Iceland boasts some of the lowest rates in the world for teen alcohol and other drug use, and the rates have been dropping for the last 20 years (The Atlantic, January 19, 2017). Nations and municipalities around the globe are now adopting the “Youth in Iceland” model and seeing similar results.
In an anticipated move, this week President Trump announced that the U.S. will move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem—a move that will likely take three to four years (Fox, December 6, 2017). This move, along with Mr.
The fall armyworm is now present in 38 African nations, including the Cape Verde Islands (Deutsche Welle, November 24, 2017). The worms are extremely destructive and feed on over 80 plant species, including the all-important staple crop of maize (corn). Experts fear that half of Africa’s agricultural crops could be destroyed by the blight in years to come—wiping...
Just prior to the recent German elections, former German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg spoke at a rally in Bavaria, where 1,000 people came to support him (Financial Times, September 1, 2017). Guttenberg resigned from his government post seven years ago due to a plagiarism scandal and moved to New York, where he has continued to speak out on...
Recently, Saudi Arabia summoned Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to Riyadh where he was apparently ordered to follow the peace plan being written up by the Trump administration (The Times, November 14, 2017).
New research from the University of Toronto Mississauga warns, “Humans may be affecting animal evolution [adaptation] on an unprecedented scale as a result of widespread urbanisation” (IB Times, November 3, 2017).
Twenty-three of 28 EU nations recently agreed to form “the nucleus of a joint army” (EU Observer, November 13, 2017). The agreement supports development of rapid reaction forces and an updated military with high-tech weaponry and armaments.
Britain’s fall from greatness has been relatively swift. The nation that ruled the air and the waves and helped bring victory in two World Wars has fallen from its pinnacle of power. The New York Times soberly wrote, “Britain is undergoing a full-blown identity crisis.
Scientists working in northwest China have examined ancient tree fossils and discovered that trees “that grew more than 300 million years ago had a far more complex structure than their counterparts today… The earliest trees had an astonishingly intricate anatomy for reasons scientists do not understand” (The Independent, October 23, 2017).
A tragedy is underway in the world’s youngest country, South Sudan. Years of warfare have brought crop destruction, starvation and resulting hyperinflation—a rise in food prices by over 280% since last year (Deutsche Welle, November 6, 2017). Food shortages have affected 4.8 million of the nation’s 12 million people.
