In The News

Saw Yan Naing October 10, 2007
Demonstrations against the government ruling Burma, renamed Myanmar, have evolved to include protests against China, for keeping the military junta in power. A drive-by shooting targeted the Chinese consulate in Mandalay, and local observers suggest that the event reveals rising hostility toward Beijing. Since violent riots between Burmese and Chinese residents of Rangoon 40 years ago, the...
Salil Tripathi October 4, 2007
Human-rights abuses in Burma have caused worldwide outrage, with no effect on the regime. This series analyzes external influences on the junta that controls Burma. Western activists who pressure businesses rather than supportive governments do not maximize their resources or influence, argues writer and Asian specialist Salil Tripathi, in the second article of the two-part series. Assuming that...
Michael Green September 29, 2007
Attempting to hide evidence of its cruelty and the country's devastation, the repressive military regime in Burma has cut all internet connections. But satellite images show burned villages and huge camps of displaced citizens. People of Burma march in protest daily, risking their lives to protest a corrupt and inept government that provides no sense of order or security for its people....
A. Lin Neumann September 25, 2007
Burma has endured harsh military rule since 1962, which has devastated the economy, making the nation, since re-named by its rulers as Myanmar, an embarrassment among the fast-growing economies throughout Southeast Asia. Over the years, pro-democracy activists participated in various protests, only to face brutal crackdowns from the authoritarian government, with protestors facing long prison...
Emily Wax September 5, 2007
For 3000 years, India operated with a caste system; from birth, Indians understood their status and role in society. Prohibited by law, the caste system remains a source for discrimination in India. By law, the public sector and public universities set aside a percentage of jobs for people born into the lowest castes, and activists encourage similar affirmative-action programs within the private...
John Elkington September 4, 2007
India has experienced liberation, first winning independence from the UK in 1947 while also enduring partition with the creation of Pakistan and Bangladesh, and then loosening state control of the economy in the 1990s to accept reform, privatization and globalization. But great poverty still lingers in the nation, calling for a third stage of liberation, suggests John Elkington writing for...
Patrick Barta August 31, 2007
Jatropha shrubs don’t need much water and grow like weeds in desert or roadside conditions. But Indian farmers have new respect for the plant. Jatropha seeds contain a substance compared to palm oil, and Indian farmers are taking on some big risks by planting fields of the one-time troublesome weed originally from South America. Amounts of oil per plant vary for now, but researchers work to...