2020-07-07 Museum or Mosque? Turkey Debates the Hagia Sofia
In its more than 1,400-year existence, Hagia Sophia in Istanbul has meant many things to many groups of people. The building served for centuries as the main religious center for…
2020-07-06 Egypt Arrests Doctors, Silences Critics over Virus Outbreak
A doctor in Egypt was arrested after writing a report about the country’s broken health system. A pharmacist there was arrested at work after writing online about a shortage of…
2020-07-06 Afghan Man Reopens Oxygen Factory to Help Coronavirus Patients
An Afghan man has reopened a long-shut oxygen factory to provide free service to patients suffering from COVID-19. Najibullah Seddiqi says he closed his factory in 2013 because he had…
2020-07-05 Indonesia Cuts Back on Fire Protection
Budget cuts caused by the coronavirus crisis have forced Indonesia to reduce fire patrols and protection for some of the world’s most important forests, the environment ministry said recently. Indonesia’s…
2020-07-06 Worldwide Slowdown in Fishing Unlikely to Save Rare Species
The worldwide fishing industry has slowed since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. But experts say it is unclear if the slowdown will help endangered sea life recover. Hours recorded…
2020-07-04 Supreme Court Abortion Ruling Meaningful for Election
In its first big abortion ruling since President Donald Trump took office, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked a Louisiana law that would likely have closed all but one abortion center…
2020-07-04 In Greenland, Young People Question Island’s Colonial Past
In Greenland, a 21-year-old hip-hop artist is the face of the local Black Lives Matter movement. His name is Josef Tarrak-Petrussen. Some of his music talks about opposition to colonial…
2020-07-01 Europe Faces Difficult Issues as Germany Becomes EU President
Europe faces big economic, trade and public health issues as Germany takes over the presidency of the Council of the European Union. The EU’s most powerful member became president of…
2020-06-29 Mississippi Removes Sign of Confederacy From Flag
Mississippi lawmakers voted Sunday to remove the Confederate flag emblem, which dates back to the U.S. Civil War, from the state’s flag. The move had wide support from both political…
2020-06-30 AP: White House Knew of Russian Bounties in 2019
The Associated Press reports that top White House officials knew in early 2019 about intelligence findings that Russia offered money to the Taliban for the deaths of Americans in Afghanistan.…
2020-06-28 Can US Help Achieve Unity for Syrian Kurds?
Syrian Kurdish groups recently announced plans to work together to govern the northeastern part of Syria. United States officials have expressed support for the unity effort. Since 2012, two groups…
2020-06-28 Increased Illegal Hunting in Parts of Asia, Africa
In parts of the developing world, coronavirus safety measures have fueled concerns about an increase in illegal hunting of wild animals. Some people say the hunting is a result of…
2020-06-27 Ugandan Runners Struggle to Train for Tokyo Olympic Games
The coronavirus pandemic has some of the world’s top runners struggling to train for the Tokyo Olympics next year. Training areas were closed, and races cancelled, to help protect people…
2020-06-27 Drug Approved 25 Years Ago Changed Fight Against AIDS
Larry Kramer used to wear a lot of turquoise jewelry on both hands. When Kramer moved to New York City in the 1970s, a fortune teller told him he must…
2020-06-26 UN: Migrants in Somalia Know Little if Anything About COVID-19
It is hard to imagine that there is anyone in the world who has not heard of the new coronavirus and the disease it causes, COVID-19. But, migrants arriving in…