In The News

A Graphic Film of Protest, and Cries of Blasphemy

Marlise Simons September 27, 2004
The assimilation of Europe's many millions of Muslim immigrants dominates public discourse in the continent today. Many critics of Islam see Muslims as carrying a set of values at odds with the European identity, calling for internal reform within Muslim communities. Even some Muslims also approach the contentious issue from this angle. Ayaan Hirsa Ali, a Somalian-born refugee, now a member...

Baby Perks for Parents

Daniel Buenas August 24, 2004
The flipside of the myriad benefits enjoyed by economically developed countries is a general decrease in birth rates. When fewer children are born, a dwindling working class must support the elderly population’s increasing healthcare costs while maintaining economic output. Singapore is combating this trend by offering women incentives for childbirth: an additional month of maternity leave and...

Coping with World Population Boom and Bust – Part II

Joseph Chamie August 24, 2004
In a growing number of countries, average fertility rates have fallen below replacement levels, the numbers necessary to ensure stable population. While concerns about shrinking populations have arisen in the past, the issue now affects almost all regions of the world. In the second installment of a two-part series, UN demographer Joseph Chamie details governments' struggles to curb the...

Report Reveals London's Sex Slaves

Simon Jeffery August 19, 2004
A recent report provides a snapshot of London's off-street prostitution, claiming that more than 8,000 women are working in brothels, saunas and massage parlors across the city, as well as businesses that put up ads in newspapers and websites. A closer look at the nationalities of these women, however, finds that three quarters of them are non-British, coming mostly from eastern Europe and...

The Metrosexual Superpower

Parag Khanna August 16, 2004
Europe is a “metrosexual” superpower, writes Parag Khanna, a fellow in global governance at the Brookings Institution; just as modern metrosexual men mix traditional masculine traits such as strength with an eye for style, Europe wields influence around the globe through soft power and finesse. Instead of overt displays of military strength, Europe has racked up diplomatic success through doling...

Southeastern European Nations Unite to Battle Sex Trafficking

David Binder August 15, 2004
According to the International Organization for Migration, 200,000 women are trafficked through Southeastern Europe each year. In response to this tragic crime rate, the Southeast European Cooperative Initiative in Bucharest has conducted three regional sweeps against human traffic rings. The Initiative, which opened in 2001 with American assistance, recently helped arrest five offenders in a...

Olympics in an Age of Global Broadcasting

Emma Wensing August 10, 2004
For forty years now, the Olympic Games have been televised to audiences around the globe, providing a public forum for assertions of national greatness and claims of superiority. In this context, writes Olympics scholar Emma Wensing, international sport "can be seen as a substitute for war, as physical prowess becomes a measure of a nation’s standing on an international stage." Yet...