In The News

Brussels Blocks Austrian Attempt to Create GM-Free Zone

Andrew Osborn September 3, 2003
A movement against genetically-modified crops in Europe appears to be no match for the powerful US biotechnology lobby. The European Union, bowing to pressure from the US representatives to the World Trade Organization, is well on its way to lifting its 5-year old moratorium on GM crop approvals. The latest battle was won by pro-GM forces this week when the EU Commission told Upper Austria that...

Dutch Groups Launch Gay Marriage Manual

September 2, 2003
In the latest battle over convergence on global attitudes and laws regarding homosexuality, Dutch gay rights groups have published a manual outlining how and why their country legalized gay marriage. The guide also offers advice to politicians and activists in other countries on how to promote equal rights for same-sex couples and gays and lesbians more generally. The handbook's...

Germany Deadlocked Over Immigration Policy

Dominic Sachsenmaier August 22, 2003
Economic integration around the world does not necessarily equate to acceptance of multi-culturalism at home. Though German industry and banks straddle the globe, linking countries and societies economically, many Germans are fiercely fighting the influx of foreign influence - particularly through immigration. These Germans feel passionately about preserving a homogenous society and are...

Strict CO2 Limits Will Send Work Abroad

David Gow August 20, 2003
Strictly enforcing a new emissions policy could cause a mass exodus of jobs and energy business from Britain. The German-owned energy company Innogy – one of the country's largest energy suppliers – is concerned that the United Kingdom will apply the EU's new carbon emissions trading scheme more stringently than other member states. The new scheme caps the amount of carbon dioxide...

Russia to Hold Large-Scale Naval Exercises

Vasily Bubnov August 18, 2003
The Russian Pacific Navy began large scale military exercises on August 18 y in its Far Eastern waters. Invitations to participate were sent to several of Russia's neighbors as well as to Canada and the United States. South Korea and Japan dispatched ships to join the exercise, but China, North Korea, and the US declined. The official aim of the navy maneuvers is to hone skills for...

Exploited and Far from Home, Some Au Pairs Are Mistreated

Anna von Münchhausen August 15, 2003
Working and living abroad as an au pair should be an exciting and rewarding experience for young men and women. It gives them the opportunity to stay with a family while they experience an unfamiliar culture. But this very unfamiliarity – so exciting when the au pairs are warmly received – can also leave them vulnerable to abuse. In March 2002, the German au pair market was liberalized and...

Harvesting Poverty

August 11, 2003
Two hundred years ago, the English navy blockaded French ports, cutting the country off from the sugar cane of tropical colonies and forcing Napoleon to push French farmers to grow beet sugar as a replacement. The blockade eventually ended, but the farming of beet sugar did not. Indeed, as this New York Times editorial points out, beet sugar is vehemently protected by EU agricultural policies...