World News
39 pieces
AFS: World Peace Begins with High School Exchanges
New York, N.Y. In World War I, there was a group of over 2,500 American men who did not join the U.S. Army. U.S. volunteers who came to France in WWI did so starting with…
CharityHelp: An Electronic Bridge to Kids in Need
New York, N.Y. CharityHelp International (CHI) is using the power of communication technologies and the Internet to assist individuals and organizations in the most chall…
Clean Water for China's Orphanages
Washington, Seattle. Embracing the simple concept, "every child has a right to clean water," the Washington State-based non-profit organization A Child's Right is about t…
Ethiopian-American Lawyer on Conflicts Along the Nile
A scorpion once tried to cross the river Nile. He approached several animals, asking if he could ride on their backs. None of them dared trust him, and they all refused.…
Global China Connection: From Columbia to Stanford
New York, N.Y. The previous century was the American Century. The next 100 years belong to the Chinese. Amid this rapidly changing order, hundreds of Chinese students and…
HuffPo Interview with Red Cross Secretary General in Geneva
New York, N.Y. Having witnessed the incredible work of the Red Cross in Aceh, Indonesia following the Tsunami of 2004 - and seeing for the first time Red Crescents in act…
In Sri Lanka: A Look at the Refugee Camp
Colombo, Sri Lanka. In the aftermath of Sri Lanka's victory over terrorism, there are many tears.The Tamil Tigers have been defeated, but 280,000 Sri Lankan Tamils are no…
In Sri Lanka: On the Streets of Colombo
Colombo, Sri Lanka. The euphoria remains on the balmy streets of Colombo. One week ago the Tamil Tigers were at last defeated - on the beaches of the north - after 26 yea…
Indian-American Med Student on Malaria & Poverty in Nigeria
There were so many burned patients I even had to help cut off patients clothes, try to secure IV lines, and help patch burns all while trying to stomach the constant scre…
Italy Hosts Child Soldiers Symposium with U.N.
New York, N.Y. The obscene issue of child soldiers is being discussed this week at an international symposium in Rome. The Italian government is hosting this important sy…
Live from Leogane: College Prep Leadership Training Begins for our Orphan Mentors
T he College Prep Leadership Training Program of Orphans International Worldwide ( OIWW ) Haiti launched this week at l'Ecole de la Redemption in Leogane, 18 miles west o…
Live from Leogane: Orphans International Partners with Haitian School Founded by Orphan
Leogane, Haiti. "My father, Ambroise Beauliere, wrote our school's mission statement forty years ago to provide private education at the best possible quality at the lowe…
Live Report: 200 Haitian Earthquake Survivors Interviewed for Ten Chinese Scholarships
Leogane, Haiti. We are 18 debris-strewn miles West of Port-au-Prince. I am leading an international NGO team in Haiti as part of the recovery and reconstruction here foll…
Miss America Advocates for Prison Reform
New York, N.Y. Recently I was surprised to meet Miss America following her rousing speech on the rights of prisoners and their families to a particularly well-heeled crow…
Mother-Daughter Duo Sketch 888 Taiwanese Faces
New York, N.Y. - I met the most amazing mother-daughter duo the other week. Americans, they were speaking at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York ( TECO-NY…
South Korea Parliament Votes to Impeach Park
Seoul, South Korea — The South Korean National Assembly has voted to impeach President Park Geun-hye. With 234 of the parliament's 300 members voting Friday for impeachme…
Angelique Kidjo, Peter Buffett Release Song to Support African Girls
New York, N.Y. I have been trying to interview Emmy Award-winning composer/philanthropist Peter Buffett for two years. I wrote about Grammy Award-winning UNICEF Goodwill…
Ambassador: From the Killing Fields to the White House
New York, N.Y. I first met Ambassador Sichan Siv in 2004 when I was invited to hear him speak at the imposing Women's Republican National Club, just north of Rockefeller…
IAHD Institutes Recognize Anchor Rita Cosby
New York, N.Y. Founded in 1957 by Dr. Jack M. Gootzeit, the Institutes of Applied Human Dynamics ( IAHD ) - serving the Developmental Disabled in The Bronx and Westcheste…
Touching the Untouchables in a Rural Indian Village
Bodh Gaya, India. I have been privileged to visit two "Untouchable" villages while here on pilgrimage in India - the first about four miles outside Bodh Gaya in Bihar pro…
