In The News

Water Tap Often Shut to South Africa's Poor

Ginger Thompson May 29, 2003
In an attempt to lessen the government's financial burden from household utilities, the South African government has decided to privatize public water operations and start cutoff standards and water-pricing. According to some government officials, this new policy can give people the incentive to lower their consumption and not to waste resources. However, many people in low-income families...

An Exodus Grows in Brooklyn

Michael Powell May 28, 2003
By all accounts, life as one knew it is over in New York City's Little Pakistan. Little Pakistan formed as an ethnic residential and business neighborhood of Pakistani immigrants in the early 1960s. In the decades that followed, the neighborhood transformed into a bustling center of Pakistani-ness, adding to the vitality of multicultural New York. As reported in this Washington Post...

Shop Online? Security’s Still a Worry for S'poreans

Natalie Soh May 28, 2003
According to Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), less than 25% of Internet users in Singapore shop online. The need to touch and fee are important reasons why consumers prefer to shop at stores. Online security and the relatively long period it takes for products to ship to Singapore also deter consumers looking for instant gratification. However, IDA anticipates that as...

Human Rights: UN Envoy Cites Climate of Fear

Marisa Chimprabha May 27, 2003
A U.N. envoy recently completed a 10-day visit to Thailand to investigate human rights issues. She says she found increased concern about the government's interference in NGO activities in Thailand, including worries over government threats to block foreign funding of non-governmental organizations. According to the author of this article in Thailand's The Nation newspaper, a...

Malay-Muslims Have a Role in Remaking Singapore

Lee Hsien Loong May 27, 2003
In the contemporary moment, no country is immune from the possibility of religious and sectarian violence, and the threat of global terrorism. In this speech to a Malay-Muslim youth organization, Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, emphasizes the importance of cultural and religious pluralism, and the critical role of Malay-Muslims in Singapore's continued growth and...

Remake Man

Tad Friend May 26, 2003
In a telling commentary that combines capitalism in Hollywood with the American Dream, a contributor to the New Yorker magazine, Tad Friend, takes the reader through the making of Roy Lee as the "remake king." Lee, a Korean-American, whose parents moved from South Korea to the United States in the late 1960s, has carved out a unique role for himself in Hollywood: It is one that...

The Rise of the Net Dissidents in China

Frank Ching May 22, 2003
In a society where sensitive topics are avoided, virtual space has provided the Chinese people an online civil society where they can be more anonymous and enjoy more freedom of speech. However, the government is also catching up on it, employing tens of thousands of people to monitor web forums and chat-rooms all over China. While most governmental websites are still strictly controlled, more...