October 2006

In This Issue

• China's Energy by the Numbers
• New UN Leader
• Are Muslim Protests Losing Their Value?
• Bigger Than the Exxon Valdez Disaster?
• Non-Aligned Summit in Havana, Cuba

Features

China's Energy by the Numbers. China is hoping to achieve energy conservation and efficiency as it moves toward its goal of quadrupling its gross domestic product from 2000 to 2020. Here is a detailed look at the numbers involved—and some are very large.

http://vps.stanleyfoundation.org/articles/2006think10_cbtn.php

New UN Leader. "Global challenges call for global responses," says Ban Ki-moon, the next secretary-general of the United Nations. But Kofi Annan's successor, who takes office January 1, remains optimistic about the world body's future.

http://vps.stanleyfoundation.org/articles/2006think10_newunleader.php

Are Muslim Protests Losing Their Value? Leaders of the Muslim world may have done themselves a disservice by encouraging protests against the Pope's recent comments on Islam, writes Sherif Hamdy in an opinion piece recently published by the Middle East Times.

http://www.metimes.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20060921-022807-1347r

Beyond the Headlines

Bigger Than the Exxon Valdez Disaster? The United Nations Environment Programme recently pledged 50 million euros (about $64 million USD) to the International Assistance Action Plan developed to clean up last month's oil spill on Lebanon's border. An estimated 10,000 to 15,000 tons of fuel oil seeped out to sea after Israeli warplanes bombed a Lebanese oil storage facility. The spill, which could rival the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster, has affected over 150 kilometers of coastline in Lebanon and Syria, threatening wildlife such as the green turtle, covering areas of the ocean floor with a black sludge, and destroying historical ports.

Non-Aligned Movement Holds Summit in Havana, Cuba. The recent Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit in Havana, Cuba, brought delegates from 116 countries together to discuss international issues and the role of NAM countries in the current political climate. Many world leaders used this opportunity to define the changing role of the NAM and express their solidarity with one another, while some also spoke out against the contemporary international framework, which they described as unipolar and US-dominated. Amidst many statements and exchanges, including an important promise of cooperation between the leaders of India and Pakistan, the summit issued a powerful closing statement summarizing the results of their meeting.

Friend of the Foundation

The Pacific Forum at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) works to help stimulate cooperative policies in the Asia-Pacific region through debate and analyses undertaken with the region's leaders in the academic, government, and corporate arenas.

Stay Active

Are you frustrated because you feel the media isn't focusing on an issue of concern to you? AskQuestions.org is where you can let the media know the questions you want answered. So, consider posting the foreign policy questions on your mind.

New Resource