world

Taking HIV awareness all the way

By Carrie Schedler · Monday, Feb. 1,2010 9 p.m.

Early last week, in the science museum le Palais de la Decouverte, a 120-foot condom went on display. It’s a part of CondomFly, a world-traveling expedition to promote condom use in the prevention of HIV infections.

British, German governments explore parental leave policies

By Caitlin Ryan · Monday, Feb. 1,2010 8:59 p.m.

As part of a year-long series of articles examining women in the 21st century, the International Herald Tribune newspaper recently featured working mothers in Germany, discussing different social and economic pressures that German mothers face as part of both modern society and the workforce.

PETA proposes robotic groundhog for Pa. festival

Monday, Feb. 1,2010 12:26 p.m.

Will he see his robotic shadow?

Inside the federal budget process

By Olufemi Taiwo · Sunday, Jan. 31,2010 3:44 p.m.

Less than a week after the State of the Union address, President Barack Obama’s new federal budget request is expected to be released today. The budget will determine spending for the fiscal year 2011, starting Oct. 1 of this year and ending Sept. 30, 2012.

U.S. Baptists detained trying to cross border with 33 children

Sunday, Jan. 31,2010 3:39 p.m.

Ten American Baptists were taken into custody in the Haitian capital Sunday after trying take 33 children out of Haiti. The church group allegedly lacked the proper documents when it was arrested Friday night in a bus with children from 2 months to 12 years old.

Potent medication or placebo, pot still polarizes

By Adam Long · Sunday, Jan. 31,2010 3:37 p.m.

Fourteen states have legalized marijuana for medical use, and nearly 100 million Americans older than 12 have admitted to smoking it. Weed is more visible and available than ever these days, and thanks to the Internet, advocacy for its legalization has never been so vocal.

Imam charged for menacing woman over custom veil

Thursday, Jan. 28,2010 7:37 p.m.

Charges have been filed against an imam accusing him of threatening a woman who refused to wear an Islamic headscarf or abide by certain Islamic customs, prosecutors said Thursday.

Novice sailors unite on Vagabound site

By Kevin Knight · Thursday, Jan. 28,2010 7:35 p.m.

There’s a new option for anyone who’s interested in sailing and seafaring adventures, but doesn’t possess maritime skills. Texas native Robert Patrick, along with co-founder Marco Grasso, a seasoned sailor from Italy, have created a Web site to help users create their dream trips.

Woman accused of having frequent sex with teenage son

Thursday, Jan. 28,2010 7:30 p.m.

A 41-year-old woman is accused of having regular sex with her teenage son when he was in seventh and eighth grades, officials said.Omaha Police said the now 15-year-old boy reported the alleged abuse last week to a counselor, who notified authorities. The boy told police his mother was addicted to prescription drugs when the alleged abuse took place in 2008 and 2009 while he lived with her.

Obama looks for spark in State of the Union address

By AP Reports · Thursday, Jan. 28,2010 12:59 a.m.

Declaring “I don’t quit,’” President Barack Obama fought to recharge his embattled presidency with a State of the Union vow to get jobless millions back to work and stand on the side of Americans angry at Wall Street greed and Washington bickering. Defiant despite stinging setbacks, he said he would fight on for ambitious overhauls of health care, energy and education.

Small survivors pose big problems

Wednesday, Jan. 27,2010 7:22 p.m.

The smallest survivors of Haiti’s catastrophic earthquake are becoming one of the biggest problems in its aftermath.Many of the thousands of children scattered among the makeshift camps of homeless have no one to care for them, aid workers say, leaving them without protection against disease, child predators and other risks.

Liberian refugees cope with new life in Ghana

By Therese Kennelly · Wednesday, Jan. 27,2010 7:20 p.m.

The civil war in Liberia might have officially ended in 2003, but for thousands of refugees, home remains very far away. In Ghana, the Liberian refugee camp at Buduburam has existed for 20 years and consists of structures that resemble a fairly standard Ghanaian village.

Professor reflects upon Holocaust’s importance 65 years later

By Allison Tyra · Wednesday, Jan. 27,2010 12:49 a.m.

Question-and-answer with IU professor Alvin Rosenfeld, the founder and director of the Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism.

Fla. woman fights forced hospitalization

Tuesday, Jan. 26,2010 9:03 p.m.

Samantha Burton wanted to leave the hospital. Her doctor strongly disagreed, enough to go to court to keep her there.

Obama’s speech to tout plans for boosting economy

Tuesday, Jan. 26,2010 9 p.m.

In tonight’s State of the Union address, advisers say President Barack Obama doesn’t plan to reshape his agenda as much as better explain and defend it.

Hip-hop for peace

Tuesday, Jan. 26,2010 8:52 p.m.

Esther Bejarano says music helped keep her alive as a prisoner in Auschwitz and ever since. Now, 65 years after the liberation of the Nazi death camp, the 85-year-old has teamed with a hip-hop band to spread her anti-racism message to German youth.

The world stands with Haiti

By Nathan Wendte · Monday, Jan. 25,2010 8:45 p.m.

Two weeks after an earthquake razed its capital to the ground, Haiti remains the topic du jour. Every morning, few – if any – newspapers lack “Haiti” on the front page. When I get back from school, I notice the stack of my host family’s mail. On top is a Haitian man with his arms stretched wide and his face toward the sky. La Croix is a French daily newspaper, but last week a headline reads in Creole: “Senyè, vin sove nou” (“Lord, come save us”).

Canadian pleads not guilty in terror cases

Monday, Jan. 25,2010 8:43 p.m.

A Chicago businessman pleaded not guilty Monday to making plans for an attack on a Danish newspaper and helping arrange the rampage in 2008 that killed 166 people in Mumbai, India.Tahawwur Hussain Rana, 49, a Canadian national born in Pakistan, intends to fight the charges, attorney Patrick Blegen said after the arraignment.

Bioengineered food on the rise

By Zeynep Altinay · Monday, Jan. 25,2010 8:41 p.m.

The case brought up an on-going worldwide debate about the environmental and health impacts of GM food. GM crops have been altered in a way that does not occur with natural conditions. Latest improvements in bioengineering give scientists the opportunity to select certain genes from one organism and apply them to another to get the desired trait. The question, however, remains whether consumers should be able to identify what products are genetically altered. Unlike European nations, the U.S. law does not require labeling for GM products.

Health care Q&A

By Pooja Kansal · Monday, Jan. 25,2010 1:13 a.m.

Political science professor Marjorie Hershey discusses the future of the current health care debate.