News Decoder

When education stopped making sense Young people across the globe are taking to the streets. In Morocco one demand is clear: Give us an education that helps us navigate the world we live in.

Ahmed Elias Koudir looks at the root causes of Gen Z #protests in #Morocco and how #education is key to understanding and addressing present frustrations.

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Decoder: Can you trust what's on the medicine label? Natural and herbal medicines are much cheaper than prescription pills. But whether they work and are safe is another story.

⚠️ Natural and herbal medicines are much cheaper than prescription pills. But whether they work and are safe is another story.

🗞️ Maggie Fox decodes the difference between drugs that go through rigorous testing and those that don’t. Link to full story in bio.

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Does facing your own death give you a new lease on life? Every moment could be our last opportunity in life, and this acknowledgement gives weight to our actions while stripping away trivial distractions.

💀 “Death is not our enemy. It is our teacher.”

🗞️ Jack Kapund Kambale of African Leadership Academy reflects on childhood brushes with death in Democratic Republic of Congo and explores how confronting your own mortality can give you a new lease on life.

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Should generosity require reciprocity? We learn that it is good to share what we have with those less fortunate. But when those around us simply take, important social bonds begin to fray.

We learn that it is good to share what we have with those less fortunate. But when those around us simply take, important social bonds begin to fray.

🗞️ Ayira Browne explores help turned to duty and changing attitudes toward generosity, entitlement and community.

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Weighing the good and bad of technology Many argue that technology comes with high social and environmental costs. Others say innovation will save our planet. Can both be right?

📱 Many argue that technology comes with high social and environmental costs. Others say innovation will save our planet. Can both be right?

🗞️ AyanfeOluwa Ayanlade tackles whether technology will be the cause the environmental collapse or the key to saving it.

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You lost them at "Hello" | News Decoder Language shapes how people perceive each other. Small differences in pronunciation can affect who is welcomed or dismissed. But language can also connect us.

🗣️The languages we speak and the way we speak shape how we are received by others.

🗞️ Student reporter Fatma Ezzahra Rziga explores how our mastery of language and accents affects how we’re perceived and the degree to which we are accepted or rejected by others.

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The thawing of our tallest peaks The Himalayan mountains hold the largest concentration of ice and snow outside the Arctic and Antarctic regions. What happens when that begins to melt?

🗞️ Sajad Hameed and Rehan Qayoom Mir speak to Kashmir locals and climate scientists to find out more about the effects of the Himalaya's changing climate and its effect on local communities.

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Decoder Replay: Is the United States aging out of democracy? For 250 years, much of the world has looked at the United States as the model democracy. Is that still the case?

🗽 For 250 years, much of the world has looked at the United States as the model democracy. Is that still the case?

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Young people are turning to AI-based chatbots for support with mental health challenges.

🗞️ Jasmine Ryu Won Kang explores the ethical issues, limitations and dangers of relying on AI for therapy.

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Media in Bangladesh get caught up in anti-India attacks Frustrated with their government and inflamed by the death of an activist, mobs turn their anger on the press.

Frustrated with their government and inflamed by the death of an activist, mobs turn their anger on the press.

🗞️ Tauseef Ahmad and Sajid Raina report on recent attacks on media outlets and rising political unrest in Bangladesh.

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Cuts to U.S. health aid jeopardizes a global success story Tens of millions of people get life-saving treatment thanks to decades of U.S. government funds that have now evaporated. In Africa, this is a wake-up call.

🗞️ Georges Ki-Zerbo examines the effects of U.S. funding cuts on HIV and AIDS prevention and treatment programs across the African continent.

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The danger of overdoing over-the-counter medicine There's vitamin D for bones, ginkgo biloba for memory, St. John's wort for your mood, zinc for an immune boost. If it's all natural, what's the problem?

Tourists flock to India’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites. But without a conservation plan that addresses pollution, will these historic places survive another century?

🗞️ Rajeev Tyagi tackles the pollution and climate realities that threaten cultural monuments across the globe.

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Decoder Replay: A week of chaos for one Alpine town At the World Economic Forum, important people discuss global problems. For the people who live in Davos, its a week of cars and people clogging the streets.

⛰ As world leaders descend on the Swiss mountain town of Davos for the World Economic Forum (WEF), this prize-winning student story, originally published May 2025, looks at the effects of the WEF on the day-to-day lives of locals.

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💊 Vitamin D for bones, gingko biloba for memory, St. John’s Wort for your mood, zinc for an immune boost. If it’s all natural, what’s the problem?

🗞️ Mahima Adey explores the risks of using herbal remedies and supplements without seeking sufficient medical guidance.

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Bringing back birds from the brink of extinction Among the lush greenery of Maui, some spectacular birds are dying out. A group of conservationists is working to bring these populations back to life.

🐣 Deirdre Pike takes us to Hawaii to meet the island’s birds and the people at the heart of the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project.

