AMMAN, Jordan — At the southern tip of the Dead Sea, Sameer Mahadin recalls when the shoreline was visible from the shaded veranda of his farmhouse. The once 10-minute walk to the water’s edge now takes an hour trekking over cracked, salt-encrusted soil. The Dead Sea is dying rapidly. The biblical body of water lying…
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Water scarcity fuels tensions across the Middle East
NORTH SHUNA, Jordan — A lush tract of land known as the Island of Peace has thrived in a sea of strife for the past quarter-century, its palm fields and date plantations a stark contrast to the Middle East’s arid conditions and tumultuous politics. But now the symbol of coexistence shared by Israel and Jordan…
Ireland takes aim at prenatal alcohol exposure
DUBLIN — Doctors in Ireland were once known to recommend a pint of Guinness as a source of iron for pregnant or nursing women. While that advice has been discredited, drinking remains so ingrained in Irish culture that many women still feel that swapping a beer or cocktail for something nonalcoholic at a social gathering isn’t an…
Bees are dying at an alarming rate. Amsterdam may have the answer.
AMSTERDAM — An unkempt stretch of tall grass, wildflowers and weeds in front of a train station doesn’t look like much — but it may be crucial to solving one of the world’s biggest environmental puzzles. While scientists around the globe have been sounding alarm bells over the decline of bees and pollinators crucial to…
Slaughter of starving wild horses divides the Netherlands
The future of a man-made wildlife reserve where nature was left to run its course is at the center of a legal battle.
Cyprus turns off taps to farmers as water levels drop
MARONI, Cyprus — The salty water of the Mediterranean in plain view from Charis Christoforou’s olive farm is no help to the cracked, white earth suffering from a third year of drought. A shortage of rain combined with clouds of dust carried over from the water-starved Middle East has slashed Christoforou’s olive production to a…
‘Learning how to be good allies’: Restoring relationships with Indigenous peoples for reconciliation
VANCOUVER — As Canada grapples with how to achieve reconciliation with Indigenous people, a group in British Columbia has come together to figure out how to restore relations person-to-person. About a dozen people meet once every three weeks at Kristi Lind’s house in the small community of Naramata south of Kelowna to discuss how to…
B.C. communities await marine spill compensation years after incidents
VANCOUVER — Despite “polluter pay” laws in Canada, local governments and agencies are still waiting to recover costs incurred during two significant fuel spills off British Columbia’s coast. The City of Vancouver and Vancouver Aquarium are collectively waiting on nearly $700,000 in losses related to a 2015 leak of bunker fuel, while the Heiltsuk Nation in Bella Bellla continues negotiating over $200,000…
Renters struggle to find homes as prices climb, availability declines
VANCOUVER — Joanna Fletcher lives in a one-bedroom apartment on Vancouver’s east side with her 10-year-old son. The building has mice and mould, and her new landlord is threatening eviction. While she has plenty of reasons to leave, Fletcher says she’s fighting to stay for as long as possible because she can’t afford anything else…
Missing and murdered inquiry emboldens those to move forward: chairwoman
RICHMOND, B.C. — Some of those who have told their harrowing stories at the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls have since redoubled that courage by taking their complaints to police, getting treatment, or reuniting with family, said the head of the inquiry. Marion Buller said in an interview with The…
Activist tells inquiry that women working in Vancouver sex trade were seen as ‘disposable’
A Vancouver sex-trade activist recounted the justice system’s failure to protect women who were killed or have disappeared as posters of missing persons were shown on screens Wednesday at a national inquiry. Jamie Lee Hamilton said sex workers from Vancouver’s “Downtown Eastside killing fields” deserved better. “I feel that the women were deemed as disposable,”…
Lack of friends, language barriers can lead to social isolation, but this group is changing that
VANCOUVER — Amie Peacock describes her mother as “a social butterfly,” but when she came to visit her in Vancouver from the Philippines a lack of friends and a language barrier left her miserable and lonely. “I couldn’t imagine there are more people like her in our city and, sure enough, when I started looking…
Fighting loneliness with a community of seniors
B.C. outreach group hopes smartphone app will improve safety of sex workers
VANCOUVER—An outreach group supporting vulnerable women in British Columbia is hoping a cellphone app designed to monitor remote workers in resource industries will help keep sex workers safe. Hope Outreach, a non-profit group that provides support to homeless and exploited women in Kelowna, is partnering with the makers of YodelMe to launch a pilot project…
B.C. First Nations evade evacuation orders to fight fires
KAMLOOPS, B.C. — Emergency officials and police are urging British Columbia residents to respect evacuation orders ahead of fast-moving wildfires, but some First Nations are standing their ground, successfully protecting their homes and property. The chief of the Tl’etinqox First Nation said RCMP officers told them to leave or risk having their children taken away….
B.C. First Nations say fentanyl crisis disproportionately affecting their communities
VANCOUVER — First Nations leaders in British Columbia say they suspect fentanyl is having a disproportionate impact on their communities, but they can’t get the numbers to prove it. Grand Chief Edward John of the First Nations Summit said he’s been asking the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) and other provincial authorities for the data…
B.C. Greens, riding high in polls, make election hard to call
VANCOUVER — British Columbia’s Green Party has turned the province’s election campaign into an unpredictable three-way race as polls show a phenomenal rise in support. The centre-right Liberal Party, led by Premier Christy Clark, is seeking to hang on to power after 16 years. Clark has repeatedly attacked the temperament of her main opponent, NDP Leader John Horgan,…
Adults with fetal alcohol syndrome appear prone to health conditions, survey says
Myles Himmelreich has struggled with significant joint pain since he was a teen, yet he didn’t get a proper diagnosis of arthritis until he was in his mid-30s. His young age and the fact he is diagnosed with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder may have prevented doctors from considering testing his joints sooner — a problem…
How drug potency and online ordering are fuelling Canada’s opioid crisis
VANCOUVER — Illicit drugs have always been a problem in port cities, but experts say the emergence of highly potent synthetic opioids that are fuelling British Columbia’s overdose crisis are slipping through borders in new ways, presenting challenges for law enforcement. International regulations, online ordering and the potency of the drug are among the factors…
Some sex workers choose industry due to benefits of occupation: study
Some sex workers are choosing the industry because it can be more lucrative and rewarding than low-paying service industry jobs, says a recent study by a researcher at the University of Victoria. Prof. Cecilia Benoit, a scientist at the Centre for Addictions Research of B.C., said she’s heard a variety of reasons why sex workers…