In The News

2003: France to Ban Pupils' Religious Dress

Jon Henley December 12, 2003
Muslim girls are the center of a debate that has been raging for 14 years in France; since 1989 (when "l'Affair de Foulard" occurred), the French government has tried to find a way to reconcile the Muslim headscarf with their conception of secularism, particularly within schools. Now, the Stasi Commission, after six months of deliberation and hearings, has ruled that all "...

Anti-Americanism: Causes and Characteristics

Andrew Kohut December 10, 2003
A series of public opinion surveys conducted by the Pew Global Attitudes Project in various countries has found unprecedented levels of anti-American sentiment around the world. Majorities express unfavorable opinions of the US, not only in Western Europe and the Muslim world but also in countries like Brazil and Russia. Even in Britain, the United States' most trusted European ally, 55...

Japan's Mating Culture Extends Baby Drought

David Turner December 9, 2003
The world population will rise to slightly over 9 billion people within the next century. Yet Japan and many European countries face possibly catastrophic population declines. Strikingly low birthrates don’t only threaten economic growth and domestic familial dynamics, but could provoke "shifts in the political weights of countries in the international arena." Concern is so great...

Headscarf Issue has Europe Tied up in Knots

Pek Siok Lian December 5, 2003
Secularism has long been considered a fundamental feature of many European democracies. With increasing immigration from Muslim countries to France, Germany, and elsewhere, these nations have to deal with a growing minority who has a different take on ideal democracy. In France and Germany, the debate has largely centered on the question of the headscarves that are worn by many Muslim women....

Canada's View on Social Issues Is Opening Rifts With the U.S.

Clifford Krauss December 2, 2003
A long running joke among Americans has been that Canada will eventually become the 51st state, so alike are the attitudes and attributes of the two populations. In recent years, however, a chasm has grown between the neighbors with issues such as gay marriage, drug use, and church attendance revealing growing division on fundamental values. Canada has increasingly taken the progressive route,...

Korean-Chinese Demand Citizenship

Kim So-young November 27, 2003
More than 5,000 ethnic Koreans from China have demanded citizenship in South Korea after living in the country illegally for some time. 2,200 of them have been on a 14-day hunger strike since the government in Seoul announced it would be deporting all illegal residents of the country. At least one former prime minister supports the immigrants' position, claiming a parallel with Jews wishing...

Most of the World Still Does Without

November 25, 2003
The world's hungry and sick are more numerous than many may realize. In a survey of 38,000 people in 44 countries - a feat accomplished in large part thanks to globalization - the Pew Foundation finds that hunger and health problems continue to plague people around the globe. Even in the United States, the report notes, medical care is beyond the reach of more people now than it was in the...