In The News

More Children Seeking Asylum in Finland

Katja Martelius March 2, 2007
Every year, hundreds of children illegally enter Finland seeking asylum – most from conflict zones likes Afghanistan, Iran or Somalia. They leave their families behind, paying as much as US$20,000 to a smuggler and traveling for months to reach their new European home. The government rejects about half of the applications for asylum, but allows a few to stay – at least for a while. The government...

Muslim Alienation Risk in Europe

February 26, 2007
Integrating Muslims into European society has proven difficult for many EU member states. Fears of stereotypical extremism run rampant in non-Muslim populations, and Islamophobic incidents are on the rise in the EU, though still under-reported. A report from the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia details statistics and discriminatory practices against Muslims in the areas of...

The New Cyprus Controversy: Oil

George Gilson February 15, 2007
Cyprus has at least several billion barrels of oil in offshore fields, although the exact amount is uncertain. The island has been divided into two parts since 1974, when Turkey intervened in a coup and Turkey protests attempts by Cyprus to make oil deals with neighboring nations such as Egypt or Lebanon or international oil firms. The United Nations maintains a buffer zone across Cyprus – one-...

Turning Colder

February 13, 2007
Over the past year, concerns that Russian President Vladimir Putin is returning his country to authoritarianism have arisen amidst a series of events that would suit a novel by John LeCarre. With internal enemies of the regime arrested or murdered, by way of an obscure, radioactive poison or by a fleeing gunman in the night, Russia’s government has became more secretive and more insistent on...

You’ve Never Had it So Good

February 12, 2007
Although there have been some costs, Britain has gained overall from the globalization of the last decade. Perhaps because of its colonial past, “The Economist” argues, Great Britain has embraced the economic shift in the developed world from manufacturing to services brought on by globalization. The country has seen a decade of solid economic growth and per-capita GDP levels surpassing those of...

Smuggler’s Plot Highlights Fear Over Uranium

Lawrence Scott Sheets January 26, 2007
Officials in Georgia, a former Soviet republic, have arrested people carrying around uranium samples in garbage bags – and involved US officials in their investigations. Defying security measures imposed on such nuclear material, the sellers seek interested buyers. Terrorist groups and even some insecure nations would be willing to pay hefty amounts for the ingredients of a nuclear weapon,...

Russian Court Backs Closing of Chechen Rights Group

Peter Finn January 25, 2007
Authorities sometimes regard activism as extremism, especially when groups criticize government policy. Russian authorities put a stop to the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society, after the group reprinted statements by Chechen separatists, linked to the mass school killing in 2004. The group is funded by organizations based in the West, and Russia has passed laws prohibiting anyone convicted of...