In The News

Indonesia’s Progressive Form of Islam Is Not Something That Thailand Needs to Fear

Don Pathan April 17, 2006
Indonesia is the world’s largest Muslim country and plays a leading role in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. As a result, Indonesians question how Muslims of the Middle East determine international perceptions of Islam and recognize the potential for serving as a guiding force. Indonesia could offer a stabilizing influence in Malay-speaking southern Thailand where 1200 people have...

Visa for Cream

Sanjay Suri April 12, 2006
Historically, Britain relied on immigrants from India for factory help and other jobs that the British didn’t want to do. Immigration resulted in a British community of 2 million Indians, many who met with great success. But now the UK has tinkered with its immigration rules to reject poor workers from former colonies Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and elsewhere and target workers with information-...

India Nuclear Deal May Face Hard Sell

Glenn Kessler April 6, 2006
The Bush administration’s surprise deal in 2005 with India, which would recognize the nation’s status as a nuclear power, was motivated by both a desire to reward a democratic future superpower and to counter the rise of China. But the deal, largely constructed through US State Department backchannels and secret negotiations, may suffer because Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her staff...

World Bank Concerned Over India’s Economic Growth

March 31, 2006
World headlines celebrate India as a globalization success story, but the nation’s rapid growth could invite more headaches than benefits. The problem with India’s growth is its narrow focus, reports economist Priya Basu. A large part of the country’s GDP centers on information technology and software, while manufacturing and agriculture lag. Inadequate infrastructure also poses a challenge, with...

A New Challenge for Bangladesh

Sumit Ganguly March 30, 2006
Preserving democracy in an impoverished Muslim nation is no easy task. After separating from Pakistan in 1971, Bangladesh created a constitution embracing secularism and democracy. A 1982 military coup suspended the constitution, and Islam was eventually named the state religion. Extremists instigate violence against politicians with a secular platform, thus contributing to the government’s...

How Bush’s Nuclear Deal Burned Canada

Leonard S. Spector March 24, 2006
To achieve the deal that was the focal point of his recent visit to India, President Bush retracted an original US demand that all of India’s nuclear facilities be classified as civilian facilities and subjected to permanent IAEA monitoring. Under the current agreement – yet to be approved by legislative bodies in both nations – India will have both civilian and military facilities, with the...

Ad Agencies Are Booking Passage to India

Geoffrey A. Fowler March 22, 2006
With American auto-insurance, credit cards, and medical x-rays, not to mention software development and IT needs, already managed by trained professionals in India, it was only a matter of time until Indian enterprise asserted itself on the culture of global consumerism. An article in The Wall Street Journal details the outsourcing potential India holds for ad and marketing agencies. Boasting a...