In The News

Robert Weisman July 3, 2008
The US, as the world’s largest economy, carries less influence over other economies of the world. Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) have reported rapid growth in recent years, thanks to innovative firms that have become leading exporters, reports Robert Weisman for the Boston Globe. Business no longer flows from west to east but in multiple directions, argues a team with the Boston...
Steve Connor July 2, 2008
Researchers suggest that the North Pole could completely lose its ice this summer for the first time in human history. The rate of melting has increased in recent years and a greater proportion of the ice is from a single season, reports Steve Connor for the Independent. “The polar regions are experiencing the most dramatic increase in average temperatures due to global warming and scientists...
Kevin Whitelaw July 1, 2008
Nearly three decades after the Iran hostage crisis, confrontation with Iran may again make November’s presidential election susceptible to an “October surprise.” Amid reports that US Special Forces are already operating in Iran, the specter of an escalating conflict with Tehran looms over the presidential campaign. Meanwhile, reports that the US military may begin covert operations in Pakistan...
Michael Scherer July 1, 2008
John McCain must walk a fine line between courting up-for-grabs Latino voters who are sympathetic toward illegal immigrants and retaining traditional Republican voters who demand a harsher line toward those same immigrants. McCain has already earned the enmity of many Republicans over his support for comprehensive immigration reform. For now, the anti-immigration voters have no options – the...
Jacob F. Kirkegaard July 1, 2008
The US, long home to many of the world’s most highly skilled workers, could soon be scrambling for replacements. Baby boomers are starting to retire, and their high education levels will be missed. Since the baby boomers emerged in the work force, the US became complacent about its public-education system. As a result, young American workers increasingly struggle to compete with skilled foreign...
Carla Anne Robbins July 1, 2008
Arms control has not been a priority for major global powers. Almost two decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the US and Russia alone have more than 20,000 weapons, and small countries like Iraq and North Korea have presented nuclear threats. A group of policy experts, including George Schultz and Henry Kissinger, have called for a shift in US policy, arguing that the US lead the charge to...
William J. Amelio June 27, 2008
The ranks of the middle class have swelled during the past 15 years, as trade and new connections have lifted millions out of poverty, writes William J. Amelio, chief executive of Lenovo, in an essay for the International Herald Tribune. “Not just goods but information and ideas flow across borders constantly and (for the most part) freely as near universal access to Internet-enabled...