insert_link Environment Eight dead after heavy rain and flooding in central Europe Devastating rains have claimed at least eight lives across central and eastern Europe, as a powerful storm causes widespread flooding and disruption. Pablo Gutierrez reports. Deutsche Welle reports that severe flood warnings have been issued at around 100 locations across the Czech Republic, impacting most regions. Austria, Poland, and Romania are also experiencing significant flooding. DW provides the latest updates. The German government has pledged support to countries […] todaySeptember 16, 2024 41
insert_link Entertainment Was Beethoven truly the greatest? A portrait of the German composer Ludwig van Beethoven in 1818. 12/Universal Images Group via Getty Images By Philip Ewell, Hunter College On May 7, 1824, Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony premiered in Vienna, Austria. On its 200th anniversary, much was made about this seminal achievement of a composer routinely touted as the greatest master who ever lived. In an essay for The New York Times, conductor […] todayMay 22, 2024 69
insert_link Africa Why Nigerian companies topped Africa’s fastest growing list in a difficult year By Conrad Onyango, bird story agency In early 2023, when Nigeria began rolling out its newly designed currency notes, the country was hit by a cash crisis. The reason? Nigeria’s apex bank had put a cap on the maximum amount of hard cash that individuals and corporations could withdraw as part of wider efforts to tame money laundering. While this scarcity of hard cash worsened […] todayMay 21, 2024 11
insert_link Environment Charting a New Global Course for Dealing With Illicit Drug Use International Overdose Awareness Day 2022 in Barcelona. The annual UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs session agreed to make a major policy shift on drug use, moving from a criminalization approach toward harm-reduction measures. TELUOBIR/CREATIVE COMMONS This year’s meeting of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna marked a significant shift in policy when it agreed to focus on drug use as a public health issue that required an […] todayMay 21, 2024 34