In The News

Millions Celebrate Pride Around the World

June 30, 2003
This year, the annual gay pride celebrations taking place in major cities throughout the United States had an additional reason to celebrate: The US Supreme Court passed a landmark decision decriminalizing private, gay sex between consenting adults. Public officials present at the gay pride parades lauded the landmark decision. In New York, San Francisco, Atlanta, Chicago and Seattle alone,...

Controlling the Flow

Gamal Nkrumah June 27, 2003
In the same week that European Union (EU) leaders met in Thessaloniki, Greece to discuss migration issues, a vessel carrying African migrants trying to enter Europe sank off the coast of Tunisia, killing some 70 people. This was one of the many vessels operated by illegal immigrant-trafficking gangs in Northern Africa who carry Africans to Mediterranean coastlines. Ironically, top on the agenda...

Nike Versus Sweatshop Critic: Back to California

S.L. Bachman June 27, 2003
Nike, the world's largest shoe manufacturer, could become the world's leader in improving labor standards across the globe. If US courts decide that it must, that is. The US Supreme court decided on June 26 to allow a California state court to proceed with a trial in which US-based Nike is charged with lying to the public about labor conditions in its factories overseas. A California...

Mistakes Aplenty Over Gas Pipeline

June 24, 2003
The construction of a Thai-Malaysian gas pipeline has caused numerous clashes between Thai police and protestors. The protestors, many from Muslim villages affected by the construction, claim that the pipeline is unnecessary because demand for natural gas will not be high enough unless new heavy industries are developed in the region. But any such development, they say, would place a heavy burden...

Europe Set to Begin Digital Tax

Bob Tedeschi June 23, 2003
Unlike traditional trade transaction, e-commerce conducted online across national borders creates new tax issues that can be confusing. As Europe's number of internet users grows and overtakes the US and Canada, the European Union (EU) is scheduled to begin a new value-added tax plan, which will levy taxes on all imported goods and services purchased over the Internet. Foreign companies,...

2 Nuclear Weapons Challenges, 2 Different Strategies

David E. Sanger June 21, 2003
The U.S. has warned both Iran and North Korea that nuclear weapons programs will “not be tolerated”. But Washington is pursuing differing strategies with each country. With North Korea, which admits it already has weapons and is developing more, the Bush Administration is attempting to cut off development by slowing imports and exports. With Iran, which maintains that its program is peaceful and...

Unreformed, Unrefined, Unrepentant

June 20, 2003
The 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis seriously disrupted many economies in the Asia-Pacific region and impeded global economic growth. Governments and international institutions have since tried to draw lessons from that nightmare. In this article in The Economist, the author says that there is still much to be learned and dealt with, including Thailand's current problems with its taxation...