Global Agenda articles from December 2003

Global Agenda archives from December 2003

Voting for the past.(Northern Ireland election results )
December 1, 2003... Elections in Northern Ireland have ended in a serious setback for the peace process, with victory for militant parties on both sides TWO days before last Wednesday's elections to Northern Ireland's self-governing assembly, Britain's prime...

A mixed prognosis.(fight against AIDS)
December 1, 2003... As millions of people mark World AIDS Day, the statistics seem gloomier than ever. But the global fight against the disease is steadily gaining strength IN THE modern world, 20 years seems a long time to be at war, but it is hardly...

The dogs bark.(Boeing's management restructuring has no effect on stock markets)
December 2, 2003... And the caravan moves on. Financial markets are in a forgiving mood BACK in the dark ages of American capitalism--oh, about a year or so ago--when investors ran scared from shares in any company with even the whiff of impropriety, it is...

Trouble on the fringes.(relations of China with Hong Kong and Taiwan)
December 2, 2003... Democrats in Hong Kong and Taiwan are defying the government in Beijing LIFE would be so much easier for the Communists who rule China if it were not for those pesky democrats on its periphery. The grumpy (though, these days, not quite so...

I'd buy that for a dollar (and two dimes); Currencies; Euro strength or dollar weakness?
December 3, 2003... The euro is worth $1.20 for the first time in its history. That may hurt Europe. Will it help America? TIME to hail the almighty euro? During trading on Friday November 28th the currency was worth $1.20 for the first time in its history. By...

Striking accord; Israelis and Palestinians; A "breakthrough" in Geneva.(peace talks)
December 4, 2003... Israeli and Palestinian moderates have signed an alternative peace plan that deals with supposedly intractable issues, such as shared sovereignty and refugees' right of return. But their governments remain to be convinced TEN years after...

Scrapped.(President George W. Bush's trade policy)
December 4, 2003... George Bush has announced the dismantling of America's tariffs on imported steel, while promising to shield domestic companies from dumping. The tariffs have done their job, he says. Have they? GEORGE BUSH'S decision last year to slap...

Kyoto's not dead yet.(Protocol to the Convention on Climate Change, 1997)
December 4, 2003... A Russian presidential adviser has said the country cannot sign the Kyoto climate-change treaty. If true, the accord would be dead. But the deputy economy minister insists that Russia is moving towards ratification. What is going on? "THIS...

Striking accord; Israelis and Palestinians; A "breakthrough" in Geneva.(Israel and Palestine peace talks)
December 5, 2003... Israeli and Palestinian moderates have signed an alternative peace plan that deals with supposedly intractable issues, such as shared sovereignty and refugees' right of return. But their governments remain to be convinced TEN years after...

Scrapped.(steel tariff regulation)
December 5, 2003... George Bush has announced the dismantling of America's tariffs on imported steel, while promising to shield domestic companies from dumping. The tariffs have done their job, he says. Have they? GEORGE BUSH'S decision last year to slap...

The not-quite-so-jobless recovery.(job market forecasts)
December 5, 2003... Just 57,000 Americans were added to the payrolls last month. Will this tentative employment growth be enough to keep George Bush on the federal payroll next year? THE American economy hit a wall back in March 2001. By the end of that year,...

What's the Commonwealth for? Zimbabwe quits the Commonwealth; Time to ask what the club is for.
December 8, 2003... Robert Mugabe has angrily withdrawn Zimbabwe from the Commonwealth. If the club of mostly former British colonies cannot encourage or enforce democracy in its own members, then what is it for? IN A new twist on Groucho Marx's adage--that he...

A Brownie Christmas.(junk bond market)
December 9, 2003... Better to feast on cookies than junk bonds BUTTONWOOD travelled last night to Hertfordshire for a rousing performance of "A Brownie Christmas" by the 3rd Rickmansworth (St Mary's) Brownies. Your columnist's youngest daughter, in the...

Vlad the Victorious.(Vladimir Putin)
December 10, 2003... Sweeping aside pro-western parties and Communists, the allies of President Vladimir Putin have won a healthy majority in parliamentary elections. Is this the death of Russia's experiment with democracy? THE most powerful man in Russia just...

