In response to last week’s violent quelling of anti-government protesters by the Burmese military, a UN special envoy was sent to the isolated South Asian country for talks with military and opposition leaders. Ibrahim Gambari, a former Nigerian foreign minister, was able to meet with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under […]
On July 22, four mountain gorillas were shot and killed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Virunga Mountains. The remains of a fifth gorilla, a female who had gone missing after the attack, were discovered August 16. Her infant, who had been with her, is now presumed dead. These six deaths bring the year’s […]
On July 22, four mountain gorillas were shot and killed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Virunga Mountains. The remains of a fifth gorilla, a female who had gone missing after the attack, were discovered August 16. Her infant, who had been with her, is now presumed dead. These six deaths bring the year’s […]
On August 3, 2007, East Timor designated its first national park, just five years after attaining independence from its occupier of 25 years, Indonesia. Conservationists applauded the move for its efforts to protect some of the nation’s endangered species while promoting tourism to the troubled Asian island. Nino Konis Santana National Park encompasses 305,415 acres […]
In a demonstration of tightening controls over religious freedom in Tibet, the Chinese People’s Armed Police (PAP) destroyed a 30-foot high statue of the Buddhist figure Guru Rinpoche, or Padmasambhava, in Samye Monastery, the oldest monastery in Tibet. Guru Rinpoche is worshipped by Tibetan and Chinese Buddhists alike as the founder of Buddhism in Tibet […]
The delicate balance of life on Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands-whose unique, isolated ecosystem helped inspire Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution-is at serious risk. Mass tourism, invasive species, and ineffective enforcement of environmental regulations are the major threats facing these iconic islands, according to a UNESCO fact-finding mission. Located 620 miles off the Pacific coast of Ecuador, […]
On March 28, San Francisco became the first U.S. city to prohibit non-biodegradable plastic bags in supermarkets and drug stores. The ban, which will come into full effect later this year, adds an important voice to the growing global movement toward cutting down plastic bag usage worldwide. Between 500 billion and 1 trillion plastic bags […]
Mumbai’s latest attraction seems an unlikely match for India’s most cosmopolitan city: guided walks through Dharavi, Asia’s biggest slum and home to over 600,000 people. For an afternoon, visitors give up the glamour of Bollywood for the grime of the hutments, where great industry and extreme poverty lie side by side. The tour has triggered […]
