Last month’s appointment of a Saudi woman as Deputy Minister of Women’s Education – the first female appointment of its kind – is an encouraging development, one that may influence change and accelerate reform in Saudi Arabia.
Women are making strides in other sectors too. For example, the government has appointed a female dean at a university in Riyadh and one can find women who head departments in some Saudi hospitals.
Iran’s president on Wednesday sent the clearest signal yet that the Islamic Republic wants warmer ties with the U.S., just one day after Washington spoke of new strategies to address the country’s disputed nuclear program. Taken together, the developments indicate that the longtime adversaries are seeking ways to return to the negotiating table and ease a nearly 30-year-old diplomatic standoff.
Only 9 per cent of adults believe young people make a positive contribution to their local communities, says a new study in the UK. But, according to experts, the media’s vilification of all young people is unfounded.
“Reading the great British press, it would be easy to think that all our teenagers are involved in gangs and wielding knives. There is a problem with youth crime in some parts of the UK, but teenagers are more likely to volunteer than any other age group, while nearly two-thirds of 10- to 15-year-olds have raised money for charity.”
(Read the full story in The Independent)
Thanks to Nic B. for the story tip!
Blame a long winter, blame media fixations with bad news, blame the credit crunch and the thought of looming global depression – Britons are more fearful than they were 10 years ago, the Mental Health Foundation says. And more people are suffering from anxiety, which can lead to depression.
The foundation wants a “mental health promotion campaign that shows individuals how to look after their own mental health”. Mental health professionals offer some simple suggestions, like buying a light box, getting out in the garden or petting a cat.
Sand sculptures on the theme “Kings and Queens” have been carved out on the beach of Le Touquet in northwestern France. Some 130 artworks are on display until the end of August.
Sculptors from around the world took part, using 2000 tons of sand in all.
(Watch the Video below – it may take a moment to load, click the “X” to close the overlayed advertisement – or watch at Clip Synidicate)
Trials by companies including Panasonic and Toyota are underway at 3,000 homes throughout Japan, to bring mini hydrogen power plants into backyards that will provide heat and power while emitting a fraction of the carbon dioxide of normal energy sources by using a hydrogen fuel cell to convert natural gas into electricity. It’s called a fuel cell cogeneration system.
With the economy declining and unemployment lines growing, some residents in New York are hoping to make an unusual career switch: trading in their blackberries for turntables. One deejay school has seen enrollment double in the past year.
(Watch the video below (it may take a moment to load), or at Clip Syndicate)
At no other time in recent history has it been easier or cheaper to start a new kind of company. Possibly a very profitable company. Let’s call these start-ups LILOs, for “a little in, a lot out.” These are Web-based businesses that cost almost nothing to get off the ground yet can turn into great moneymakers (if you work hard and are patient, but we’ll get to that part of the story).
How do you get started? All that’s required is a great idea for a product that will fill a need in the 21st century. These days you’d do best if your idea either makes people money or saves them money.
Conservationists have discovered a new population of orangutans in a remote, mountainous corner of Indonesia – perhaps as many as 2,000 – giving a rare boost to one of the world’s most critically endangered great apes.
Thanks to the team from The Nature Conservancy.
After the population of osprey in Massachusetts plummeted to 12 pairs in the 1960s, the majestic bird began a slow recovery starting after the banning on DDT in 1972. The state removed the osprey from its listing as a species of special concern when the nesting population hit 300 pairs. Today, there are between 1,000 to 1,500 osprey pairs that nest in southern New England.
(Read the full story at Cape Cod online)
(Photo by Mike Baird, CC license 2.0)
On Easter Sunday the CBS Sunday Morning show explored the concept of forgiveness. One woman has forgiven the man who killed her son in a drunken driving crash, and now embraces him during public events where the two talk to high school students about drinking and driving.
Yet a parent of another boy killed in the same crash says his son will have died for nothing if he, the father, was to to offer any forgiveness whatsoever.
What is your view? Watch the video in the link below to hear from religious leaders and others on the case for forgiveness.
(You can also read the full story at CBS)
Thanks to Malcolm W. Henley for submitting the story link!
Yesterday, President Obama took initial steps to reach out to the Cuban people, fulfilling a campaign promise to lift travel restrictions and limits on money sent by Americans to Cuban family members.
The Secretaries of State, Treasury and Commerce will carry out the actions necessary to lift all restrictions on the ability of individuals to visit family members in that country, and to send them remittances.
He’s further directed that steps be taken to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian items directly to the Cuban people.
The number of Americans killed on U.S. highways last year was the lowest since 1961, the Department of Transportation announced Monday.
The rate of deaths on U.S. highways also hit a record low last year — 1.28 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, down from 1.36 in 2007, the department said in a news release.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood credited more widespread seat belt use for the drop. High gas prices may have also played a roll, taking more drivers off the road.
Saving four lives, a passenger landed a twin-engine plane at Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers after the pilot died in flight.
(Read full story at New York Times)
Photo courtesy of Sun Star.
Apa Sherpa has stood on top of the world more times than anyone in history, and now he is heading back up Mount Everest, not for the fame or glory, but in the name of environmental protection.
This spring season, Apa, 49, hopes to conquer Everest for the 19th time, bring down as much rubbish as he can carry. and also use the trip to focus attention on how climate change is affecting the Himalayas.
Navy Seals rescued an American sea captain in a surprise nighttime assault in choppy seas Easter Sunday, ending a five-day standoff and freeing the captain, who is in good health. The surviving pirate was taken into custody and is being treated humanely.
Video may take a moment to load…
President Barack Obama and his family hosted hundreds of children on the South Lawn today for the annual White House Easter Egg Roll.
Watch the video below showing the president helping a tiny girl who was having trouble moving her egg.
It’s decided: the Obamas have chosen a 6-month-old Portuguese water dog to be the first pet. It was a gift from Senator Ted Kennedy and fulfills the president’s election night promise to his daughters.
They named it Bo, after Bo Diddley, and Michelle’s father, whose nickname was Diddley.
(White House photos of Bo- arriving at the White House, and greeting the first family)
(Video below may take a moment to load.)
Today, the Peace Baptist Church will hear the familiar story of Easter resurrection and rebirth.
And, rising again is something the 150-member congregation knows a thing or two about. Last spring, the church’s longtime home, a massive Classic Revival building, was consumed by fire, but soon members will break ground on a new building and begin with earnest to live the Easter message.
“God has shaken us,” said the Prince of Peace’s pastor for the past 18 years. “We have a greater awareness of our purpose.” He envisions more neighborhood outreach – more work with struggling families, more direct assistance in neighborhood schools.
Sears will roll out in May a Spring line of men’s suits made of the first high-tech fabric that blends wool with polyester spun from recycled plastic soda bottles.
And get this: This suit is machine washable and can be tossed in the dryer, eliminating the need for dry cleaning and upping the eco-friendly ante, Danser said.
