newsdesk.org: Focus: Inside the Issues Archives

Yemen Steps, Uneasy, From Past to Future

Yemen -- the ancestral home of Osama bin Laden, bordered by Saudi Arabia and the Red Sea -- is opening...

Infants and International Incidents

With regulations tightening in China, Western couples are increasingly looking to Vietnam for overseas adoptions. But the trend is creating...

Friend of Hostages, or Friend of Hostage-Takers?

Venezuela's firebrand President Hugo Chavez has been deeply involved in recent months in trying to resolve the long-running standoff over...

The Burma Backstory: How Fossil Fuels Keep the Junta in Business

Although most of the world's political powers, including the United States, have condemned the Myanmar junta's crackdown on reformist protesters,...

Oil Spills Are Commonplace, Decried, and Tolerated

Far from isolated mega-catastrophes -- such as the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster in Alaska's Prince William Sound -- oil spills...

The Arab Christians

News Analysis by Newsdesk.org Your comments welcome Chaldeans, Maronites, Coptics and Orthodox Catholics: Once the dominant peoples of the Middle...

A Flood of Trouble for a Thirsty World

Analysis by David Agrell, Newsdesk.org Unsafe water from New York to New Delhi, toxic rivers in China, drought in England...

In China, Pollution Crashes the Party

News analysis by David Agrell, Newsdesk.org China's rapid economic growth has come at a cost: environmental degradation that stokes civil...

Election Reform Stumbles on HAVA Hangups

By Jed Herrington, Newsdesk.org As the first elections of 2006 approach, states are rushing to satisfy the technology upgrades mandated...

Bought It for a Song
Online Music Earns, But Can't Beat P2P

Newsdesk.org Staff Report Legal online music services are gaining a larger share of the music market, but are having only...

Christians & the War

Newsdesk.org Staff Report The latest al Qaeda terror attacks have sparked renewed media coverage of Islam's relationship with violence, and...

Who Are the Terrorists?

By Martin Leatherman, Newsdesk.org staff When considering ways to curb terrorism after last week's London bombings, some analysts say that...

The Future of File Sharing

By Martin Leatherman, Newsdesk.org People reading last week's headlines regarding MGM's victory over Grokster and Streamcast in the U.S. Supreme...

The Patriot Act

By Martin Leatherman, Newsdesk.org staff This Fourth of July weekend, Americans will descend on their local parks and fire up...

Third World Debt

By Martin Leatherman & Josh Wilson, Newsdesk.org On July 2 the world's eight richest nations are expected to cancel $40...

Plastics & Your Health

By Martin Leatherman & Newsdesk.org staff New studies of chemicals used in plastics reveal potential health problems, including miscarriages and...

Selling Weapons to the World

Newsdesk.org staff report A new report claims that America's commitment to peace and security is belied by its status as...

Update -- United Nations Reform

By Martin Leatherman & Newsdesk.org staff The United Nations faces louder calls for reform as the Iraqi oil for food...

Drugs, Guns & Politics

By Martin Leatherman & Newsdesk.org staff Terrorism, political instability and the drug trade have been forged into a single problem,...

A Back-Door Draft?

By Martin Leatherman, Newsdesk.org On May 12 the Pentagon won the latest in a series of legal battles over its...

The Labor Movement

By Martin Leatherman, Newsdesk.org Even as income and union membership declines for America's working class, problems of forced labor and...

"Nuclear Earth Penetrators"

By Martin Leatherman, Newsdesk.org The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty meeting at the U.N. this month has spurred contentious debate about America's...

The Glaciers Melt

Martin Leatherman, Newsdesk.org The melting of the world's glaciers is bringing new attention to the threat of global climate change....

The Activist Judiciary

Martin Leatherman, Newsdesk.org With Representative Tom DeLay calling for the dismantling and rearranging of the courts, and three contentious federal...

FOCUS: Peak Oil

Martin Leatherman, Newsdesk.org Are the days of cheap oil over? With prices soaring above $50 a barrel, the world is...

FOCUS: Overfishing -- Local to Global

Jodi Wynn & Newsdesk.org staff According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, overfishing is leading to a humanitarian...

FOCUS: Bolivia -- a Talent for Upheaval

Newsdesk.org Staff Report Natural gas, cocaine, water, racism, widespread poverty, and a legacy of almost 200 coups in almost as...

FOCUS: Troubles for Sinn Fein

By Jodi Wynn, Newsdesk.org Recent crimes linked to the Irish Republican Army have undermined support for the group, and Sinn...

FOCUS: Syria and Lebanon

By Jodi Wynn, Newsdesk.org The February 14 assassination of Lebanon's former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri has heightened tensions along the...

FOCUS: Women in Iraq

By Jodi Wynn, Newsdesk.org intern As democracy takes a step in Iraq, traditional gender roles and the strong ties between...

FOCUS: The Saudi Election

By Jodi Wynn, Newsdesk.org intern Many Saudis were skeptical when their government -- an absolute monarchy -- announced it would...

FOCUS: Nepal

By Jodi Wynn, Newsdesk.org Intern [Read an update on the Nepal crisis.] "Down with the royal proclamation!" protestors in Kathmandu...

FOCUS: Regulating Chemicals

The link between human health and our environment may be obvious, but the devil is in the details. In January,...

FOCUS: Beyond the Tsunami -- Aceh's Turmoil

Before the tsunami, the rebellious Indonesian province of Aceh was hardly a household name -- and even after the world's...

FOCUS: Tsunami Ecology

Research by Allison Bloch, Newsdesk.org Intern, and Michael Stoll, Guest Editor In response to the question of why stories about...

FOCUS: Election Reform

Research by Allison Bloch, Newsdesk.org Intern The controversies of the 2000 presidential election provoked heated debate and new legislation intended...

FOCUS: The Recount Accounts

Research by Allison Bloch, Newsdesk.org Intern BREAKING NEWS: Get the latest on U.S. election recounts. Improved processes and technology were...

FOCUS: Liberal theology

Research by Allison Bloch, Newsdesk.org intern Are all faith-based politics necessarily conservative? A survey of recent media coverage of religion...

FOCUS: Military Prison Abuse

Research by Allison Bloch, Newsdesk.org Intern Get the latest on this story. Not too long ago, there was no escaping...

FOCUS: Bhopal Anniversary

By Allison Bloch, Newsdesk.org Intern Bhopal, a city in central India, still suffers from a horrific gas leak that occurred...

FOCUS: Women & Politics

Article research by Allison Bloch, Newsdesk.org Intern Simply having the right to vote does not guarantee civic enfranchisement or equal...

FOCUS: Faith & Politics

"Values voters" and George W. Bush's successful election campaign have made religion the hot political topic. Today's edition of FOCUS...

FOCUS:
Mad cow scare stirs markets, food safety doubts

Appetite undiminished The latest mad cow scare sent markets into a schizophrenic spin, first crashing, and then rebounding on the...

FOCUS:
Gay student t-shirt controversy

A gay pride t-shirt has renewed the focus on free speech, civil rights and community values, as viewed through the...

FOCUS:
Pinochet: new charges follow abuse report

A report issued earlier this month in Chile found that 35,000 people were abused by the Pinochet regime. The document...