With a growing economy and rising surplus, China has invested heavily in education and R&D. "Chinese spending has grown by 20% per year since 1999, now reaching over $100bn, and as many as 1.5 million science and engineering students graduated from Chinese universities in 2006,"...
Click here for the article in BBC News.
The South African government has negotiated with multinational pharmaceutical companies a plan to reduce prices of antiretroviral drugs by nearly half. The same 10 pharmaceutical firms that supply the medications will continue to do so, but with newly reduced prices, starting in January. Critics...
Click here for the article in Mail & Guardian.
With world opinion turning against the planned US war against Iraq there is a crying need for the US to assure the international community that it is not seeking domination. Martin Shubik, a noted game theorist who has been a consultant to several American administrations, says the dangers to world...
Inspector at an Iraqi chemical weapons lab; US should open its labs, too.
NEW HAVEN: The self image of the United States is of a peaceful democracy willing to fight for its own freedom and willing to help others fight for their freedom. At this...
After Copenhagen, Europe learned that leading by example is not enough. Lacking the power of a China or a US in the environment debate, Europe will need to balance shifting alliances in a multipolar world to combat climate change. Such green diplomacy is even more important in an interconnected...
Click here for the article in Der Spiegel.
Despite being one of the world's biggest international organizations, Interpol has struggled to rein in global crime syndicates. While police forces and intelligence organizations –both locally and internationally – hesitate to share information, fearing another's potential for corruption...
Click here for the artice in Philstar.
The word “zombie” describes a corpse-like being, under a spell that allows it to move about, but not undertake any deliberate or meaningful action on its own. Such is the term used by former James Baker, former US treasury secretary, to describe banks that accept huge government bailouts, but don’t...
Click here for the article on The Financial Times.
After losing a March election, Robert Mugabe clung to power in Zimbabwe and his supporters relied on irregularities and violence to discourage the opposition. German politicians have been among the most outspoken in rejecting Mugabe’s refusal to transfer power – and quickly pressured a Bavarian...
Robert Mugabe has kept his embattled regime in Zimbabwe afloat on a sea of paper money. Now, he'll have to try to do it without the paper.
The Munich-based company that has supplied Zimbabwe with the special...
As with politics, extremist and rigid economic policies cannot be sustained. As investor trust wanes and a credit crunch grips the globe, critics lash out. But extremist responses, pure capitalism or pure socialism, are inappropriate, suggests Bashir Goth writing for PostGlobal, moderated by Fareed...
Click here for the article on PostGlobal.