In The News

Headscarf Ban Misses the Point

Shada Islam January 30, 2004
The debate that has raged in France for 15 years over the right of Muslim girls to wear religious headscarves to school has come to a head with a plan to ban the practice. The French ideal of strict separation of church and state has pushed the government to ban this "conspicuous" display of religious identity in state schools. Moreover, some feminists and government officials consider...

One Hand Clapping in the Caucasus

Kenneth Weisbrode January 26, 2004
As Georgia's newly elected president takes office this week, much of the world has high hopes for the future of his new government. Outsiders have been trying to influence developments in Georgia and neighboring Azerbaijan for some time now, says Eurasia scholar Kenneth Weisbrode, but if recent history is any indication, the path to stability in the Caucasus region is still quite rocky....

Schooled by Scandal

John Plender January 21, 2004
If anyone thought that the accounting scandals of Enron, WorldCom, and Global Crossing were a distinctly American phenomenon, the results of the past few weeks – Parmalat, Adecco, and Ahold – prove otherwise. On both sides of the Atlantic, dark-dealings among executives was one part of the scandal, the other was improper accounting oversight. But the case of Paramalat has highlighted an even...

Headscarf Ban and Multi-Secularisms

Muhamad Ali January 20, 2004
In Jakarta, Muslim women protested France's headscarf ban at state schools in front of the French Embassy. To these Indonesian women, France's prohibition of religious symbols, including large crosses and Jewish skullcaps, violates the rights of French citizens. Headscarves, they maintain, are a religious obligation, not a cultural expression, and outlawing them interferes with a...

Germany to Allow Import of GMOs

Kristina Merkner January 16, 2004
Long known for its opposition to genetically modified organisms, Germany will soon allow the cultivation and sale of GM foods. The minister for consumer protection, food, and agriculture, herself a member of the pro-environment Green party, says the new laws will benefit farmers looking to grow GM crops but also give consumers a choice through mandatory labeling of all GM foods. Other anti-GM...

EU Seeks Sanctions Against US

Mark Tran January 15, 2004
Just days after US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick called on other countries to renew global trade negotiations, the US is under fire for failing to comply with the trade rules it helped establish. Last year, the World Trade Organization (WTO) declared that the 'Byrd Amendment' put the US in breach of the organization's rules. The amendment allows the US to distribute funds...

Europe's Lesson, from Brussels to Baghdad

Wolfgang Schauble January 13, 2004
Europe's crisis over the ideal constitution for the EU stems from fundamental differences between contending countries, says Bundestag official Wolfgang Schauble. France and Germany's belief in the right of majority rule is their justification for insisting on having their way on certain key economic and political decisions. With large populations, they expect greater clout. Poland,...