Archaeology and cultural officials in Nepal have welcomed a decision to remove seven historic monuments from a list of world heritage sites in danger. The UN’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) listed seven monuments in the Kathmandu valley as endangered in July 1993. It said they were being threatened by high-rise constructions. The Nepalese government has welcomed the latest move, saying it will work harder to conserve ancient buildings. Read more>
Archive for June, 2007
UN rules Nepal monuments now safe
June 28, 2007Republican support for Iraq war slips
June 27, 2007Republican support for the Iraq war is slipping by the day. After four years of combat and more than 3,560 U.S. deaths, two Republican senators previously reluctant to challenge President Bush on the war announced they could no longer support the deployment of 157,000 troops and asked the president to begin bringing them home. Read more>
New poll finds that young Americans are leaning left
June 27, 2007Young Americans are more likely than the general public to favor a government-run universal health care insurance system, an open-door policy on immigration and the legalization of gay marriage, according to a New York Times/CBS News/MTV poll. The poll also found that they are more likely to say the war in Iraq is heading to a successful conclusion. Read more>
South Korea to resume rice aid to North
June 26, 2007South Korea will resume sending rice aid to North Korea from Saturday, as Pyongyang begins steps towards nuclear dismantlement, the unification minister said on Tuesday. Read more>
U.S. sets record of private giving
June 26, 2007Americans gave away nearly $300 billion in 2006, surpassing even the unusually high giving of 2005 that was triggered by such disasters as the Gulf hurricanes and the Asian tsunami. Donations in the US rose an inflation-adjusted 1 percent, according to a report released yesterday by the Giving USA Foundation. If disaster relief is excluded, the increase was 3.2 percent. Read more>
Proliferating icebergs creating ecosystems
June 22, 2007The proliferation of Antarctic icebergs caused by rising temperatures is creating a vast ecosystem of plankton, krill and seabirds that may have the power to absorb some of the carbon dioxide that is driving global warming, scientists reported Thursday. Read more>
New York City smokers’ ranks drop 19%, study says
June 22, 2007The city’s department of health, citing a combination of high taxes, workplace limits and $10 million in grim television advertising, said yesterday that the number of smokers in New York City had declined by 240,000 in the last five year. Read more>
Plastic bag revolt spreads across Britain
June 20, 2007Spurred by a filmmaker’s documentary, the English town of Modbury became the first in Europe to ban them outright. Stores, grass-roots groups, and citizens are joining forces to reduce national consumption of plastic bags. Read more>
Down-to-earth indie labels adopt green packaging
June 19, 2007There wasn’t a CD manufacturing operation in the entire country that satisfied the eco-friendly needs of Cloud Cult leader Craig Minowa. So he built his own. Read more>
Iraqi Shiites and Sunnis find some common ground - on a soccer field in Jordan
June 19, 2007In a match pitting Iraq against Iran, a Christian Science Monitor reporter wades into the stands to find Sunnis and Shiites united. And it’s not just the Iraqis who will be seeking solace in soccer this week. The Palestinian territories, Syria, Iran, and Lebanon are also lining up at the West Asian Football Federation Championships here, which is shaping up to be something of a World Cup for weakened – or at least threatened – states. Read more>
