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.
With an Aroma of Rotting Flesh, Indonesian Corpse Flower Blooms in Ohio
A flower unlike any other flower is growing at The Ohio State University’s Botanical Greenhouse. After years of cultivation, what may be the worst smelling flower in the world, the amorphophallus titanum, has bloomed.
Gnomes Invade the Chelsea Flower Show
Britain’s world renowned Chelsea Flower Show celebrates its 100th anniversary this week by lifting its ban on ornamental figures, better known as gnomes.
Invisible Workforce: Immigrant Domestic Workers Test New Ways to Settle Disputes
Domestic workers are sometimes called the world’s largest “invisible” workforce. In the US, many of these workers are immigrants and women. This final story in our series is from Boston, where domestic workers and their employers are testing new ways to settle disputes that might not involve a courtroom.
Finding Skywalker’s House: Photos of Old Movie Sets in North Africa
Visual artist Ra di Martino grew up loving Star Wars. A few years ago, she set out to photograph the ruins of the old sets used to film the movie’s desert scenes. It took her to Morocco, and Tunisia, where she found the house Luke Skywalker lived in.
Why Political Cartoons Make People So Mad
If you’re mad about something on TV, in a magazine or even a radio program like The World, you can write to us. But if you’re the subject of a political cartoon or caricature and you disagree with it, what do you do? It’s that sense of helplessness that prompted The Nation’s longtime editor and publisher Victor Navasky to write a book out the power of cartoons.
Barbie’s Berlin Dreamhouse Draws Protests
There’s a new attraction in Berlin: Barbie – The Dreamhouse Experience. It’s a massive pink building with a giant pink high-heeled shoe out front. Even though it just opened on Thursday, it’s been drawing protests for weeks now. Protesters say Barbie’s Berlin Dreamhouse represents a backward image for women in Germany. Susan Stone reports on the controversy.
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.
Breast Cancer: One Disease, Three Stories
Gertrude Nakigudde is an accountant in Kampala, Uganda. I’m a freelance reporter and journalism instructor in Seattle. Angelina Jolie is, well, Angelina Jolie. We’ve all had mastectomies, and we’ve all nursed parents through their final days with breast cancer [...]
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.
Muslim Community in Britain Reacts to Child Sex Scandal
A high profile case of child rape and human trafficking of teenage girls in the UK has led to the conviction of Pakistani and North African origin. The men are expected to be sentenced next month. Talat Ahmed is Chair of the Social and Family affairs committee for the Muslim Council of Britain.
Sexual Abuse Victim Compares Military Service to Being Trapped In ‘Domestic Violence Relationship’
US military leaders were summoned to the White House on Thursday for a crisis meeting about sexual assault in the Armed Forces.
Obama Administration Reeling and Dealing With It
Over the past few weeks the Obama Administration has been rocked by a series of scandals and legislative failures, from the failure of gun control legislation to accusations of politics at the IRS.
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