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How giant African rats are helping uncover deadly land mines in Cambodia

Fred de Sam Lazaro

September 10, 2019 |

PBS NewsHour |

Broadcast TV News |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Cambodia, Battambang

Cambodia is littered with unexploded land mines, posing a huge threat to people even decades after the conflict. In order to help locate and remove mines, a unique organization named Apopo trains rats to sniff them out. Rats have extremely sensitive noses and have found about 500 mines and more than 350 unexploded bombs in Cambodia since 2016. The drawback is the pace of the long, tedious, and dangerous work.

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University of Alabama study may be key to winning war on drugs

Andrew Yawn

June 21, 2019 |

The Montgomery Advertiser |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Florida

The United States has continuously put resources towards fighting the war on drugs, but a recent research collaborative that resulted in a comprehensive model has shown that there is a lot to be learned from the failures of these efforts. Although still in the early stages, the model is being turned into a virtual lab that will serve to test newer strategies to determine realistically adoptable solutions.

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Slum gods: the Kenyans steering young radicals away from terrorism

Jason Burke

March 28, 2019 |

The Guardian |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Kenya, Mombasa

A new program from London’s Royal United Services Institute takes a hyper-local approach to ending violent extremism. While many efforts across the world are focused on deradicalizing current members of extremist groups, this program seeks out the most vulnerable populations to provide support and mentorship in order to prevent them from radicalizing in the first place. By using indicators that can identify those at-risk, the program funds mentors from the same neighborhood to step in and offer support and guidance.

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Robots decommission 700,000 munitions for recycling

David Szondy

February 24, 2019 |

New Atlas |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Anniston, Alabama

At a US Army facility in Alabama, nine robots, created by Sandia National Laboratories, was able to decommission and recycle army munitions. What has historically been a dangerous job for humans, these robots are able to safely recycle these parts that have typically been discarded in ways that aren’t exactly environmentally friendly.

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How Bangladesh Made Abortion Safer

Patrick Adams

December 28, 2018 |

The New York Times |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Bangladesh

In the aftermath of the Bangladesh war for independence of 1971, the newly formed country was reeling from the result of system sexual violence perpetuated by the Pakistani military forces as well as locals; in response, the government effectively set in motion the necessary public infrastructure for safe abortion services in the country. Now, Bangladesh is applying those same lessons to serve Rohingya refugees.

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'Girls who leave militias get rejected': helping child soldiers go home

Lucy Lamble

August 15, 2018 |

The Guardian |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: Democratic Republic of the Congo

Enrolling in school can help former girl soldiers reintegrate into society. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Child Soldiers International interviewed community members and former soldiers, and then shared this finding with local organizations to guide programming.

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How Cities Say No to Military Equipment for Their Police

Tanvi Misra

August 31, 2017 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States

Putting more military weapons and other tactical gear in the hands of local law enforcement has little or no effect on crime, but does make police violence more likely. After the Trump administration lifted a loophole-ridden Obama-era policy restricting the distribution of such gear to local agencies, some local lawmakers sought to impose their own restrictions. But police continue to find ways to arm themselves as if for war, making them more likely to overreact to routine problems, with predictably violent outcomes.

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The New Technology That Promises to Blow up Illegal Fishing

Paul Tullis

July 17, 2017 |

News Deeply |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Australia, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory

Illegal fishing is a grave concern that not only threatens to destroy the ocean's ecosystem but the livelihoods of billions of people around the world who depend on stable fish populations for food. Now, software developed in a partnership between Vulcan - a private Seattle-based tech firm - and Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization allows law enforcement to quickly analyze suspicious patterns from the transponders of thousands of ships at a time, using special algorithms that automatically detect is a ship is a high-risk for criminal activity.

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At the UN, a New Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapons Is Adopted by 122 Nations

Maria Luisa Gambale

July 07, 2017 |

PassBlue |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

On July 7, 122 United Nations member countries approved a new treaty prohibiting and eliminating nuclear weapons. The legally binding agreement emphasizes humanitarian concerns, including the disproportionate impact of weapons testing and deployment on indigenous people as well as on women, young children, and reproductive systems. All nine states holding nuclear weapons boycotted negotiations.

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Rats are the world's best land mine hunters

Danika Fears

May 30, 2017 |

New York Post |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Cambodia, Phnom Penh

In countries like Cambodia, Angola, and Mozambique, rats are saving lives by detecting untriggered land mines. An international nonprofit, Apopo, provides funding a training and works with local organizations to operate at the local level. The rats are light enough that they don’t trigger the explosives and can cover up to 2,000 square feet in just 20 minutes – something that would take a human up to four days to complete.

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