by News Decoder | 24 May 2016 | King's Academy, Middle East, Student Posts, Syria
By William Watkins When Syrian armed forces recaptured the ancient desert city of Palmyra from the Islamic State jihadist movement in March, the world may have seen a turning point in the five-year-old war. Whether or not it was a watershed, important lessons can be...
by News Decoder | 20 May 2016 | Americas, Asia, China, School Year Abroad, Student Posts, United States
By Kelvin Green II The leader of Taiwan’s political party that favors independence from China made history today when she took office as the island’s first woman president. China is hoping the history-making stops there. Unlike the Kuomintang party, which...
by Liam Grace | 18 May 2016 | Bournemouth University, Economy, Europe, Student Posts, Youth Voices
Despite its rich history and glamorous look, Bournemouth is a British town where poverty and wealth co-exist, cheek by jowl. — Photo Essay by Liam Grace — Wealth and poverty share a British town13Wealth and poverty share a British town13 Wealth and poverty...
by News Decoder | 16 May 2016 | Islam, Middle East, School Year Abroad, Student Posts, Syria, Terrorism
Syrian refugee holds onto his children as he struggles to walk off a dinghy on the Greek island of Lesbos, 24 September 2015. (REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis) By Annique Browne What’s the biggest threat to U.S. national security? During this year’s presidential...
by News Decoder | 13 May 2016 | Asia, China, School Year Abroad, Student Posts
By Anne-Sophie van Wingerden Arriving at Beijing’s airport last summer, I glanced at the flight monitors. Taiwan was not listed among domestic destinations. Nor was it alongside international capitals. Taiwan exists in limbo, neither part of mainland China to...
by News Decoder | 12 May 2016 | Americas, Europe, Greens Farms Academy, King's Academy, Middle East, Personal Reflections, School Year Abroad, Student Posts, Syria, United States, Youth Voices
By Nelson Graves “We have to find a political solution, in offices and not with arms.” So said Evgenia Chatziadamido, one of four students from three continents who discussed the causes and effects of Syria’s civil war during a recent online round...
by Hunter Parkhill | 11 May 2016 | Asia, China, School Year Abroad, Student Posts
Mountains of garbage encircling Beijing tell the story of a country whose infrastructure has not kept pace with its growing economy or population. River in Shunyi, Beijing, that led me to my first dump At a construction site in Shunyi Refuse behind a gated community...
by News Decoder | 10 May 2016 | King's Academy, Middle East, Student Posts
By William Close Behind closed doors in the Saudi capital Riyadh, consultants and government officials are developing policies to prepare the country for what until recently seemed unthinkable: an economy without oil. For decades, Saudi Arabia has been the world’s...
by News Decoder | 9 May 2016 | Europe, Islam, School Year Abroad, Student Posts, Terrorism
By Ally Oh We’re always told to look for the good — the silver lining, the upside, the half-full glass — but it’s not always that easy or simple. On a recent weekend, listening to a heartbroken Turkish girl cry and yell at everyone in the bathroom to get...
by News Decoder | 6 May 2016 | Bournemouth University, Europe, Student Posts
By Abi Simpson Surrounded by “Keep Calm” posters, tea drinkers and all things stereotypically British, you wouldn’t know you were in anything but a quaint little café with a great view, sipping Earl Grey tea. Unless you looked behind you. The crumbling...