In The News

Ecologists Fear Disaster as Oil Rush Takes Grip in Quake Zone

Nick Paton Walsh August 25, 2003
The Russian island of Sakhalin will soon be home to the largest energy project in the world, and there is fear, possibly the largest disaster. The oil rich island borders Japan and lies directly on top of an active seismic fault line, a fact that has environmentalists up in arms. They fear that the underground pipelines will not be able to withstand the island's frequent earthquakes and...

Ecologists Fear Disaster as Oil Rush Takes Grip in Quake Zone

Nick Paton Walsh August 25, 2003
The Russian island of Sakhalin will soon be home to the largest energy project in the world, and there is fear, possibly the largest disaster. The oil rich island borders Japan and lies directly on top of an active seismic fault line, a fact that has environmentalists up in arms. They fear that the underground pipelines will not be able to withstand the island's frequent earthquakes and...

Ecologists Fear Disaster as Oil Rush Takes Grip in Quake Zone

Nick Paton Walsh August 25, 2003
The Russian island of Sakhalin will soon be home to the largest energy project in the world, and there is fear, possibly the largest disaster. The oil rich island borders Japan and lies directly on top of an active seismic fault line, a fact that has environmentalists up in arms. They fear that the underground pipelines will not be able to withstand the island's frequent earthquakes and...

Exploited and Far from Home, Some Au Pairs Are Mistreated

Anna von Münchhausen August 15, 2003
Working and living abroad as an au pair should be an exciting and rewarding experience for young men and women. It gives them the opportunity to stay with a family while they experience an unfamiliar culture. But this very unfamiliarity – so exciting when the au pairs are warmly received – can also leave them vulnerable to abuse. In March 2002, the German au pair market was liberalized and...

Knock, Knock…Who's There? Many Migrants!

Joseph Chamie August 5, 2003
All people have the right to leave their country, writes Joseph Chamie, Director of the United Nations Population Division, but they do not have the right to enter another without permission. As population growth soars in the developing world, this apparent contradiction is creating a dilemma for developed countries, which are being inundated with illegal migrants. According to Chamie, the...

US Vote Threatens Anglican Unity

Stephen Bates August 4, 2003
A decision today by the US Episcopal church could lead to a wave of dissension and split the worldwide Anglican church, says this article in the UK's Guardian. Yesterday, at the triennial general meeting of the US church, American lay and clergy representatives voted to approve the election of the church's first openly gay bishop. Earlier this year, openly gay Gene Robinson was elected...

US Courts' Role in Foreign Feuds Comes Under Fire

Adam Liptak August 3, 2003
Courts in the United States are increasingly being used to adjudicate disputes occurring beyond US orders, explains the New York Times. Some cases involve human rights concerns and also financial compensation: A Scottish woman sued in New York to stop construction of a proposed holocaust memorial in Poland, relatives of Venezuelans killed in Caracas sues the Venezuelan president in a Miami court...