Lifestyle
South Korea says it sent babies abroad for adoption ‘like luggage’
Since the end of the Korean War in the 1950s, South Korea provided an estimated 200,000 children for international adoptions. That’s believed to be more than any other country. But the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Korea now says the system was plagued with abuse and falsified information, and that it was driven by profits. The new report has been a long time coming for adoptees who have been pushing for more transparency.
Mexico’s supreme court rules in favor of Ely, a depressed elephant at a zoo
Ely is known as “the sad elephant.” She’s been depressed since she was rescued from abusive conditions at a circus years ago. Now, there are efforts underway to improve her conditions at a Mexican zoo after the country’s high court ruled in her favor.
Many Argentine Catholics pray for long-awaited papal visit
On this day 12 years ago, Pope Francis became the first pope from Latin America. Since then, in all of his travels around the world, he has never gone back to visit his home country, Argentina. Now, Pope Francis is facing health issues and has been hospitalized since Feb. 14. His followers in Argentina are praying for his recovery — and hoping that he will finally come back on a papal visit.
Inside the race for the world’s fastest train
Late last year, China broke its own record for the world’s fastest train, clocking in at 281 miles per hour. But in Japan, testing is underway for another type of train — one that levitates and can top 300 miles per hour, showing that the race for the fastest train isn’t just a competition. It could revolutionize the future of travel.
Salvaging family photos after the Valencia floods
When natural disaster strikes, people can lose anything and everything. But what survivors often say they miss most are the lost photos. In Valencia, Spain, photo restorers have been collecting and cleaning images pulled from the mud and returning them to grateful owners.
A century-old British tram gets restored to its former glory
In the early 1900s, Brighton, England, was full of electric trams. But at the start of World War II, they were scrapped for the war effort. All of the trams were lost — or so historians thought. Then in 2009, one was discovered on a pig farm, and a team of locals have been working ever since to restore the tram to its original glory. Now, the group behind the restoration is hoping to get it running on tracks again, soon.