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Decoder Replay: Isn't all for one and one for all a good thing? Under NATO, 32 countries have pledged to defend each other. Is the United States the glue that holds it all together?

With tensions rising over the United States and #Greenland, our Decoder Replay looks back at John West’s July 2024 piece on why #NATO was formed, how it has grown and how it comes into play in times of #conflict.

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Decoder: The United States as guardian or bully Can national sovereignty be dismissed when a superpower claims a sphere of influence? Can U.S. economic interests in Venezuela be considered national security?

🗞️ Political Scientist Daniel Warner decodes the implications of the recent U.S. incursion into Venezuela.

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Tanzanian parents struggle with misconceptions of autism Raising a child with autism carries special challenges. Confronting the ignorance of society shouldn't be one of them.

🧩 Raising a child with autism carries unique challenges.

🗞️ Student writer Ramona-Blessing shines a light on autism and the reality of raising children on the autism spectrum in Tanzania.

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Paradise on Earth: A student podcast This prize-winning student podcast explores how faith and power — forces that can be used for good — may be misused for personal gain. The result is tragic.

🎙️ Listen to this student-made podcast from Ghana.

“Jonestown, Guyana: Paradise on Earth” took home third prize in News Decoder’s 18th Non-Fiction Storytelling Contest.

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Ousting Venezuela's leader was high on Trump's to-do list To understand how the United States could send troops to capture Nicolás Maduro, it helps to review the relationship during Donald Trump's first term in office.

🗞️ To put into context why Trump sent troops to capture Maduro, we republish a 2019 piece by Bernd Debusmann that explains the political and economic relationship between Venezuela and the United States.

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Should schools provide more than an education? Many teachers find that their students can't learn if they are hungry or cold. But that often means providing food and clothing out of their own pockets.

🧑‍🏫 Many teachers find that students can’t learn if they are hungry or cold. But that often means providing food and clothing out of their own pockets.

🗞️ Angelica Recierdo speaks to the educators carrying a growing burden of care for their students.

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The political weaponry of disinformaton With corruption scandals rife in Spain, the spread of false rumors is eroding people's trust in their government. Can anything be done to restore la confianza?

🔊 With corruption scandals rife in Spain, the spread of false rumors is eroding people’s trust in their government. Can anything be done to restore la confianza?

🗞️ Jurriaan van Eerten explores the power and weaponization of disinformation in Spanish politics.

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🧳 Live out of suitcases for months at a time, and you learn what to leave behind. It’s not the physical stuff that matters but connections you make and keep.

🗞️ Hanan Hammad looks at the ups, downs and lessons learned from living a nomadic lifestyle.

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What's not part of university requirements? Eating. College students must pay for housing, books and course fees. For many, that leaves little extra for meals. Some campuses are working to fill that need.

💸 College students must pay for housing, books and course fees. For many, that leaves little extra for meals. Some campuses are working to fill that need.

🗞️ Natasha Yu Chia Hu explores growing food insecurity amongst students.

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Some stories that bring good cheer As we approach the coming year, let's look back on the past year and see that it wasn't all gloom and doom.

💫 As we approach 2026, we look back at a year of stories and see that it wasn’t all doom and gloom.

🗞️ Take a look at a selection of positive stories from across our global network.

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Decoder Replay: Can we prepare for unpredictable weather? There's no denying climate change when a tornado rips through your town or a blizzard buries you in snow. So why blame the people who raise weather alarms?

🌪️ As U.S. President Trump speaks of dismantling the National Center for Atmospheric Research, we republish a 2024 piece by Ashley Pearl on how communities across the world are adapting to more frequent extreme weather events.

#weather #climate #adapt

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Think you're a news whiz? Take our news quiz | News Decoder You recall the big headlines in your news feed. But News Decoder took you to places that don't get big spotlights. How well did you pay attention?

🌍 News Decoder publishes stories from across our global network, places that don’t always get big spotlights. How well did you pay attention?

📝 Test yourself on our 2025 News Decoder quiz!

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What happens when people lose access to birth control? Contraception reduces mortality and can improve the lives of women. But the United States has pulled its global funding for maternal health programs.

🗞️ Georges Ki-Zerbo explores the effects of U.S. funding cuts to international aid for maternal health programs.

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You can write a great essay. But can you tell a great story? Writing for a teacher or group of academics is one thing. Now imagine the audience is a group of your friends. Would you write it the same way?

🖋️ Writing for a teacher or group of academics is one thing. Now imagine the audience is a group of your friends. Would you write it the same way?

🗞️ Marcy Burstiner breaks down the difference between writing essays and journalistic pieces that hook people and keep them reading.

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To fight climate change, begin in the classroom It is one thing for students to read what a teacher assigned. It's another to discover information themselves and use it to inform others and take action.

News Decoder’s Amina McCauley reflects on our two-year Empowering Youth through Environmental Storytelling project and the development of a guide to teaching climate change and climate journalism.

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