Tributes from stars and fans have been pouring in for singer Michael Jackson, who has died aged 50 after suffering a cardiac arrest at his Los Angeles home. The BBC has received a flood of comments on Michael Jackson’s death from around the world.
President Barack Obama has announced a major reform of banking regulation to prevent future financial crises. The overhaul will require big banks to put more money aside against future losses to curb excessive risk taking. Consumers will get a special agency to protect their interests and regulate mortgages and credit cards. In outlining the reforms, President Obama described them as the biggest shake-up of the US system of financial regulation since the 1930s.
Mexico’s drug cartels are stepping up the violence. Recently senior police officers, members of their families and a judge have been assassinated in broad daylight. Do you fear this might spill over into the United States? What should Washington do about it?
Is it merely the absence of war? How do the personal and political meanings of peace relate to each other?
Do you have a ‘must read’ tip? Do you prefer novels over non-fiction?
President Obama has called for the U.S. to become energy independent, saying its reliance on foreign oil and global warming posed threats. Outlining his energy priorities, he said the country would not be held “hostage to dwindling resources, hostile regimes, and a warming planet”.
The World’s Aaron Schachter tells us about challenges facing US troops in Afghanistan’s Helmand province, among the country’s most violent regions. It’s largely controlled by the Taliban, but it’s also home to the largest US Marine base in Afghanistan. Watch Aaron Schachter’s audio slideshow. Listen to the radio report
National parks around the world provide important refuge for people and wildlife. They’re places where humans can reconnect with the natural world and where animals are protected from human encroachment. But parks rarely provide enough habitat to ensure the survival of an entire species. This is especially true of large predators like jaguars. Jaguars are the biggest cats in the all of the Americas. And in Central America, scientists are trying to protect Jaguars by finding and protecting the corridors that the cats use as they roam from park to park. Julia Kumari Drapkin reports from Panama.
A new report from Physicians for Human Rights documents the impact of rape and sexual violence on Darfuri women refugees living in Chad. Many women live with the trauma of attacks that happened when they first fled Darfur. But those are compounded by the ongoing daily threat of rape in and around the camps where [...]
British author and journalist Simon Winchester is currently researching a new book, which he calls a “biography of the Atlantic Ocean.” And as his research takes him to weird and wonderful parts of the globe, he’s been checking in with us. From the Purple Islands off the coast city of Essaouira in Morocco, to the Sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia, you can revisit Simon’s Atlantic ports of call right here.
It was out of the headlines while Mexico struggled with the swine flu virus. But the war between the government and Mexico’s drug cartels continued without interruption during the outbreak. The World’s Lorne Matalon reports.
The record label that brought Bob Marley, Roxy Music and U2 to the world’s attention has turned 50 – and as part of the celebrations a month-long exhibition, Island Life, opened in London on May 22nd. With the help of archive interviews with Island Records’ founder Chris Blackwell, and artists including Bryan Ferry, Jimmy Cliff [...]
Turn back the clock to 1986. The Cold War is in full swing. The Soviet Union is seven years into its occupation of Afghanistan. And Afghan resistance fighters — the mujahedeen — are making life very difficult for Soviet troops. Afghanistan was as dangerous in 1986 as it is today. That didn’t stop the humanitarian group “Doctors without Borders” from going in. A new book portrays the journey one photographer took with the group into war-torn Afghanistan. Here’s The World’s Clark Boyd.
