Cameroonian Farmer Won't Let Low Rainfall Defeat Him
Olivier Forgha Koumbou washes some freshly picked carrots in a small brook and eats them with relish. His thriving farm in Santa, in Cameroon's North West region, looks like a miracle in the midst of...
View ArticleMassive Theft of Developing World's Farmland
The mass acquisition or lease of arable land in developing countries, especially in Africa, by foreign investors – a practice aggravated by the outbreak of the financial crisis in 2007 – has reached...
View ArticleCloning - Lifeline for Cashmere Shawl Industry
After scientists in Kashmir successfully cloned the pashmina goat, that produces the famous ‘cashmere' wool, hopes are running high for the revival of the traditional shawl-making industry in this...
View ArticleWorld Bank Overseeing Global Land Grab
The World Bank continues to facilitate land-grabbing in poor and developing countries around the world, according to new research released here on Monday.
View ArticleTruce Between Salvadoran Gangs Brings Fragile Hope
A truce negotiated between El Salvador's main gangs has drastically reduced murders and encouraged hope that this country may have found a way out of the labyrinth of violence in which it seemed lost....
View ArticleFamilies of the ‘Disappeared' Go after DINA Secret Police in Chile
A criminal lawsuit against 1,500 former members of DINA, the secret police of Chile's 1973-1990 dictatorship, is seeking to shed light on the most active player in the repression, which stretched...
View ArticleU.S.: New Steps by Obama to Curb Atrocities in Syria, Elsewhere
In a major speech commemmorating the Nazi Holocaust, U.S. President Barack Obama Monday announced several steps his administration will take to curb mass atrocities abroad, including in Syria where he...
View ArticleArmed Groups in Northern Mali Raping Women
Increasing numbers of Malian women are being raped by Tuareg rebels and armed groups that have swept across the north of Mali since the beginning of year, expelling all government troops from the...
View ArticleIceland Finds New Power in Farms
"With the fuel from the agriculture project, we are encouraging farmers to look at possibilities they might have to produce their own energy, while at the same time getting the Agricultural University...
View ArticleOP-ED: The Road Less Traveled
The celebrated storyteller Mark Twain (1835-1910) wrote, "Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail...
View ArticleCivil Society Determined to Have an Impact on Río+20
Innovating and stepping up the pressure on governments are the bywords for civil society participation in the run-up to Rio+20, a conference with the ambitious goal of changing the way humankind...
View ArticleKAZAKHSTAN: Rights Activists Urge Halt to Zhanaozen Trial amid Torture Claims
An attempt to render justice is quickly turning into a PR debacle for Kazakhstan. Troubling allegations that torture was employed to obtain incriminating statements is engulfing the trial of 37...
View ArticleKYRGYZSTAN: Moscow Vexed by Bishkek's Efforts to Play the Field
The Kremlin is getting cranky over Kyrgyzstan's efforts to obtain aid without any diplomatic payback. To convey their displeasure, Russian officials are now delaying cooperation agreements and...
View ArticleQ&A: Harnessing the African Information Renaissance
About 140 million Africans are now on the internet. With half of the population under age 15 and 70 percent of the population under 30, social media is becoming an important feature in the continent's...
View ArticleBrazilian Mining Giant under Fire for Deaths, Environmental Damage
Social movements from several countries accused Brazil's Vale, the world's second largest mining company, of causing serious environmental and social damage, as well as the deaths of 15 workers in...
View ArticleOP-ED: Nobel Laureates and Students Defending Human Rights, One Step at a Time
I spent Monday morning in the library of Chicago's Lincoln Park High School, listening to students talk about what the word "hero" means to them. This wasn't any normal school day – in a few moments...
View ArticleEuropean Refugees Meet Austerity-Era Hostility
As the economic slump drags on in Europe, refugees and immigrants are keeping a wary eye on state budgets, as governments in the throes of austerity slash the social protections and public services...
View ArticleLegal Challenges Counter Plans for New Nuclear Reactors
Until this past February, the last time new nuclear power construction was approved in the United States was in 1978. But when the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved two proposed...
View ArticleFuture of UNCTAD in Balance at Doha
Profound discord between industrialised nations and developing countries is threatening to ruin the UNCTAD meeting being held this week in Doha, and may even endanger the survival of this United...
View ArticleComing Together for Environmental Restoration in Haiti
In honour of Earth Day, we run an interview with Yves-André Wainright, who discusses ways that poor governance and the role of foreign donors have contributed to the country's environmental catastrophe.
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