Latest Stories from Sofia
Is a breast cancer vaccine on the horizon?
Researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine have been working on a jab to control the disease for two decades. The study’s latest results show a great deal of promise. At present, some seven million women across the globe suffer from breast cancer, making it one of the deadliest forms of the disease on Earth. In 2022 alone, the National Breast Cancer...
Royal Opera House cuts ties with BP
Following pressure from climate activists, the arts venue has become the latest cultural institution to sever its sponsorship relationship with an oil and gas giant. This week, BP and the Royal Opera House announced that they had not extended their partnership deal beyond December 2022, when their most recent contract came to an end. The move follows years of protests and public outcry against fossil fuel companies having financial involvement in...
UK government denies calls for ‘menopause leave’
Proposals to change British legislation to protect the rights of women experiencing menopause have been dismissed due to fears such a move would discriminate against men. While women’s health has undergone a generational culture shift in recent years, prompting more open discourse around historically stigmatised concerns regarding our wombs, tales of dismissal by both male and female physicians remain rife. This issue is known as the gender health gap, whereby women...
Could Colombia be the first oil-rich country to ditch fossil fuels?
The South American nation’s left-wing government has announced it will not approve any new oil and gas exploration projects as it seeks to shift towards a more sustainable economy. In June last year, ex-rebel Gustavo Petro won Colombia’s presidential election after one of the most contested campaigns in the country’s recent history. Upon his victory, the long-time legislator and former fighter in the M-19 militia promised voters profound social and...
Scientists explore human waste as substitute for polluting fertilisers
New research has ascertained that yields from crops fertilised with human faeces and urine rival those produced by organic methods, with no risk of transmitting disease. If you’d told me a few years ago that human waste would eventually be used as a food-safe fertiliser, I likely would’ve found it impossible to hide my disgust. These days, with the threat of the climate crisis keeping me up almost every night, I’ll...
Has health guidance gone a tad too far?
In the last few days, Britain’s Food Standards Agency has compared being around cake in the office to passive smoking. The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction has concluded that no amount of alcohol is safe. Yes, our wellbeing is important, but can’t we have fun anymore? Barely a month into 2023, and we’re already being bombarded with a variety of new ways to take the fun out of...
Is Meta poised to free the nipple?
After a decade of campaigns against the discriminatory ban, Facebook and Instagram’s parent company has called for an overhaul to a policy it says impedes freedom of expression for women and trans and nonbinary people. For years now, social media’s blatant censorship bias has come under increasing fire, especially its discriminatory ban on bare breasts. Despite more than ten years of campaigns, it remains a problem on Facebook and Instagram in...
Is animal agriculture on the verge of change?
Recent calls for more awareness about the cruelty behind livestock exportation in addition to a proposed law obliging farmers to address the environmental impact of meat and dairy production indicates a shift may finally be afoot. Last year, it was revealed that the agriculture industry is responsible for about a quarter of our total greenhouse gas emissions, the main contributor being livestock and fisheries. Yet although the...
BRIT awards under fire for selecting all-male nominees
In 2021, it was announced that the annual ceremony would be foregoing the gender split for its best artist category. This year, however, only men are in the running. At a time when inclusivity is at the forefront of every conversation, you’d assume that companies, brands, and key industry players would think twice before publicly committing to an act of blatant discrimination. Whether they’re initially ‘trying’ in an effort to...
Taliban prohibits women from working for NGOs
Jeopardising aid efforts, the ban on female employees is the fundamentalist group’s latest move to curtail their freedoms in Afghanistan. In 2021, the world watched in horror as the Taliban, taking advantage of America’s withdrawal from the region, seized power in Afghanistan. Triggering concerns that this would signify the country’s return to its repressive past, one entirely absent of basic women’s rights, female citizens began to once again dread confinement indoors,...