Report reveals the 10 best countries for kids to grow up in now

Report reveals the 10 best countries for kids to grow up in now

Climate change, conflict, and inequality target one demographic in particular — one that is also uniquely hindered from being able to protect itself: children.And if you are a child in the United States, your odds of thriving in these uncertain times may not be as good as you think, a new report reveals.In a reportpublished Tuesday in the journal The Lancet, researchers rank 180 governments on how well they protect children from an uncertain future. They looked at climate change, health data, and how much children are targeted by commercial bad actors — think marketing for high-sugar foods and… (more…)

Love boat: Valentine’s Day on a quarantine cruise

Love boat: Valentine’s Day on a quarantine cruise

Tokyo (AFP) – “Cupid’s avocado” for dinner, heart-shaped messages for the crew, but also painful separation: for those trapped on board the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship, Friday is no ordinary Valentine’s Day.Wearing a red dress and a red hair tie, the ship’s entertainment manager Natalie posted a Valentine’s Day video on Twitter to try to keep spirits up.”I just wanted to check in with everybody and say that we are all hanging in there, doing fine and keeping together as a big family,” she said, admitting with a smile: “This hasn’t been my regular attire for the last week or so.”Pa… (more…)

Couples exchange vows high above Chiang Rai

Couples exchange vows high above Chiang Rai

Happy couples flocked to district offices across the country to register their marriages on Valentine’s Day, with many opting to exchange their vows in hot-air balloons floating above Chiang Rai.Twenty-five “Balloon Love’’ couples tied the knot in the sky above Singha Parking in Muang district of Chiang Rai.Among them were actor Warit Thipkomut and national team footballer Adisorn Promrak and their sweethearts.In Chon Buri, 138 returnees from China’s Wuhan city still in quarantine received red roses from the navy at Sattahip naval base.One of them posted a message on her Facebook thanking the … (more…)

How Oscar-winner ‘Parasite’ reveals gold spoon and dirt spoon class divide in South Korea

How Oscar-winner ‘Parasite’ reveals gold spoon and dirt spoon class divide in South Korea

The invisible, indelible boundary drawn by smell depicts the severe inequality in South Korea through two families in the Oscar-winning film “Parasite.” But the movie dives more into the country’s social problems, running deep and wide.The South Korean film won big Sunday at the 92nd Academy Awards, including becoming the first non-English language film to win best picture. Bong Joon-ho, who won best director and best original screenplay, became the first Korean filmmaker to win those prizes. Fans were jubilant on Twitter and Instagram.“Parasite” stunned the audience with an adrenaline-inducin… (more…)

The brothels of Daulatdia: Sex workers to get ‘honourable’ funeral

The brothels of Daulatdia: Sex workers to get ‘honourable’ funeral

Daulatdia (Bangladesh) (AFP) – Often treated as less than human in life, there has been little dignity in death for the sex workers of one of the world’s biggest brothels: their bodies frequently tossed into unmarked graves or dumped in the river.Until now.On Thursday, Hamida Begum became the first sex worker from Bangladesh bordello Daulatdia to receive a formal Islamic funeral, breaking a longstanding taboo in Muslim majority Bangladesh where prostitution is legal but regarded by many as immoral. Scores of women gathered at the graveside, weeping for the 65-year-old’s passing but also becaus… (more…)

Small businesses suffer as China virus shuts communities

Small businesses suffer as China virus shuts communities

Beijing (AFP) – Wang Li’s guesthouse sits a stone’s throw from the Great Wall, an idyllic setting for a weekend getaway. But in these uncertain times of the new coronavirus, Wang and her family are the only occupants.The 35-year-old woman now spends her days disinfecting Yingfangyuan Farmhouse and its empty restaurant near Beijing, as millions of people across the country stay home, either under government orders or out of caution.As the virus claims more lives and infects thousands of people every day, it is also taking a toll on the country’s small businesses that rely on spending from China… (more…)