In 2011, declassified CIA documents shed light on a covert government program dating back to WWII

The impact that created Pluto’s 'heart' may have rippled through its ocean and damaged its rear

Female dolphins, it seems, aren’t immune to the allure of a harmonizing boy band

The bidet-like suite of devices detects abnormalities in feces that could flag signs of certain cancers

The crustaceans' guts pulverize plastics into tiny bits that can be consumed by even smaller creatures at the base of the ocean food chain

Two years before the Carthaginian general crossed the Alps, he won a decisive victory at the Battle of the Tagus

Nearly 2,000 years ago, women who rode horseback and practiced archery may have roamed the steppes of Mongolia

Sunset at Lake Wanaka

In the 1920s, the U.S. was in full thrill-seeking mode. From horse-diving (you have to see it to believe it) to barnstorming. And at the center of many of these activities were a group of daring young women.

Hadrian’s Wall was a 73 mile barrier stretching from coast to coast, splitting the warlike north of Britain from the more docile south. It was the Roman Empire’s way of imposing peace in a hostile land

The Chicago White Sox were heavy favorites going into the 1919 World Series. But they were defeated by the Cincinnati Reds - and it soon became clear that the game was rigged

Aubyn O'Grady, program director of the School of Visual Arts in Dawson City, seeks musical inspiration from some very interesting places.

"If you are starting out on the language and culture learning journey or if you have been at it a while and are feeling tired and despondent, I encourage you to persevere. To stick with it and pray for strength to continue. Keep asking questions and keep learning about the culture," urges Beth.

When we find something particularly beautiful or impressive, we literally get big eyes: Our pupils dilate. The pupil controls how much light enters the eye and falls on the retina.

"Recovery is not for the faint-hearted," says recovering addict Jeremy Raven. And sometimes, something as simple as a kind word may be the hand up that someone who is struggling needs, he says.

Consumers and companies worldwide have ramped up online ordering for software products and digital goods as they struggle to improve productivity and security while working remotely and spending more time at home. The sharp spike in online commerce aligns with the timing of the current global pandemic. Software-based offerings accounted for the highest levels of growth.

With this year's worlds cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rob Pizzo looks at the last time the event didn't happen.

"I have tied up with several NGO’s like Parivartan the change who donate food to over 500 people every day as well with welfare organisations like 4dogsakeindia where we feed over 200 street dogs."

There's no question that COVID-19 has uprooted the lives of people across Metro Vancouver and around the world. Data can be one way to show how, exactly, the pandemic has changed the way we move and operate in our daily lives.  

Cardinal Robert Sarah, head of the Vatican's liturgy office, claims he never signed a petition claiming the coronavirus is an over-hyped "pretext" to deprive the faithful of Mass.

Rome Newsroom, Apr 30, 2020 / 10:30 am (CNA).- The coronavirus pandemic is telling us that “our health counts more than the economy’s health and that true human fraternity is more valuable and noble than diplomatic success,” a Taiwanese archbishop has said.

Archbishop John Hung Shan-chuan of Taipei spoke to CNA about how the East Asian state has been at the forefront of efforts to halt COVID-19. 

Taiwan was one of the first countries to warn the international community about the risks of the pandemic, although its appeal was not heeded initially by the World Health Organization. 

The country, which has a population of 24 million, has had only 429 documented coronavirus cases and six deaths as of April 30, according to Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center.

Archbishop Hung, who has overseen the archdiocese based in the Taiwanese capital since 2007, explained that the local Church has not faced a crisis because the government has been effective in countering the virus.

Taiwan also sent medical masks and supplies to the Vatican, to be delivered to the poor. Taiwan’s ambassador to the Holy See personally brought 280,000 medical masks to the Vatican and the Italian bishops’ conference, and donated food and supplies to the Papal Almoner.

Although Taipei has been considered a model in countering the pandemic, it has been overshadowed by its powerful neighbor, the People’s Republic of China, which claims Taiwan as part of its own territory.

