In The News

Japan's Laborious Dilemma

David McNeill January 13, 2005
The Japanese approach to immigration has been characterized as xenophobic, at worst, and ambivalent, at best. While a free-trade agreement with the Philippines was celebrated for allowing increased access for overseas caretakers, a subsequent policy restricting entertainment visas may result in a net loss of over 70,000 foreign workers. According to David McNeill, Japan's consistently...

When Tragedy Trumps Borders

Ramesh Thakur January 10, 2005
The United Nations, throughout its 60 years, has never seen a tragedy on par with the South Asian tsunami. This astonishing display of nature's furor rendered political borders insignificant, and the overwhelmingly sympathetic international response has revealed the strength of global interconnectedness. At the January 6 Jakarta summit, the UN officially assumed the helm of relief effort...

A Thaw in South Asia? – Part II

Huma Fakhar December 27, 2004
Improved relations between South Asia's two most prominent states, India and Pakistan, are crucial to the region's ascending global profile, write Huma Fakhar and Jean-Pierre Lehmann. Encouraging diplomatic developments have diluted some of the hostile sentiments of shared by the two countries, which were once on a path to nuclear war. If intra-regional trade would heat up, as well,...

A Thaw in South Asia? – Part I

Michael Krepon December 23, 2004
India and Pakistan's feud over the disputed region of Kashmir may at last be subsiding, says nuclear proliferation expert Michael Krepon. The issue has long been a dangerous sticking point between the two nuclear powers. Yet after a year-long cease fire along the Line of Control, both Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf seem willing to compromise on...

The Patent Controversy

Rajeev Dhavan December 10, 2004
As India's Parliament rushes through the Third Patents Amendment, the important social justice and equity issues are being ignored, says the author in India’s newspaper, The Hindu. The pressure to pass this law before January 1, 2005 came from the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the US, which hold the implicit threat of retaliation and non-compliance under WTO provisions. However, argues...

Asian Nations Seek Private Funds for "Virtual Institute"

Mary Charlotte Fresco December 6, 2004
Science and technology ministers from ASEAN member nations have decided to seek private funding for the Virtual Institute of Science. Originally funded by the ASEAN Foundation and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the program has struggled to maintain momentum since its launch in May 2004. The Institute could potentially become an important method of pooling...

Subcontinent Raises Its Voice

David Crystal November 30, 2004
Ten years ago, the United States was the country with the largest English-speaking population. Today, India has taken over that status. With roughly a third of its population – or more than 300 million – possessing English language capability, India has more people speaking the language than the US and UK combined. Indian English, however, is not entirely the same as British or American English,...