In The News

MTV Goes to Asia

Kenny Santana August 12, 2003
MTV and American pop music have invaded Asia. Still, local music is flourishing. Though Britney Spears and the show "Punk'd" regularly appear on Asian television screens, locally themed shows currently comprise up to 80 percent of MTV Asia's programming. MTV's strategy has always been to tailor its programming to local tastes, says Jakarta-based writer Kenny Santana....

Antitobacco Trend Has Reached Europe

Lizette Alvarez August 11, 2003
A sip from a pint and a drag on a cigarette are almost ritualistic in pubs across Ireland. Yet, come January 1, the Irish government will impose a ban on smoking in pubs and perhaps permanently change an age-old part of Irish culture. Ireland will be the first country to impose such a ban in Europe. However, its strict new law is merely the most recent development in a growing wave of anti-...

Conservatives Protest Gay Bishop

Ryan Alexander August 6, 2003
Will the Anglican Church split now that the US branch has confirmed an openly gay man as a bishop? The most vocal threats warning of a schism in Anglican unity are coming from the conservative Anglican dioceses in Asia and Africa, where church membership is growing the most rapidly. The Anglican Church's leader, the Archbishop of Canterbury, is responding to the controversy by beseeching...

Partner Immigration Bill Arrives in Senate

Ahmar Mustikhan August 4, 2003
A new bill introduced in the US Congress would allow US citizens and permanent residents to sponsor their same-sex domestic partners for immigration purposes. The bill aims to bring the rights of same-sex couples in line with those of opposite-sex couples in permitting the couple to reside together permanently in the US. "Our immigration laws treat gays and lesbians in committed...

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...

Arab Press Review

Salamander Davoidi August 1, 2003
Anti-American sentiment pervaded Arab newspapers this week. The intensity varies from writer to writer, as does the focus; however, this weekly survey of Arab newspapers shows Middle Eastern media united in their denouncement of American power. One heated Syrian journalist described the US government as violent and stupid, and denounced the US for imposing sanctions on Syria until it has...