Business

Bougainville: The world’s next new country?

A South Pacific island is offering America the deal of the century. Is Washington listening?

Meet the Jamaicans who harvest the Champlain Valley’s apples

Immigration

Whaling continues in Japan despite worldwide protests 

Japan in Focus

Rice shortage shines spotlight on Japan’s agricultural policy

Japan in Focus

Germany’s culture war over animal welfare 

Arts, Culture & Media

Paraguay’s soy bonanza leaves small farmers in the cold

The tiny landlocked South American country of Paraguay is one of the top soy producers on the planet. Soy is the country’s top export and it accounts for a major chunk of the country’s gross domestic product. But the soy explosion has wreaked havoc on Paraguay’s ecosystem and been a disaster for many small farmers whose farms have been inundated with pesticides from neighboring soy plantations.

The rocky road to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival

Arts, Culture & Media

The Edinburgh Fringe Festival is the biggest performing arts festival in the world, and it has catapulted the work of some artists to the West End, Broadway and television. But the road to the festival is also littered with stories of career-ending performances, mental health distress and financial ruin.

Small businesses already feeling the pain after Instagram block in Turkey 

Arts, Culture & Media

Instagram has gone dark in Turkey — after the Turkish government unexpectedly blocked the app late last week. The move does not bode well for a community of small, Instagram-based businesses in the country. 

The enduring harvest of the ‘Tears of Chios’

Lifestyle

The domesticated versions of wild Mediterranean shrubs are the world’s sole source of gum mastic — a clear resin that has been used by humans for at least 2,500 years. Today, some growers are trying to keep up that tradition.

Capitalists Anonymous: Weary French seek help in buying and polluting less

Lifestyle & Belief

There are many addiction support groups out there — from alcohol and drugs to pornography. In France, there’s one called Capitalists Anonymous, for people who can’t stop buying stuff or worry that their daily actions, like commuting in gas-guzzling cars, are hurting the planet.