This shadow also extends to Taiwan-Holy See relations. On September 18, 2018, the Holy See signed a confidential agreement with China on the appointment of bishops. The agreement is scheduled to expire in August, and negotiations for its renewal are underway.

Although the Holy See and Taiwan have had uninterrupted ties for almost 80 years, the Holy See is now keeping a low profile in relation to Taiwan, likely in order not to annoy mainland China.

The Holy See press office issued a statement April 9 thanking two Chinese foundations for providing medical supplies to the Vatican Pharmacy. Despite the considerable commitment of Taiwan, the Holy See has not released any official statement thanking Taiwan.  

The archbishop of Taipei, however, emphasized the broader picture and did not complain about the Vatican’s choice.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented global crisis and represents a danger to all humanity,” he said. “No nation, absolutely no nation, can extirpate it by operating alone without the help of other countries.”

“What the world badly needs now is solidarity in action, not self-interest. And it is good that China can provide material aid to other countries on a very large scale.” 

“Thanks to the donations of supplies from China, the Vatican will be able to help many, many poor people in other countries who are forgotten by the politicians and barely reported by the media.”

Archbishop Hung continued: “The Catholic Church in poor countries is waiting for help. And the Vatican will be thankful for any concrete gesture of solidarity, regardless of the political system of the countries as the Church is entrusted with the mission to proclaim the Good News to all nations promoting at the same time a culture of fraternity and peaceful co-existence.”

Turning to Taiwan, he said: “Thanks to the competence of the government authorities and the remarkable support of the population, the people in Taiwan need not deal with emergencies, such as cluster infection. Understandably, no special contribution in terms of material aid to the local population is solicited from Caritas Taiwan.”

But the archbishop highlighted the plight of migrant workers, who ran a high risk of contracting and spreading the coronavirus.

Caritas Taiwan has been very active, the archbishop reported, distributing face masks to fishermen and and-based migrant workers who would not have them otherwise because of government rationing of masks.

“Furthermore,” he said, “in collaboration with other NGOs, Caritas Taiwan also advocates for the protection of migrant workers who are vulnerable to COVID-19 and asked the government to let them overstay in Taiwan, in case their visa is due.”

Archbishop Hung applauded the government for taking preventive measures to counter the pandemic. He stressed that the local bishops’ conference reacted very quickly and “complied with the recommendations and regulations of the ministry of the interior and decided, one by one, to suspend all the indoor Church gatherings, including Mass celebration on weekdays and Sundays, to avoid at all cost any possible infection that could cause death and the closure of the church premises.”

The Catholic Church in Taiwan has livestreamed Masses, while pastors have multiplied their efforts to be close to the faithful via social media and phone.

The archbishop noted that, although Taiwan has diplomatic ties with very few countries, “the Catholic Church is present in every nation,” and therefore “the Church in Taiwan never feels isolated.” 

“On the contrary,” he said, “thanks to the apostolic nunciature and its representative, we truly feel the communion with the Holy Father and with other local churches.”

Meanwhile, the Church in Taiwan is planning for the future. 

Archbishop Hung said: “Our bishops’ conference has been preparing a national evangelization congress since last year, which was initially scheduled for August this year.”

“The congress will gather clergy and laity that will come together to pray, to reflect and to discuss different issues regarding the future of the Catholic Church in Taiwan. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the congress is now postponed to next year.”

He also noted that Taiwan could be a bridge-builder to the Chinese world.

“As a Chinese-speaking bishops’ conference in the Catholic Church, the Church in Taiwan can contribute to the evangelization of the Chinese-speaking people,” he said.

Taiwan’s bishops’ conference collaborates with the dioceses of Hong Kong and Macau to translate the pope’s messages and writings, as well as Vatican documents, into Chinese. 

“Evangelization presupposes inculturation and goes hand in hand with the teaching of the Catholic Faith,” the archbishop said, adding that his bishops’ conference was helping to make “the Catholic Faith relevant to the Chinese-speaking people all over the world.”

