From Adventurers to Inventors, Saudi Women Inspire a New Generation
Saudi women from adventurers to inventors hope a unique conference in Riyadh will highlight their changing roles and inspire younger women to push for new opportunities in the ultra-conservative kingdom. The event comes at a time when reforms are slowly affecting women’s lives in one of the world’s most gender-segregated countries – where women live […]
Which Countries Lead With Women Leaders?
Women made scarcely any progress increasing their presence in the top echelons of government last year, leaving gender equality in legislatures and ministries a distant goal, data showed on Wednesday. A map ranking countries based on women in politics showed the number of women ministers and legislators barely rose, and the number of countries with […]
Making The World Better For Women: From Respect to Ending Macho Violence
Celebrations and protests on Wednesday to mark International Women’s Day highlighted both progress and challenges in every part of the world, amid growing concern that women’s rights are being rolled back. The origin of the global event dates to 1908 when women protested in various countries against working conditions, discrimination and being unable to vote […]
US Law Firm Employs Anti-mafia Laws to Sue Forest Activists
A Canadian forestry giant is using legislation most often deployed against the mafia to sue Greenpeace over allegations about the firm’s environmental record in the latest legal battle between campaigners and resource companies. Launched by Montreal-based Resolute Forest Products the case will reverberate beyond the United States as it impacts how defamation and free speech […]
Seven Earth-size Planets Discovered Where Life is Possible
Astronomers have found a nearby solar system with seven Earth-sized planets, three of which circle their parent star at the right distance for liquid surface water, bolstering the prospect of discovering extraterrestrial life. The star, known as TRAPPIST-1, is a small, dim celestial body in the constellation Aquarius. It is located about 40 light years […]
UK’s First LGBT Retirement Community Set to Open in Manchester
The northern British city of Manchester has announced it is to open the country’s first retirement community for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. There are more than 7,000 LGBT people over the age of 50 in Manchester and the number is expected to increase, the council said in a statement. The project aims […]
The Man Who Mapped Dakota’s Pipeline Like a Jigsaw
Nitin Gadia, a young techie from Ames, Iowa, realised that despite the global controversy, nobody had properly mapped the 1,172 mile-long pathway of the Dakota pipeline despite it crossing four American states. So, with the help of colleagues in Kenya and the Phillipines, he decided to create one himself. Now it’s available on mobile.
Disrupting The Disruptors: The End of The Sharing Economy?
Singapore, a keen early adopter of the sharing economy, has fired a warning shot across the bow of Airbnb and Uber with tighter rules that could shake up their business models and growth ambitions in Asia. The rules, some say, are a sign that even governments sympathetic to companies that allow citizens to rent out their expertise or property have a hard time […]
Trump Presidency Pushing Business to Become Less Global, More Local
Business leaders in Davos, traditionally the high priests of globalization, are talking up the benefits of local production this week to shield themselves from criticism from incoming U.S. President Donald Trump. Elected on a jobs-focused “America First” platform, Trump has taken to Twitter to rebuke major companies like General Motors, Lockheed Martin and United Technologies, […]
Amazon Forest Guardians: Now it’s War
The rainforest shook with the sound of exploding tires and groaning steel as flames tore through a truck carrying giant tree trunks illegally sawn from the Amazon. An agent of Brazil’s environment police had, moments earlier, ordered the driver from his cab at gun point. In a scuffed blue cap and muddied jeans, the 25-year-old […]