Berlin switches off monument lighting to preserve energy
The lights on Berlin’s famous monuments and historic buildings are being shut off in order to save energy amidst Russian energy cuts. Other cities like Hanover are cutting hot water in city-run buildings. If you’re planning to visit Berlin this summer, don’t expect to see its impressive monuments lit up...
Current in Change
Zimbabwe resorts to gold coins amid high inflation
In June, Zimbabwe's inflation rate increased to 192%, a 60% increase from May. In a move to curb the crisis, the central bank has launched gold coins. The country is currently experiencing high food prices, increased unemployment and an abandoning of the country’s dollar in favor of USD. Covid-19...
Australian senator Fatima Payman’s mission to normalise the hijab
Fatima Payman is the first hijab minister in Australia’s history. In cultivating a positive narrative around the headscarf, she’s determined she won’t be the last. The Australian Labour party announced Fatima Payman as their newest senator in June 2022, and this month she took her seat in the senate as...
The company transforming hot shower emissions into soap and shampoo
Hotels use a lot of hot water, and heating it releases a sizable amount of carbon dioxide. An innovative company called CleanO2 has now found a way of capturing these emissions and transforming them into sustainable soap and shampoo. I don’t know about you, but I reckon a hotel offering...
Why the response to the monkeypox outbreak is problematic
Monkeypox was just declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organisation. Why are officials pushing the damaging narrative that it’s only a concern for men in the LGBTQ community? Although we’ve all experienced a heightened awareness towards contagious illnesses over the last few years, it appears that officials...
Understanding the history of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws
Pakistan is one of the very few countries in the world to offer the death penalty for blasphemy. Being a highly controversial issue, will the state be able to curb the misuse or amend the provisions of the law? You’d be forgiven for thinking blasphemy laws are archaic, forgotten technicalities...
Alena Wicker is the youngest student accepted to medical school
After completing two degrees – yes, two – 13-year-old Alena Wicker is off to medical school, making her the youngest person ever to do so. Most of us will remember being 13. For Gen-Z, it was a time filled with Tamagotchi and Justin Bieber. Our proudest accomplishments probably involved a particularly successful take on hair gems, or a well-crafted music video taken on our parents’ hand-held camcorder. In any case, these...
Opinion – removing abortion rights is fatal for diabetics
The moment you strip a diabetic of their choice to have an abortion is the moment you put their life in grave danger. Last month, the US Supreme Court handed down a controversial judgment, effectively changing the course of history as we know it. It shook the ground under millions of women across the US and has generated waves of anger, fear, and despair across the world. From those who are...
Modern pesticides are getting bees ‘drunk’
Scientists have warned that exposure to neonicotinoids – the worlds’ most commonly used insecticide – is damaging the vital pollinators’ brains, preventing them from walking in a straight line.
As we know, the world’s insects are hurtling towards extinction.
Among them – most alarming of all – are a species integral to our natural ecosystems and consequently, human life. I’m talking, of course, about bees, whose overall population has
Organised crime is a hidden yet major contributor to deforestation
When someone mentions deforestation, you probably think of beef production or the wood industry as being most culpable. A key driver that often goes under the radar, however, is organised crime like drug trafficking and illegal logging. Almost a year on from COP26, there’s definitely work to be done to regenerate 30% of natural land by 2030. Every 12 months, the world loses an estimated 25 million acres of forest to...