Zafen: Redefining "Interest" in the Changing World of Microfinance
Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Microfinance has taken a beating lately for shifting far afield from its humanitarian origins, originally funding tiny businesses run by poor women…
Andeisha Farid and the Orphaned Children of Afghanistan
New York, N.Y. I met "Orphans Hero" Andeisha Farid this fall when she was in town as part of Goldman Sachs' 10,000 Women Program . Then I saw her on Brian Williams' brill…
Balinese Natural Birthing Center Threatened by Global Downturn
Denpasar, Indonesia . Mid-wife and clinic founder Robin Lim is a legend in the world of women's maternity health. I have heard of her from Port-au-Prince in Haiti to New-…
Book Speaks to Man's Successful Mission to Help Humanity
Washington , DC. Although our lives have turned out different, I learned in my friend Charles "Chic" Dambach's exciting new book, Exhaust the Limits , that we have much i…
Euro-American Women's Global Forum Set For Athens in July
New York, N.Y. "Women Lead the Way on Green Energy and Environment: Making their Impact on the Economy and Culture" is the theme of the 14th annual awards program to be h…
Evil in America? U.S. Fundamentalist Group to Burn Koran on 9/11
New York, N.Y. One need not journey to the mountains of Afghanistan or Pakistan to discover evil. We have our own home-grown variety of dangerous extremism here in Florid…
Film Shown at U.N. Donor Conference on Collapse of Haiti's Presidential Palace
Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The film "Thirty-Five Long Seconds: Haiti's Deadly Earthquake" was screened recently as part of the recent Donor's Conference at the United Nations…
First 'Davos' for Women's International Development in NYC
New York, N.Y. I met Cecilia Attias, former First Lady of France and founder and executive chair of the Cecilia Attias Foundation for It was extraordinarily successful -…
Helping Women: Eliminating Obstetric Fistula in Developing World
New York, N.Y. Ana Langer, M.D., spoke recently at a Smith Barney seminar on health in the developing world. She was talking about the problem of obstetric fistula, of wh…
In Sri Lanka: Explaining the Tamil Tigers
Colombo, Sri Lanka. The Tamil Tigers (LTTE) are considered a terrorist organization by 32 countries. Their soldiers wore cyanide vials for consumption upon capture. They…
Join Us in Integrated Approach to Build The New Haiti
Léogâne, Haiti . I am perhaps the most excited I have been in my entire life as I prepare to move to Haiti next month. Ten months after the earthquake of January 12 I wil…
Meet a Muslim Voice of Reason: Ibrahim Ramey
Washington D.C. I first met Ibrahim Abdil-Mu'id Ramey after he delivered the plenary speech about Dr. Martin Luther King and the linkage between Dr. King's movement and t…
Spectacular Sold-Out Premiere of Anti-Child Trafficking Film in NYC
New York, N.Y. Cambodian Parliament Member Mu Sochua received a standing ovation from the sold-out, standing room-only crowd at the red carpet world premier of REDLIGHT l…
Who Was Chea Vichea and Why Does He Matter?
New York, N.Y. In my own special screening, director Bradley Cox recently showed me his 55-minute film Who Killed Chea Vichea? in his office in Manhattan. Bradley is now…
Zafèn Haitian Microfinance Effort Engages Haitians to Forge a New Future
Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Haitians like Jean-Patrick Lucien are one reason Zafèn , a new online microfinance program targeting small- and medium-sized businesses in Haiti, h…
Secularism: Surprisingly More Popular in Turkey than in U.S.
New York, N.Y. Recently the Turkish Cultural Center in New York held a panel discussion on whether coexistence is possible between religious and secular forces in the Mus…
Slumdog: Greater Insult "Slum," Not "Dog"
Mumbai, India . As founder of Orphans International Worldwide (OIWW), I have walked through the hovels and shanties of Jakarta, Bogota, and Port-au-Prince. Cite Soleil in…
Sundance Film Afghan Star Incredible
New York, N.Y. Thirty years ago people could sing and dance in Afghanistan. Then the Taliban took control, instituted Sharia law and, as described in the film The Kite Ru…
Tibet: Polar Perspectives. Can Both Sides Be Heard?
New York, N.Y. The 50th anniversary of the Dalai Lama's exile has generated much press and media attention. News accounts have been full of the Dalai Lama's visa revocati…