Economy | ANALYSIS
Households to take hit from tax hike
by Tomoko Otake
The consumption tax increase will hit every household in Japan hard, with many people’s financial future hanging on whether their wages rise enough to offset the hike's impact.
Social Issues Sep 30, 2013
Russia anti-gay law casts shadow over Sochi Olympics
by Kathy Lally
Let other mayors fret about potholes, taxes and sewers. This is an Olympic city, and here is the jeans-clad mayor striding into his office on a recent afternoon, fresh from a landslide, and not the electoral kind. When Sochi won the 2014 Games, life ...
Tech Sep 22, 2013
Computer pioneer getting a reboot
by Anthony Faiola
A founding father of the modern computer, Alan Turing devised a machine that unraveled Nazi codes and aided the defeat of Adolf Hitler. Convicted of homosexuality after World War II and sentenced to chemical castration, Turing — an avid fan of the film “Snow ...
Social Issues Sep 19, 2013
French say 'non' to kid pageants
Child beauty pageants may soon be banned in France after a surprise vote in the Senate rattled the pageant industry and raised questions about how the French relate to girls’ sexuality. Such contests, and the dolled-up beauty queens they produce, have the power to ...
Social Issues Sep 7, 2013
A 'he or she' may actually prefer to be called 'ze'
by Ruth Tam
As Nicholas Gumas settles into his third year at George Washington University in the U.S. capital, he won’t just ask incoming students for names, majors and hometowns. If the situation calls for it, he will ask for preferred gender pronouns (PGPs). To clarify their ...
Social Issues Sep 6, 2013
U.S. gay couples still face challenges serving abroad
by Josh Hicks
Austin Watkins had reason to celebrate when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a key portion of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), marking a breakthrough in gay rights and making his husband eligible for federal benefits everywhere in the United States. But as a ...
World Sep 3, 2013
Gay Russian teens face life in closet
Like other gay teenagers in Russia, Maxim Moiseyev grappled with his identity alone, frightened and uninformed. Adults either ignored him or admonished him. Classmates reviled him. And a new law that forbids minors from hearing anything positive about homosexuality has only made life harder. ...
Social Issues Sep 2, 2013
Mary Cheney says sister 'dead wrong' on gay marriage
Mary Cheney, the lesbian daughter of former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, posted on Facebook on Friday night that her sister, who is running for the Senate in Wyoming, is “dead wrong” to oppose same-sex marriage. Liz Cheney, who is opposing Republican Sen. Mike ...
Business Aug 30, 2013
Treasury OKs gay marriages
The U.S. Treasury on Thursday recognized gay marriage under tax laws, giving the same tax benefits to legally married same-sex couples that heterosexual couples enjoy. The landmark ruling applies to all lawfully married same-sex couples in the country, even if they live in states ...
Social Issues Aug 25, 2013
First Swiss sex drive-in divides Zurich residents
As the Swiss city of Zurich opens the country’s first sex drive-in to better regulate prostitution and move the sex trade outside the city center, residents, politicians and sex workers remain divided over the plan. The nine so-called sex boxes, located in a former ...
Social Issues Aug 25, 2013
European experiments with sex drive-ins, 'love parks'
The Swiss city of Zurich is to open a sex drive-in on Monday. Similar initiatives exist in Germany and Italy, while Belgium and the Netherlands have come up with a different approach. Here are some examples. Germany: The cathedral city of Cologne established a ...
Crime | ANALYSIS Aug 23, 2013
Transgender community unsure whether Manning's move will be blessing or curse
by Monica Hesse
“I am Chelsea Manning. I am a female.” It was a declaration. It was riveting morning television. It was a teachable moment, in public statement form, after Bradley Manning, the U.S. Army private, was convicted on charges including espionage and theft. It was, due ...
Crime Aug 23, 2013
Hormone therapy adjusts body's balance over years
The hormone replacement therapy that U.S. Army Pfc. Bradley Manning has requested alters the body’s balance of sex hormones: estrogen for male-to-female and testosterone for female-to-male transitions. Sometimes, male-to-female patients will also be given progesterone, another steroid typically produced by the ovaries, as well ...