France to ban sales of petrol and diesel cars by 2040 France will end sales of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040 as part of an ambitious plan to meet its targets under the Paris climate accord, Emmanuel Macron’s government has announced. The announcement comes a day after Volvo said it would only make fully…
Youth in Assam use Facebook & WhatsApp to fight against child marriages How it started? At a time when cases of misuse of social networking sites are on the rise, a section of youths in Assam are using it as a tool to fight social evils like child marriage. For supporters of child marriages, some…
Traversing hurdles, this midwife in Guatemala is empowering an entire community “The poverty in Guatemala affects women most and hardest, especially Indigenous women,” Antonia Batz told Reuters. In the northwest rural landscape of Tecpan, Guatemala, Antonia Batz, a 40-year-old midwife, is bringing new generations of Guatemalans to life. Batz, who leads a community of midwives…
The tattoo artist who helps heal the trauma of domestic violence A tattoo artist in Russia is helping domestic violence survivors reclaim their bodies. It helps them believe they can start afresh, finds Manon Masset, reporting for Le Courrier de Russie. Evguenia Zakhar is not just any tattoo artist. Each week, she transforms the scars…
Boys win right to wear shorts by wearing skirts in heat-wave protest These teenage boys are social activists in the making. Even though the schoolboys of Exeter’s ISCA Academy were suffering from the summer heat, they still were banned from wearing shorts because of the traditional dress code. To protest the stuffy school rules, however,…
The project transforming shipping containers into emergency homes for homeless people Could shipping containers help to combat homelessness? Social enterprise Help Bristol’s Homeless thinks so. Old shipping containers are being repurposed and converted into temporary housing for homeless people in Bristol. The scheme was dreamt up by those at Bristol-based social enterprise Help Bristol’s Homeless…
Pakistan opens first ever Violence Against Women Center While Pakistan might be a notorious region for female abuse, the country is taking steps towards better gender equality by opening up 36 different Violence Against Women Centers nationwide. The first of the centers was opened in Multan of the Punjab region. The entirely female-run shelter offers…
Same-sex marriage now legal in Germany German MPs have legalised gay marriage after Angela Merkel dropped her opposition to a vote. Same-sex couples can now be legally married in Germany following a clear majority vote passed a bill in the German parliament the 30 June. The vote took place just four days after Chancellor Angela…