question whether Islamic religious beliefs and social values, which are at odds with typical European views on issues like...