What’s wrong with being ‘too Westernised’?

Police in a Phoenix suburb are looking for a father who is suspected of running over his daughter for being “too Westernised” and not living according to traditional Iraqi values. Here’s more on the story.

Can religion change a leader’s ways?

Over two hundred Roman Catholic bishops from across Africa have issued an ultimatum to corrupt Catholic political leaders on the continent to repent or quit. Without naming any specific politicians, they believed the continent and the church had been given a bad name. The region needs “saintly politicians who will clean the continent of corruption,” declared the bishops at the Vatican earlier today.Will this ultimatum have any impact? Do we underestimate the impact of faith on a leader’s behaviour?

Are the rich morally obliged to share their wealth?

  This is the story on bbcnews.com. ‘A group of rich Germans has launched a petition calling for the government to make wealthy people pay higher taxes. The group say they have more money than they need, and the extra revenue could fund economic and social programmes to aid Germany’s economic recovery.’ Would you like a tax hike for the rich in your country?

Could we live without rubbish?

Will mountains of rubbish always be with us or could we move towards a zero waste society?

The concept of zero waste has been around since the 70s but more and more companies are shunning land fill and incinerators in favour of recycling, composting – or of getting rid of waste altogether.

But is this just wishful thinking on behalf of a few idealists or could the notion of a society without waste one day be reality? And what about the effect on the economy? Is it worth the sacrifice?

Black Barbie: A good idea?

Meet Grace, Kara and Trichelle. They are the new black Barbies released by Mattell in their latest So In Style or S.I.S line. Why? To fill a gap in the market for young black girls who for so long have been playing with dolls that don’t look like them.