Since filming "Blood Diamond," Leonardo DiCaprio has said he wouldn't want a date of his wearing diamonds.
The diamond industry, not surprisingly, would suggest that this is not a progressive social stance.
For starters, only 3 percent of the world's diamonds come from Sierra Leone, the country of the film's focus (and whose civil war ended in 2002).
ircumcision may provide even more protection against AIDS than was realized when two clinical trials in Africa were stopped two months ago because the results were so clear, according to studies being published today.The trials, in Kenya and Uganda, were stopped early by the National Institutes of Health, which was paying for them, because it was apparent that circumcision reduced a man’s risk of contracting AIDS from heterosexual sex by about half. It would have been unethical to continu...
For citizens of a global power, Americans are woefully uneducated about issues beyond our borders. The average adult American doesn't have a passport and can't locate France, let alone Iraq, on a map. Our TV networks devote less than five minutes a night to international news. Less than 1 percent of all Americans in college study abroad each year.
Perhaps going to the movies can help. When Americans tune in to watch the Oscars Sunday, they will see among the nominated films clear evidence of the continuing globalization of Hollywood. Movies today are a microcosm of our shrinking world, depicting global issues and taking viewers to far-flung locations.
Following is a quiz that allows you to assess your international IQ.
MASERU, Lesotho - Long lines of people braved a blistering sun Saturday to cast their vote in tight elections pitting Lesotho's ruling party, which has brought stability to the mountain kingdom, against a new rival set up on a platform of change.
The mood was peaceful and turnout appeared high, with significantly large numbers of people showing up at the 2,500 polling stations throughout the southern African country, which is one of the poorest and has one of the highest incidence of AIDS in the world.
The Lesotho Congress for Democracy, which has governed for the past decade, won a landslide victory in 2002. But Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili faces a tough challenge from the four-month-old All Basotho Convention party led by Tom Thabane, the former minister of communications, science and technology.
Magician will show kids how to perform magic tricks
Gordon Rush, a magician, will teach kids magic tricks from 10:30 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Delta Township Community Center, 7550 W. Willow St.
Children will be able to learn easy-to-do magic tricks and also will learn to make balloon animals in an interactive, hands-on classroom setting.
Each Friday afternoon, as the thoughts of countless workers turn to quitting time, Paul Zway - father, entrepreneur and, to some, the "Krazy African" - leaves his desk and lights his barbecue grill.
His staff soon follows, joined later by friends and family. Then it's feeding time at the small offices of Exclusive Tents Ltd., the company Zway started in Vail, Arizona in 2005 with the help of longtime friend Sheila Nylund.
Exclusive Tents offers semi-permanent canvas tents in a variety of sizes that can be custom-tailored to client specifications. Inside, the idea of "roughing it" rarely applies as the tents can be outfitted with chandeliers and full bathrooms.
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