In The News

Child Labor: The Cause Can Also be a Cure

Susan Ariel Aaronson March 13, 2007
Pressure of globalization has led to child trafficking and forced labor. Similar global pressure from public opinion can also put an end to the practice. Five years ago, reports emerged about small groups of children being trafficked and forced to pick cacao beans – the main ingredient for chocolate – in West African plantations. Outraged US officials, industry groups and activists organized the...

The Price of Progress: Transforming Islam’s Holiest Site

Hassan M. Fattah March 12, 2007
Mecca, birthplace of the Prophet Mohammed and Islam, is the destination for millions who arrive from every corner of the world for the religion’s annual pilgrimage, the hajj, required once of every fit worshipper. Steeped in history, the city has now become a target for tourism development, including malls, hotels with speakers that broadcast public prayers, fast-food restaurants and amusement...

Hershey's Outsourcing

Herb Field March 7, 2007
Entire towns often grow up around a company. For example, Hershey, Pennsylvania, was nicknamed “the sweetest place on earth,” after Milton S. Hershey built what was then the world’s largest chocolate factory in 1903. Hershey constructed not only a factory that provided a luxury product to the middle class, but a community with comfortable homes and services for his employees. More than 100 years...

Muslim Alienation Risk in Europe

February 26, 2007
Integrating Muslims into European society has proven difficult for many EU member states. Fears of stereotypical extremism run rampant in non-Muslim populations, and Islamophobic incidents are on the rise in the EU, though still under-reported. A report from the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia details statistics and discriminatory practices against Muslims in the areas of...

Polio Cases Jump in Pakistan as Clerics Declare Vaccination an American Plot

Declan Walsh February 22, 2007
Pakistan’s remote northwestern frontier, one of the few remaining hotspots of polio in the world, has been a major focus of efforts to eradicate the disease. Now, however, health workers in Pakistan face a new obstacle: political fallout from the US-led war on terror. Local tribal and religious leaders have convinced thousands to refuse polio vaccinations in the belief that the vaccine is an...

Internet Users Transformed Into News Reporters

February 16, 2007
Cell-phone cameras and digital cameras are ubiquitous tools that provide immediate images of any news happening. Websites like NowPublic and YouWitnessNews now offer a public platform for news reports, videos, photos and commentary supplied by amateurs all over the world. NowPublic.com claims more than 60,000 contributors in more than 140 countries. The new websites work with traditional news...

A Desert Louvre?

Heiko Klaas February 13, 2007
When Dubai announced that it was building a series of islands representing “The World,” a real estate deal in which Rod Stewart is rumored to have purchased “Great Britain,” many commentators thought that the emirate had gone too, hilariously, far in its pursuit of luxury. But last month, the art world stood aghast at another announcement: The rulers of Abu Dhabi offered to buy a large share of...