In The News

New Reality of American Power

Paul Reynolds April 19, 2003
American power is the most important new reality of the 21st century, says Paul Reynolds, world affairs correspondent for the BBC News Online. Despite the continued relevance of alliances and multi-lateral organizations such as the UN, the massive show of force in Iraq should be a warning to all – including North Korea and Iran – that the Washington carries a very, very big stick. While the...

Health Group Certain of Agent in Respiratory Ailment

Lawrence K. Altman April 17, 2003
The SARS virus is definitely caused by a new form of the coronavirus family, says the director of the World Health Organization. Immediately after the virus was discovered in Hong Kong in March, WHO put together a team of 13 laboratories around the world to search for the root of the virus. Experiments on monkeys in Rotterdam confirmed identified coronavirus as the culprit. Thanks to advances...

Globalization's Challenge to Islam

Riaz Hassan April 17, 2003
The telephone, satellite television and the Internet have connected the Islamic community of 1.2 billion people across the globe. This connectivity has strengthened Muslims' sense of belonging to one community, which Islamic scholars call ummah. But it has also brought the realization that Islam, as practiced around the globe, is heterogenous. A group of Muslims in oil-rich Saudi Arabia have...

Iraq War Ends, Not Europe's Acrimony with the US

Shada Islam April 15, 2003
British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Spain's Jose Maria Aznar have joined France and Germany in demanding that the United Nations play the central role in administering and rebuilding post-Saddam Iraq. Not only does the UN have the experience and the expertise to handle Iraq's reconstruction, it is the only body with a legal mandate to do so. UN oversight, EU leaders argue, will be...

IMF Riven by US-Europe Tiff Over Iraqi Debt

April 15, 2003
The rehabilitation and reconstruction of a post-war Iraq is quickly emerging as a complex issue of global proportions. Iraqi liabilities are estimated at over $380 billion. While the United States favors debt forgiveness, other major UN Security Council member countries, such as France, Germany and Russia are less inclined to support complete debt forgiveness. International financial...

U.S. Sharply Scolds Syria and Threatens Sanctions

David Stout April 14, 2003
Following the toppling of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, the Bush administration warned Syria to "ponder the implications" of supporting terrorism, developing chemical weapons and harboring fugitives from Saddam Hussein’s regime. Despite issuing harsh warning, the Bush Administration insists that it will explore all diplomatic and economic options in dealing with Syria. Syria has denied all...

Europe Seems to Hear Echoes of Empires Past

Richard Bernstein April 14, 2003
The United States has long been acknowledged as a world superpower. However, following the success of the US led war in Iraq, some observers in Europe argue that the United States is also becoming an imperial power, akin to the great Roman and British empires. American military victories in Afghanistan, Kosovo and the Persian Gulf War of 1991 are cited as examples of American global power and...