Afghanistan's long journey; Decision time in Afghanistan; Talk takes over in a country noted for its violence.
December 10, 2003... Afghanistan's loya jirga (grand assembly) meets this week to approve a new constitution that sets the stage for elections next summer. Though stability is a distant prospect in many parts of the country, Afghans are feeling a little more...

Mr Wen goes to Washington; China's Wen in Washington; Taiwan or trade: pick your squabble.
December 10, 2003... China's prime minister, Wen Jiabao, is on a visit to America that includes a meeting with President George Bush. Mr Wen hopes to quell trade tensions. Mr Bush hopes to quell tensions over Taiwan ON MONDAY December 8th, Wen Jiabao, China's...

Looking south with a friendlier face; Canada's new leader; Life after Chretien.
December 11, 2003... On Friday, Paul Martin replaces the long-serving Jean Chretien as Canada's prime minister. The new regime will try to be friendlier towards the United States WHAT will Canada be like without Jean Chretien? Young Canadians cannot even...

Looking south with a friendlier face; Canada's new leader; Life after Chretien.
December 12, 2003... On Friday, Paul Martin replaced the long-serving Jean Chretien as Canada's prime minister. The new regime will try to be friendlier towards the United States WHAT will Canada be like without Jean Chretien? Young Canadians cannot even...

Mr Wen goes to Washington; China's Wen in Washington; Taiwan or trade: pick your squabble.
December 12, 2003... China's prime minister, Wen Jiabao, has been in America where he met President George Bush. Mr Wen hopes to quell trade tensions. Mr Bush hopes to quell tensions over Taiwan ON MONDAY December 8th, Wen Jiabao, China's prime minister,...

The dictator in chains; Saddam Hussein captured; A turning point in the war?
December 15, 2003... American troops have captured Saddam Hussein in a bloodless raid near his hometown of Tikrit. The event could be a turning point for Iraq "LADIES and gentlemen, we got him." Thus did Paul Bremer, America's top administrator in Iraq,...

A teaspoonful of tax cuts; Germany's watered-down economic package; Agenda 2010: a reform odyssey.
December 16, 2003... Gerhard Schroder has struck a deal with the conservative opposition to save his package of tax cuts and economic reforms. He got most of the economic reforms he wanted, but only half the tax cut AMERICAN conservatives cut taxes first and...

Afghanistan's long journey; Decision time in Afghanistan; Talk takes over in a country noted for its violence.
December 17, 2003... Afghanistan's loya jirga (grand assembly) is meeting to approve a new constitution that sets the stage for elections next summer. Though stability is a distant prospect in many parts of the country, Afghans are feeling a little more optimistic...

A constitution in tatters; Europe's failed constitution; In the bin.
December 17, 2003... Years of negotiation over a proposed constitution for the European Union collapsed in failure at the weekend. Or, to put it another way, they ended in a victory for good sense AFTER 18 months' hard work by the 105 delegates from 25...

The tyrant in chains; Saddam Hussein captured; A turning point in the war?
December 18, 2003... The capture of Saddam Hussein in a bloodless raid near Tikrit could be a turning point for Iraq. But the attacks on coalition forces and their Iraqi allies have not stopped "LADIES and gentlemen, we got him." Thus did Paul Bremer,...

What next for Iraq?(Saddam Hussein faces interrogation by the Central Intelligence Agency )
December 18, 2003... Saddam Hussein faces interrogation by the CIA and will later be tried for his crimes. President George Bush's approval ratings have risen, but plenty more still needs to be done to stabilise Iraq HAVING a genocidal killer in the dock is a...

Qaddafi comes clean.(Muammar Qaddafi)
December 29, 2003... As Libya opens its nuclear laboratories to UN inspectors, the prospects of ridding the Middle East of weapons of mass destruction improve LIBYA'S leader, Muammar Qaddafi, has quickly begun delivering on his promises to stop trying to make...

Something nasty in the Balkans.
December 30, 2003... The revival of extreme nationalists in Serbia bodes ill for the country--and the Balkans as a whole THE scene in Belgrade's central Republic Square the morning after the country's general election on Sunday December 28th was striking....

Bring on the marshals; Homeland security in America and Europe; Danger in the skies.
December 30, 2003... Officials say America may be at the highest risk of a terrorist attack since September 11th 2001. Britain too is watchful. Will putting armed air marshals on international flights, and introducing biometric identification for foreign...