Before I head to a new assignment, here are some final words on a few topics.

Two OM workers strike up a friendship with a server in a local café and give him a valuable gift.

The care the head teacher of Chiyembekezo School shows to her pupils even outside the classroom has a ripple effect on the larger community.

During his time in OM’s International Intensive School of Missions in Panama, Colombian Juank Giovannetti discovers his calling.

A Thousand Moons

RESEARCHERS have called for a two-track approach to easing lockdown which would strengthen protection for the most vulnerable but relax restrictions for the majority of the population.

Having car insurance is a legal requirement for motorists, but whether it’s valid or not depends on how accurate the current information your insurance company holds is.

The ingenuity of Scotland’s independent food sector, and its determination to keep feeding us in these testing circumstances, is remarkable. Restaurants and cafés have gone down the takeaway route, small artisan suppliers who lost overnight all their catering customers have rapidly reconfigured their business around home delivery. Farmers who previously struggled to attract supermarket shoppers have never been so busy. Farmer’s markets have adapted to sell delivered or collected vegetable b

St Kilda

It was an evening that began like any other night shift. Firefighters handed over at 6pm to start what they thought would have been a fairly routine night.

IT’S almost time for the last supper. Though not quite. Another 24 hours will have to pass before the concluding morsel is munched, the final nibble on the edge of no more. After that, a little part of Scotland’s living history will die.

With the Six Nations rugby in full flow (come on, Scotland – I’m forever the optimist) now is a great time to look at amazing beverages from all the nations competing.

I’m not sure it was wise for Nicola Sturgeon to invoke Nelson Mandela in her speech on the next steps (sic) to independence. He was a revolutionary who pursued a campaign of non-violent direct action, including strikes, boycotts and other acts of civil disobedience. That’s what many ardent Yessers were hoping against hope she might authorise.

The Scottish political world is holding its breath this weekend.

“It's not the end; it's not even the beginning of the end; but it is perhaps the end of the beginning”. Churchill's famous wartime speech after the battle of El Alamein in November 1942 was an ambiguous rallying cry. After all, by saying it was only the beginning, he was suggesting that there could be worse to come.

By automatically enrolling all students in high-level courses, schools in Washington state are working to erase a long entrenched form of inequity.

In the face of well-funded opposition to organized labor, teachers will not be silenced, writes NEA President Lily Eskelsen García.

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos recently spoke at Council of the Great City Schools annual legislative and policy conference in Washington, D.C. Here are some of her remarks.

Schools can't even afford to hire enough teachers, so why are we surprised that teachers are turning to a website for resources? asks Kat Tipton.

The Presbyterian minister's efforts in 1964 to send his son to an integrated school in Charlotte, N.C., led to a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding busing as a desegregation tool.

Fewer than one-third of America's teachers say ed-tech innovations have changed their beliefs about what school should look like, according to a new Education Week survey.

BEING a full-time, voluntary, unpaid carer, since November 2018, for my wife, who has dementia, I would like to ask a question of the Scottish Government, especially Jeane Freeman, the health secretary.

When the ruthless crime boss and Mafia Godfather Sam Giancana was gunned down in Illinois in 1975, he was quickly replaced by yet another murderous protégé from the Chicago Crime Syndicate, Tony Accardo.

A Virginia study documents an increase in race-related bullying in middle schools in communities that voted for President Donald Trump, and a drop in those that favored Hilary Clinton.

The highly polarizing 2016 Presidential campaign blitzed the swing state of Virginia. And in the year that followed, a new study in the journal Educational Researcher suggests school bullying problems likewise split along political lines.

An innovative rural school district is creating a community-based, authentic work experience in which students prepare for the future while honoring their community's past.

THE Government’s ambition to reach a daily target of 100,000 tests across the UK by the end of the month will, as Matt Hancock admitted, require a “huge amount of work”.