Diversifying Income Helps Ease Climate Woes

When 45-year-old Kaswati joined an income-generating project in her village in Indonesia’s West Java province in 1999, all she hoped to do was supplement her family’s income at a time of erratic harvests.

Asylum Seekers Struggle to Survive Under Israeli Restrictions

Tesfahiwet Medin holds a university degree and experience as a nurse. But six years after escaping the violent dictatorship in his native Eritrea, the 39-year-old says he feels like a part of him is missing, as he's been prevented from continuing in his profession in Israel.

Mini-Factories Emerging to Process Fruit in Cuba

Homemade machines for pulverising fruit and sealing cans of preserves, created by inventive entrepreneurs, are one of the pillars of a slight rise in mini-industries in different parts of Cuba, where food production is picking up.

In Southern U.S., Energy Equity Seen as Path to Sustainability

Advocates of the concept of "energy equity" have begun employing it in the southern United States to create a diverse coalition of citizens who might otherwise approach energy policy issues differently.

Greeting Whales, Not Eating Them

After a two-year break, Iceland has resumed its hunting of fin whales. But environmental campaigners outside of Iceland are doing their best to stop it.

Women in Zimbabwe’s Parliament Will Change Widow’s Lives

When Maude Taruvinga* votes in Zimbabwe’s elections later this year, she will be voting for her local female politician as she has placed her hopes for a better future on the presence of more women in this southern African nation’s legislature.

Rape in Brazil Still an Invisible Crime

Sexual violence against women is alarmingly under-reported and invisible in Brazil where, for example, there are no accurate, comparable data on rape in the country's 27 states.

For Africa Trip, Obama Urged to Prioritise Development

Advocacy groups here are urging U.S. President Barack Obama to focus on more than just economic development during his upcoming trip to Africa. They are also hoping that the state visits will be able to turn the tide on years of U.S. engagement with Africa only through the lens of security and counter-terrorism.

Effective Smog Monitoring Urgently Needed in Mexican Cities

Mexican cities with populations of more than 500,000 face serious obstacles in monitoring air quality and reducing air pollution, but as of July local authorities will be required to do both, and to submit mandatory reports on their efforts to the federal government.

Effective Smog Monitoring Urgently Needed in Mexican Cities

Mexican cities with populations of more than 500,000 face serious obstacles in monitoring air quality and reducing air pollution, but as of July local authorities will be required to do both, and to submit mandatory reports on their efforts to the federal government.

Egypt Sees a Dam Confrontation

Ethiopia's diversion of part of the Blue Nile late last month has both rocked Cairo's relations with Addis Ababa and provided fodder for Egypt's ongoing war of attrition between its Islamist government and secular opposition.

Ugandan Teen Turns to Poultry to Fight Poverty

When Eunice Namugerwa, an 18-year-old living in Kampala’s Kisenyi slum, decided to start a business to support her family last August, she scrawled three ideas down on a bit of scrap paper: a piggery, a fashion boutique and a chicken farm.

Facing Tough Times, Barbuda Continues Sand Mining Despite Warnings

Arthur Nibbs was known for his staunch opposition to sand mining in his homeland of Barbuda, a Caribbean island with dazzling white sand beaches that comprise most of its deserted coastline.

CENTRAL ASIA: South Asia Energy Project a Pipe Dream?

In early June, a newspaper in Pakistan announced the Asian Development Bank would withdraw from a much-anticipated energy transmission project that aims to connect Central and South Asia. The report stated that security fears in Afghanistan were prompting the ADB to drop its 40 percent interest in the project.

Mining Benefits Fail to ‘Trickle Down’

With South-South trade on the rise and growth in emerging economies set to outstrip production in industrialised countries, the international mining sector has been quick to follow global trends.

U.N. Security Council Votes to End Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict

British Foreign Secretary William Hague and United Nations Special Envoy Angelina Jolie successfully urged the U.N. Security Council to adopt a resolution on prevention of sexual violence in armed conflict.

Trapped Between Political Persecution in Eritrea and Misery of Refugee Camps

In February 2013, 20-year-old Mohamed*, like hundreds of thousands of other Eritreans, fled the brutal dictatorship in that East African nation in search of a better life in neighbouring Sudan.

‘Grand’ Corruption Grips East Europe

A deeply-engrained culture of graft across Eastern Europe is destroying bonds between politicians and the people as populations lose faith in what they see as a self-serving elite “enriching” themselves at their expense, anti-corruption campaigners have said.

Documenting Invasive Species on Colombia’s Plains

Along the unpaved road between the town of Orocué and the Wisirare private reserve in the eastern Colombian department of Casanare, biologist Juliana Cárdenas asks the driver to stop the bus so she can collect a specimen of West Indian foxtail, a kind of grass growing along the road.

India’s Food Security Rots in Storage

Shooing off a quartet of hens that come pecking, 24-year-old Kamala Batra sits guard over a sack of coarse rice spread out on the courtyard. After small black insects slowly crawl away in the sun’s heat, she gathers it to cook for the day’s free midday meal - a pan-India government food security scheme for students.

Q&A: “Do Not Fear Small Farmers”

The International Planning Committee for Food Security (IPC) is the largest organisation of small food producers in the world, representing 300 million people, including La Via Campesina with its 200 million members.