In The News

Difficult Times for Coffee Industry as Demand Falls

Tony Smith November 25, 2003
The international market for coffee is not good for the world's millions of coffee farmers. Facing prices at a 30-year low and production increases that outstrip demand, hundreds of thousands of coffee farm workers in Central America and Brazil are being forced off the land or into production of more profitable, yet harmful, coca production. Some former farmers are moving north to find work...

Seeing the Funny Side of Islamic Law, and Not Seeing It

Neil MacFarquhar November 24, 2003
For the past 11 years, a Saudi television show has aired during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan that subtly and sometimes not-so-subtly pokes fun at the Saudi regime and the religious bureaucracy. Muslim leaders call the show religious blasphemy, while the show's avid viewers consider it a light-hearted portrayal of the truth of everyday life. A particularly controversial episode...

Teochews Can Take Pride in Successes

Lee Hsien Loong November 24, 2003
Since at least the 1800s, Chinese immigrants speaking the Teochew dialect have moved to many regions of Southeast Asia in search of a better life. Many of them have become the most successful groups in their adopted countries, says Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Sometimes they seem "more than proportionately represented" in top-notch positions such as the Thai...

Species Red List Makes Bleak Reading

George Wright November 18, 2003
The World Conservation Union (IUCN) published its latest "red list" of endangered species, expanding the list by 15 percent from last year's. The list now includes 12,259 species classified as critically endangered, endangered, or vulnerable. These species are distributed around the world, but Indonesia, India, Brazil, China and Peru are among the countries with the highest number...

In Turkey, a History Lesson in Peace

Seyla Benhabib November 18, 2003
Escaping from the Spanish Inquisition in the 15th century, many Sephardic Jews sought refuge in Turkey, founding a community that has survived for 500 years. The relations between the Jewish people and their Muslim hosts – from the Ottoman Empire to the secularized state – have been traditionally cordial and friendly, argues author Seyla Benhabib. But the recent bombings of two synagogues in...

Draft Law Would Expand Rights

Ko Shu-ling November 5, 2003
Taiwan's cabinet is considering a human rights bill that would enact sweeping changes in its official treatment of a variety of issues. The version of the bill now before the Cabinet would establish the right to vote through referendums on issues of public policy and constitutional reform. The right to hold a referendum has been contentious since Taiwan began its push to democratization,...

Church Sexuality Guide Calls for Compassion

November 4, 2003
Last week's consecration of an openly gay bishop in the US Episcopal Church threatened to break apart the global Anglican Church. Bishops from Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, and South America expressed strong dissent with the US church's decision. In light of the conflict, the Church of England issued a guide asking for compassion towards homosexual, bisexual, and transsexual people....