Disease

A massive Egyptian campaign to eradicate a blood parasite went disastrously wrong, causing an epidemic of hepatitis-C that infects up to a fifth of the country's population. U.S. and Egyptian epidemiologists say the hepatitis spread through the Egyptian population by way of unsterilized needles and reused syringes that were used to combat a blood fluke. It is the world's biggest case of blood-borne viruses being spread by a medical campaign.

European Union

British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook has warned Austria that anti-foreigner and anti-European Union (EU) nationalist sentiment has no place in a modern Europe. He added that it is especially important for the EU to take a tough line against Austria in the name of Central and Eastern European states hoping to join the EU. His statement is ironic given that Austrian nationalism pales in comparison to nationalist sentiment further east. In fact, only a few days earlier, the far-right party in EU-candidate Hungary announced its intention to join in the government with a ruling coalition party. Cook's statement is an affirmation that Europe has only begun to deal with nationalism in EU expansion.

Child Abandonment

A "baby bank" where mothers can safely abandon unwanted infants by pushing them through a hatch into the care of social workers has opened in Germany. The idea, pioneered in Hungary, is already established in Minnesota and being considered by California and Colorado.

Water

Water, the stuff of life, has become the source of dangerous friction, with developing nations jousting over water supplies as their populations soar and their environment deteriorates. Worldwide, at least 214 rivers flow through at least two countries with no enforceable laws to govern allocation. According to the World Commission on Water, a 20-percent increase in fresh water will be needed by 2025, when the world's population of six billion people is expected to have increased by three billion. Ismail Serageldin, vice president of the World Bank, predicted in 1995: "The wars of the next century will be about water." The biggest flashpoint is the Middle East, a region that is predominantly desert in climate, has a huge rate of population growth, shrinking aquifers and a seething tradition of strife.

Global Warming

If global warming proves true, scientists predict it will cause millions to succumb to disease in an increasingly unhealthy environment. David Pimentel, a professor of ecology at Cornell University, says global warming would create a favorable climate for disease-causing organisms and food-plant pests. Tony McMichael, professor of epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, echoes his comments: "Global warming has already caused a marginal change in the last decade. We are getting into an unfamiliar and hazardous world."

Cyberwarfare

Fears that mass "hack attacks" such as those recently perpetrated against some of e-commerce's biggest names are escalating. Some experts feel the potential damage could be as great as a nuclear attack. Russia, China, Cuba, Iraq, Iran and several other countries are gearing up for electronic warfare. Cyberwar is not just for hackers anymore, and the Pentagon is not napping. The United States will consolidate its efforts by establishing a cyberwar center in Colorado in October.

Unclean Meats

The chef who admitted using pork in place of veal at the prominent Bella Mia restaurant in San Jose, California, has been suspended, and the Santa Clara County district attorney has launched an investigation. Confronted with the accusation, Bella Mia's chef Gary Kjolhaug admitted to serving pork tenderloin in place of veal for at least five years, without the restaurant owner's knowledge.