The term Third World should not be based on any political or economic criteria. Whose arbitrary criteria are those, anyway? But there may be common characteristics today, post-Cold War, among so-called ‘Third World’ countries.
The aggregate term ‘Third World’ has come to mean:
1. The demand and receipt of foreign aid (more aptly called Western aid). Some [...]

In a new agreement, giant pharmaceutical multinationals GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Pfizer Inc., the two leading developers of AIDS drugs, set up a joint company to develop drugs against HIV. This new company will hold nearly a fifth of the market for treatments against the virus. Glaxo will initially have an 85 percent stake in the [...]