In The News

Iranian Pilgrims Resume Journeys to Iraq

September 30, 2003
Two of the holiest places for Shi’ite Muslims – the cities of Karbala and Najaf – are located in Iraq. Devout Iranian pilgrims have traditionally journeyed to these cities each year to visit the burial sites of prominent Shi'ite religious figures. The Iranian government halted pilgrimages when the US invaded Iraq, fearing for the safety of the travelers. However, these measures did not...

China: Controls Tighten as Internet Activism Grows

September 28, 2003
Human rights watchdog Amnesty International says that the world's most populous country is fighting a shameful battle against its own people. The Chinese government has implemented some of the most restrictive internet regulations in the world, banning Chinese web users from visiting certain foreign websites, and even suppressing speech and dissent on China-based websites. In less than a...

Why is Zimbabwe Overlooked By SA's Sunshine Advocates?

Goko September 26, 2003
With an Islamic appeals court's acquittal of Amina Lawal, the Nigerian woman who was sentenced to death for having sex out of wedlock, feminist activists from around the world are celebrating a victory against conservative Shari 'a law. However, as the editorial in this Johannesburg daily points out , violations of women's rights are common in many parts of Africa – Muslim,...

Bush Covers Up Climate Research

Paul Harris September 21, 2003
In an investigation by journalists at the British weekly Observer, emails and internal memos have been uncovered that implicate President Bush's administration in deliberately covering up scientific evidence that links oil and gas emissions to global warming. For years environmental scientists have been warning of global warming, but the Bush administration has always insisted that the...

Whatever Will Be Will Be Free on Internet

Steve Lohr September 20, 2003
After Napster, the first Internet music sharing network, was closed down by the recording industry three years ago, people in the industry were expecting some peace, but they were wrong – new software such as KaZaA and Morpheus, even better designed, emerged and were soon on computers across the globe. Now the recording industry has decided to make individual file sharers its targets. This has...

Field of Tears

Jonathan Watts September 16, 2003
Although we cannot know whether Lee Kyung-hae intended to die when he stabbed himself in the heart at last week's WTO meeting in Cancun, people in his hometown see him as a hero who would have given his life to bring attention to the plight of South Korean farmers displaced by trade liberalization. Once a successful farmer and advocate of modern farmer techniques – he even received an award...

Protests Greet Yet Another WTO Meeting

Pranab Bardhan September 8, 2003
As the World Trade Organization prepares to meet in Cancun, Mexico, backers and detractors of globalization are clashing again, with each side claiming to represent the interests of the world's poor. Those opposed to globalization in its current form point to an increase in inequality and poverty in countries that have opened up to international capital and corporations, while supporters...