In February, a group of 30 volunteers left from San Francisco to begin the first-ever U.S. Peace Corps mission to Cambodia, a nation in Southeast Asia recovering from years of war and upheaval. Volunteers will teach English to secondary school children as well as work within communities to help improve living standards. The 1970’s and […]
A quick glance at Dubai’s skyline confirms that the United Arab Emirates’ (U.A.E.’s) three decade long economic boom is running at full throttle. Once a quiet, somewhat impoverished corner of the Persian Gulf, the Emirates has become a top tourism destination and a major hub for foreign investment in the region. New skyscrapers and five-star […]
The U.S. started 2007 with several passport-related changes, including one that requires all passengers entering the country by air show passports upon arrival. On January 8, the government tightened entry requirements for holders of Iraqi passports, effective immediately. To enter the United States, Iraqi citizens must now provide a “G” or “H” series passport, an […]
In an effort partially intended to curb vehicle congestion and pollution in the French capital, city hall has rolled out a scheme to offer more than 20,000 bicycles at more than 1000 stations around Paris. Tourists and locals alike can take part in the program, which will operate on a swipe-card system, and is free […]
A recent United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) report revealed that up to 30 percent of girls aged twelve to eighteen in Kenyan resort towns of Mombasa, Kilifi, Malindi and Kwale are involved in the sex industry. According to UNICEF, nearly half of all girls entered prostitution as young as twelve or thirteen. Much of the […]
Ski resort owners are increasingly coming to terms with the risk global warming poses to their weather-dependent industry. Many are now turning to wind power as an alternative source of energy. In the Sierra Nevada mountain range of California, temperatures are expected to climb five or six degrees by the end of the 21st century. […]
When Beijing won the bid to host the Olympics, officials promised “clean” Games, both in terms of corruption and the environment. While the city has met a number of its goals, many argue Beijing still has a ways to go. Just recently, China’s Communist Party ousted its vice mayor of Olympics construction, Liu Zhihua, for […]
In a joint effort by Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Authority, a $5 billion project is being proposed in an attempt to revive the Dead Sea. In what is also being billed as a peace conduit, involved parties hope the project will not only save the fast-diminishing body of water – a resource shared among […]
For many years, the fate of the mountain gorilla has looked dire. The gorillas live in east Africa’s Virunga Mountains, a chain of volcanoes bordered by Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. Gorilla populations face threats from habitat loss, poaching, disease and years of war and conflict. With only approximately seven hundred individuals […]
