In The News

What Motivates the Suicide Bombers?

Riaz Hassan September 3, 2009
The heart-wrenching and horrible daily accounts of suicide bombings rarely reveal the underlying cause of the bombers’ motivations. But a comprehensive database at Australia’s Flinders University that has compiled information on these types of attacks from as early as 1981 can shed light on such motivations. And the conclusions are startling, Professor Riaz Hassan, author of a forthcoming book on...

The Political Costs of Caning Kartika

Farish A. Noor September 1, 2009
When the decision was made to cane Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno – a Malay-Muslim woman – for drinking beer in public, Malaysia’s religious authorities did not foresee the ramifications globally or domestically. The former model’s punishment for an act considered common in many parts of the world could tarnish Malaysia’s image as a moderate Muslim state. On the other hand, the government does not...

China’s Incinerators Loom as a Global Hazard

Keith Bradsher August 13, 2009
China’s garbage-burning incinerators have become a contentious issue not just for local residents in an uproar over the smoke, but also for communities and lakes halfway across the world. China’s gigantic economic growth has spawned a monumental garbage problem. And with China’s landfills nearing capacity, the alternative has been to employ incinerators. But the incinerators across China and even...

‘Slaughter’ Fear Over Poaching Rise

Andrew Luck-Baker August 11, 2009
Rising demand for ivory products is wreaking havoc on Africa’s elephant population. According to scientists, poachers kill about 38,000 elephants in Africa annually, a rate that could lead to these animals’ extinction in sub-Saharan Africa in fifteen years. Helped by higher ivory prices, poaching activity has increased significantly in Central Africa, with culling in the eastern and southern...

Economic Downturn Fuels Human Trafficking

Howard LaFranchi June 22, 2009
The global economic recession has resulted in a rise in human trafficking, according to a US State Department report. The report, issued annually and covering 2008, cites 52 countries and territories for failing to combat human trafficking, up from 40 the previous year. While the rise was caused in part by an increase in the number of countries included in the report and the higher standards by...

Immigrants Become Hostages As Gangs Prey On Mexicans

Joel Millman June 12, 2009
The September 11 attacks and tough economic times have created new twists on labor smuggling. As a result of 9/11, authorities have cracked down on illegal border crossings between the US and Mexico. The higher cost and risk to sneak across the border attracted larger criminal gangs, driving out the smaller labor smugglers that once facilitated such crossings. But the gangs themselves found that...

Globalization's Ugly Side: Sex Slavery

John Boudreau June 11, 2009
In the grim side to globalization, scores of young girls from Vietnam are being transported across national borders to serve as sex slaves in countries like China and Cambodia. The traffickers prey on the daughters of poor, often illiterate families who are oblivious to the danger or consequences of human trafficking. These girls, often lured by false promises of profitable employment, are only a...