In Japan, Citizen Radiation-Tracking Project Goes Big Time
A post-Fukushima effort to crowdsource radiation data in Japan has since become the largest source of radiation data in the country. And it’s now set to expand to other parts of the world. Catherine Winter reports from Tokyo.
Amidst Political Chaos In Cairo, Artists Seize the Moment and Blossom
In the midst of a security vacuum, a looming economic crisis and a political stalemate in Egypt, no one is paying much attention to culture. If and when they do, artists don’t expect much encouragement from the new Islamist government. But for the moment, they are taking advantage of a new margin of freedom, using public spaces and trying to reach wider audiences.
Europe’s New Olive Oil Law Seen by Many as Meddling
The European Union has passed a law banning unlabeled olive oil flasks and dipping bowls, the kind traditionally seen in restaurants in Spain. Instead, restaurants must offer sealed, clearly labelled throw-away oil containers. Some applaud the measure as a way to fight fraud. Others see it as out of touch meddling by far away politicians.
NOAA Surveys US Coastal Waters for Leaking Shipwrecks
There’s a new study out about the risk of ocean pollution caused by shipwrecks. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has come up with a map of the many, many shipwrecks that dot US coastal waters.
The Late Ray Manzarek’s Influence Around the Globe
Ray Manzarek, keyboard player and founding member of the 60s rock band The Doors, has died aged 74. Marco Werman gives Manzarek a send-off with some of the sounds he helped influence from Togo, Nigeria and Cuba.
Syrian Doctor in US Weighs Whether to Go Home
Ahlam is a 28-year-old medical resident from Syria. She came to the US late last year to give birth to her daughter. Her family in New York is pressing her to stay, but she left her husband behind in Syria. Now she has to decide whether to stay in safety or go back.
Deep Sea Mining: Economic Bonanza or Environmental Boondoggle?
After decades of dreaming and scheming, companies say they’re finally ready to start mining the bottom of the world’s oceans for valuable minerals. Christopher Werth reports from London on one company’s plans, how environmental scientists view the prospect of digging up the sea floor, and how Howard Hughes and the CIA helped pave the way.
Duped, Sold into Prostitution, then Rescued: A Vietnamese Girl and the Man Who Saved Her
Reporter Phillip Martin has been investigating human trafficking in various parts of the world and in Vietnam he found a glimmer of hope, as a young woman who was kidnapped and sold to a brothel in China, returns to her family.
Car Bombing in Turkish Border Town Adds to Growing Tensions Between Syrian Refugees and Local Turks
Last week when I arrived in Reyhanli, a Turkish town on the border with Syria, I was met with an air of anxiety, anger and an unsettling chaotic calm. An hour earlier, two car bombs had exploded, resulting in the death of 51 people.
School Year Blog: Six Things that South African Teenagers Learn in China
Two COSAT students traveled to China for a chemistry competition. In the process, they learned a lot of lessons — about snow, about perceptions of Africans, and about chopsticks.
Syria War: Fierce Battle for Key Town
Fierce fighting has been reported in the strategic Syrian town of Qusair, as rebels and government forces backed by Hezbollah militants fight for control.
Murder of PTI Senior Official Zara Shahid Hussain Rocks Karachi
In Pakistan, a high-ranking female politicians was gunned down on Saturday. Reporter Fahad Desmukh in Karachi tells anchor Marco Werman about the murder of Zara Shahid Hussain and explains how her death is creating instability for a key US ally.
For Counter-Trafficking Expert Matt Friedman, Sex-Trafficking is Slavery
Matt Friedman fights sex-trafficking in Asia. Friedman worked with various UN agencies tackling the issue, and is now with the counter-trafficking organization Liberty Asia. After encountering first-hand trafficked victims on the streets of Nepal as a public health officer, Matt Friedman dedicated the next 20 years to anti-trafficking activism and fundraising.
Bangladesh Garment Industry: Surviving the Rana Plaza Building Collapse
Hundreds of garment factories are up and running again Friday in Bangladesh. They’d been closed down by three days of protests over dangerous working conditions.
Global Push to Improve Labor Conditions for Cleaners, Maids, and Nannies
Domestic workers balance a complex set of relationships, whether they’re employed in the US or elsewhere.
South Sudan: The Army Accused of Looting and Attacking its Own People
South Sudan is not quite two years old. The world’s newest country was created in July 2011, after decades of fighting a civil war against the north. But it is now facing its own internal rebellion. The army there is being accused of terrorizing its own people in the eastern state of Jonglei.
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