BY: STEFANIE AWRONSKI Zika, the tropical virus that originated in Africa around 1947, has been devastating Latin America and the Caribbean. It has affected more than one million people in Brazil, and close to 4,000 babies have been born with…
Global Stage
Repealing the pigswill ban could radically reduce the EU’s eco-footprint
BY: SYDNEY MCINNIS Thirteen years ago, people all across the European Union could scrape their plates into a bin and know that their leftovers wouldn’t end up in a landfill. That waste would make its way to local farmers,…
South Africa is giving women scholarships if they can prove they are virgins
BY: JESSICA BEUKER On Friday, Jan. 22, the South African municipality of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) announced that 113 students would receive scholarships to pursue higher education within the country. Sixteen of those scholarships were designated specifically to female students—so long as…
Indian burn victim is standing up against acid attackers by becoming a fashion model
An Indian woman by the name of Laxmi Saa, who suffered severe acid burns, as a form of punishment, is the new face of a fashion campaign called “Face of Courage”. The campaign not only challenges societal notions of beauty,…
Dirty little secret of one of the world’s largest oil companies has been exposed
By. JACK M. ExxonMobil is one of the world’s largest oil companies – perhaps the largest – with annual sales in the hundreds of billions of dollars. The energy behemoth has been accused of misleading its shareholders and the…
It’s not just Hollywood, racial diversity falls from priority in industries across the board
BY: MARIYA GUZOVA Apple shareholder Antonio Avian Maldonado recently submitted a proposal for a new recruitment policy that would bring more women and racial minorities into Apple’s senior management and board of directors. Currently, 15 out of the 18 people…
Trophy hunting events are being cancelled across Canada
BY: JESSICA BEUKER Last weekend, an African trophy hunting show was expected to bring hundreds of hunters from all across the world to Vaughan, Ontario, a city just north of Toronto. The host of the show, Borgata Wedding and Event…
Apparently, North Korea has invented hangover-free alcohol
BY: ALEXANDRIA LEE Don’t let its Big Brother-esque dictatorship, brutal concentration camps, and general isolation from the rest of the world turn you away – apparently, North Korea is also now home to a new drink that has all the…
What the new assisted suicide law could mean for the mentally ill
BY: STEFANIE AWRONSKI Euthanasia and assisted suicide are practices that have a long history of blurring the lines between being simply issues of legality or morality. As it stands very few countries in the world currently legally employ the uses…
Young voters are feeling the Bern and Hillary Clinton is feeling the pressure
M. TOMOSKI Just months ago, with no opposition and big money supporters like Goldman Sachs, Hillary Clinton was bound for a free ride back to the White House. But as Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump announced their candidacy, Americans on…
In the male-dominated world of auto racing, this environmental activist has made her mark.
“Never underestimate a vegan hippie chick with a race car.” Leilani Münter. By: JACK M. It’s difficult, I know, to reconcile the gas-guzzling, rubber-burning world of car racing with the idea of being a responsible steward of the environment; it’s…
In an attempt to stop elephant poaching, Hong Kong will shut down legal ivory trade
BY: JESSICA BEUKER Great news for elephants – Hong Kong is taking steps to phase out their ivory trade. Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying announced the news Wednesday in his 2016 policy address. He added that the ban would happen as…
Poachers are poisoning endangered vultures to smoke their brains & conjure guidance from beyond
BY: LAURA GARRIDO Vultures–these endangered bald-headed creatures, known for their gluttonous appetite and malicious habits, may be what are preventing disease dissemination. Vultures are known for being bloodthirsty, feasting in blood baths of disease as beaks greedily reach for any…
It’s time to admit that Donald Trump can win…and that the alternative is just as terrifying
M. TOMOSKI With only weeks until the starting gun sounds off in Iowa, it’s time to face some hard truths. In particular, the truth we’ve all denied for months as we chanted, “Trump can’t win” into the wind like a…
Why spirituality can never be bought, it can only be earned
BY: ROB HOFFMAN Follow Rob on Instagram I’ve never been one to buy my spirituality at crystal shops. I doubt anyone ever has. I might retract this if someone could point me to a set of abs acquired from the…
The FBI just made animal abuse a felony on par with homicide, arson, assault and drug trafficking
BY: SWIKAR OLI Starting Jan. 1, 2016, the FBI began tracking incidents of animal abuse as they’ve done for arson, assault and murder. The FBI also raised animal cruelty to a Group A felony in 2014, the same class as…
This retirement home is giving students free rent in exchange for their company
BY: ALEX BROWN There is a largely untapped symbiotic relationship that can exist between youth and the elderly—most fail to see across the cultural and social chasm that separates the two worlds by means of a few decades. Yet research…
Basic income experiments in Europe are giving people free money with no strings attached
BY: DANIEL WATERBORNE Germany is now experimenting with the economic concept of free money. And while the idea of basic income might immediately cause some minds to jump to aggressive suspicion like a 21st century version of The Red Scare,…
Citizens protested a wire fence along the Croatian-Slovenian border with a volleyball match
BY: Marinella Matejčić On Dec. 19, 2015 a unique protest occurred against barbed wire on the border of Croatia and Slovenia. To highlight the historic togetherness of the people on both sides of the border in Istria, Croatia, citizens organized…
These photos are your last chance to see endangered animals before they disappear forever
BY: DANIEL WATERBORNE When nature photographer Joel Sartore’s wife became ill, he was confronted with a stark reality—nothing lasts forever. When his wife received her diagnosis, Sartore gave up traveling to far corners of the world to photograph the world’s…