The fall of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad has given hope to millions of Syrian refugees who fled their country during its 13-year civil war. We look back at the start and evolution of the conflict. Syrians wait to cross into Syria from Turkey at the Cilvegözü border...
New laws that affect what church people can pray in could cost Ukraine support from those who believe in religious freedom. Metropolitan Epiphanius, the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, blesses water during a traditional Epiphany celebration in Kyiv, Ukraine, 6...
Russia didn’t attend the 75th birthday of the Geneva Conventions. Are the treaties that govern how nations conduct war still relevant in today’s chaotic world? Members of the UN Security Council mark the 75th anniversary of the signing of the Geneva...
Use this piece to explore international relations, geopolitics, the politics and history of conflict. Last month marked the 75th Anniversary of the Geneva Conventions. Russia didn’t attend. Political Scientist Daniel Warner decodes whether the treaties that govern how nations conduct war are still relevant in today’s chaotic world.
Exercise: Debate. Split students into groups. In each group, divide students into two teams. One will defend the Geneva Conventions, the other is against the conventions. In preparation, watch this video and share the ICRC website. Each team undertakes research to build an argument for their case. Ask students to debate the issue. After the debate, discuss the difficulties teams had in supporting their arguments.
Can even leaders on the wrong side of history be credited for good outcomes? Can awful leaders be awe-inspiring? Then-Libyan President Moammar Gaddafi arrives in Venezuela, 25 September 2009 to attend the Africa-South America, ASA, summit. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)...
As half the world goes to the polls this year, Jeremy Solomons asks: Can even leaders on the wrong side of history be credited for good outcomes? Can awful leaders be awe-inspiring? Explore leadership, leaders and their legacies with your class and push them to develop their critical thinking and argumentation skills.
Exercise: Choose a controversial leader, dead or alive. You may agree or disagree with their position, politics or legacy. Build a picture of some of their decisions that had widespread negative impacts and find some positive aspects to their leadership. Next, play devil’s advocate and try to argue the good or positives that may have come from negative decisions. How might people on both opinion sides see the leader’s legacy? To conclude, students can express their own views on the matter and find nuanced arguments and discourse to express these.
One candidate in the upcoming election vows to deport millions of people. The other wants complicated changes to current laws. Is either solution feasible? A group claiming to be from India sit in the shade of the border wall as they wait to be picked up by U.S....
After four decades and some 40 millions deaths, can we end this worldwide health crisis? A human T cell (blue) under attack by HIV (yellow), the virus that causes AIDS. Credit: U.S. National Cancer Institute This article was produced exclusively for News Decoder’s...
Immigrants seeking asylum in New York City struggle to get help meeting basic needs. Nonprofit organizations struggle to fill the vacuum. Migrants queue in the cold as they look for a shelter outside a migrant assistance center at St. Brigid Elementary School in lower...
The term “woke” is caught up in a divisive culture war in the United States. Why is the idea of social justice not universally accepted? A protest about book banning at the capitol building in Atlanta, Georgia in the United States, 12 February 2022....
The UN says that in places where women face severe discrimination we need to recognize that as apartheid. But the idea is not universally accepted. Afghan women walk through the old market as a Taliban fighter stands guard in downtown Kabul, Afghanistan. Taliban...
Civil war in Sudan is causing a humanitarian crisis in an already unstable region. This is not something the world can ignore. South Sudanese who fled from Sudan sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on 16 May 2023. (AP Photo/Sam...