Could solar power energize Europe?

It has long been posited that the Sahara desert is a large repository of solar power that could bring cheap and clean energy to all of West Africa. Some claim that it could even provide for Europe, which at this point remains highly hypothetical. Conducting all that energy towards the north remains the larger structural problem. There are, however, some engineers and venture capital firms looking into it right now. German news channel Deutsche Welle has this interesting documentary on alternative energies projects in Africa (in English, 26 min.).

Bangkok is sinking?

You may have heard of "sinking cities" --urban areas built on clay or swampy ground that is giving way to the weight of the buildings above. The cases that come to mind are Venice and Mexico City. Some scientists claim that a combination of soft soil with changes in the sea levels could turn this into more of a problem for some large coastal cities. Global Post reports on Bangkok, the capital of Thailand.

Bangkok is sinking | GlobalPost

Alternatives to female genital mutilation

It's not just production processes, brands, entertainment, or violence that have become globalized. Harmful traditional practices that were once localized continue to be practiced in clandestinity in areas where they are forbidden. Such is the case of female genital mutilation, which has been performed on around 130 million women worldwide. Case in point, Catalonia, a territory in NE Spain, home to one of the largest Gambian communities in Europe. 3,600 women are presumed to have been victims either in underground ceremonies or in the course of "vacations" back home.

Public Health scientist Adriana Kaplan of Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona has been working with Gambian communities towards the establishment of alternative, non-harmful initiation ceremonies for girls. There's been a significant breakthrough now that the Gambian government has accepted to take on Kaplan's project into a National Program.

More information on the science news page Eurekalert.

A $10 laptop?

Following the cue of MIT's $100 "One Laptop Per Child" project, here comes the 500 rupee ($10) laptop. The Times of India reports here.

2008 in photos

2008 photo collection from the German weekly Spiegel.

For Peruvians, Baskets for the U.S. Market Bring a New Way of Life

Reports Roxana Popescu for The New York Times:

...The circuitous route these baskets have taken from the jungle to American store shelves started with a bird watcher’s passion for natural habitats, passed through a regional government whose policies have become increasingly more conservationist, and, supporters say, should end with better lives for the weavers and their communities...

Click here for full article:

Health care in Singapore

World Focus is showing this week a series of reports on how health care is managed in other nations.

Did you know that the US spends 17% of its GDP on health care while Singapore, a country with a higher life expectancy, spends only 4%? Here's a glimpse to the pros and cons of their health care system:

Oprah in the Middle East

Crisis in Zimbabwe - Cholera epidemic

Via World Focus:

Women in Jordan head to work as economy sours

From worldfocus.org:

In the conservative Muslim region of southern Jordan, more and more women are leaving the home for the first time and going to work — largely out of economic necessity. The number of women in the workforce has more than doubled over the past five years.

Worldfocus correspondent Kristen Gillespie reports from Jordan.

Read her blog post about her experience: Divorce outcasts women from Jordan’s social structure.