In The News

Stefan Tangermann August 22, 2003
Farm subsidies remain an extremely contentious issue as the widely anticipated WTO meeting in Cancun draws closer. While farmers in developing countries plead with wealthy nations to eliminate trade distorting tariffs and subsidies, farmers in the developed world fear that doing so will destroy their farms and way of life. However, Stefan Tangermann, director for food, agriculture and fisheries...
Dominic Sachsenmaier August 22, 2003
Economic integration around the world does not necessarily equate to acceptance of multi-culturalism at home. Though German industry and banks straddle the globe, linking countries and societies economically, many Germans are fiercely fighting the influx of foreign influence - particularly through immigration. These Germans feel passionately about preserving a homogenous society and are...
Julia Angwin August 21, 2003
After the birth of a long-awaited son or the recovery of an ill spouse, Hindu women often visit a temple and shave their long locks as a gesture of thanks. Few suspect that their sacrificed hair may end up on the head of a European or American woman, possibly even a Hollywood actress. Yet temples across India make tidy profits selling the hair of pilgrims to foreign companies that make hair...
Gwynne Dyer August 21, 2003
News channels – even the most reputable ones – are disproportionately covering stories about violent Muslims, London journalist Gwynne Dyer maintains. On any given night, the international news is likely to be dominated by stories about Iraqi guerrillas, Islamic terrorists in Indonesia, rioting between Muslim sects in Pakistan, and Europeans taken hostage by Muslim guerillas in Mali. Covering...
Chris Buckley August 18, 2003
Few Chinese wait for the latest American film to open in local theatres to see it on big screen. Thanks to the internet and computer technology, pirated films are readily available throughout China long before their scheduled premiers. Small, locally owned pirate stores have emerged in cities and towns across the country, catering to China's growing market for pirated DVDs and costing the...
Nyier Abdou August 15, 2003
The man who killed 202 people in Bali last year and the man who blew up the Jakarta Marriot last week were both suicide bombers. Both men are also believed to be members of the Southeast Asian Islamic group Jemaah Islamiah, which is increasingly linked in ideology and tactics to Al-Qaeda. And, though experts maintain that JI is "home-grown and local," they also caution that it is...
Derwin Pereira August 13, 2003
The Indonesian government cannot directly attack Jemaah Islamiah, the infamous terrorist network responsible for the bombing of Jakarta's Marriot Hotel last week. Though the country supported the UN's blacklisting of the group and knows that members were responsible for the two bloodiest terror attacks in Indonesian history, officials remain reluctant to target the group as a whole....