The "Third World" Page?

I've noticed that the NY Times relegates almost all major stories about Third World nations to Page Three. For example, yesterday's story on the Monday-night Indonesia earthquake—the paper's first story to offer any official, non-speculative body counts—ran on Three. Indonesia is the lead photo, but the front, above the fold, was as usual dominated by U.S and Iraqi politics. Page Three seems to have become the place for Third-World stories that are worthy of Page One.

Granted, December's tsunamis made One—does a Third World story have to be that big, that cataclysmic, to get past Three?

A newspaper's front-page priorities should rotate from day to day. The Times' front ought to emphasize more than just U.S. and Iraqi government news.