Fat’s Heavy Burden on the World Economy

About 2.1 billion people are regarded as overweight or obese today, or almost thirty per cent of the world’s population. With over 800 million people estimated to be chronically hungry in the world, it appears that the number of overweight is more than 2.5 times the number of undernourished.

Fighting Poverty

When it comes to the biggest challenges facing Bangladesh, surely poverty is one of the most crucial. And there is still much work to be done. Despite cutting the rate of extreme poverty from 34 percent in 2000 to just 13 percent today, 20 million Bangladeshis still live in conditions considered to be ultra poor. Living on less than Tk. 43 per day can be immensely difficult, and for some, it can create a trap that's almost impossible to escape.

Post COP21: Costa Rica’s Innovation Must Become the Global Norm

The Paris agreement means countries and corporations will be compelled to act much more quickly on making agricultural commodity production more sustainable. Companies must look beyond their supply chains. Farmers need support to overcome barriers such as: struggle with ineffective farming practices, lack of investment and fluctuating commodity prices.

Turkey’s Crackdown on the Press

On the evening of March 4, heavily armed police forced their way into the headquarters of the Turkish daily Zaman. The hundreds of protesters that had gathered in front of the building in an Istanbul suburb in solidarity with their newspaper were violently dispersed.

Women at the Helm

If a string of recent events have sparked a bit of optimism among the observers of the country`s politics and students of its rather tragic history it is indeed a welcome development.

Can Europe Survive – Back to a Better Yesterday?

The last formal act of European disintegration was the last negotiation between 28 European leaders and the Prime Minister of Turkey. The deal, against all international treaties, is a total capitulation to European values. Europe will give Turkey 6 billion dollars, and in exchange Turkey will keep refugees from coming to Europe. Or better, will screen everybody, and send to Europe only the Syrians who are eligible for political asylum.

Palestinian Refugees from Syria

In the safety of his sister's bare flat in Beit Hanoun, Gaza, 42 year-old Iyad Yusef still shakes his head in disbelief when he recounts the journey that from war-torn Syria, brought him and his family to the relative safety of the blockaded strip.

Clean Clothes – Fashion Free of Slave Labour in Argentina

In Argentina, there are now 20 brand names that guarantee that their garments are produced by workers in decent working conditions, thanks to the Clean Clothes network, aimed at eradicating slave labour in the garment industry, which illegally employs some 30,000 people in sweatshops around the country.

Increasing Women’s Access to Skills and Jobs

"My daughter and I were a burden on my parents,” says 20-year-old Moushumi Akter Mou from Mirpur. Married off at the age of 14, Mou could not complete her schooling. After her daughter was born, her husband remarried, leaving her feeling vulnerable and hopeless. “I felt that if I had a job, my life might be worthwhile.”

Enriching Education in Bangladesh

About a year ago, seven year-old Afroza Khatun dropped out of school as her mother could not continue supervising her homework. The interruption in her grade II lessons was soon noticed by a teacher of an information education centre known as ENRICH, a state-funded programme which aims at supporting children who drop out to continue their education from the primary level (up to grade II).

Thousands of Children Under Siege in War-Torn Syria

Seeing children dying due to a lack of doctors and medicines, and seeing them grow up in a society with no food, schools or text books, is the reality of the daily life of more than 250,000 Syrian children currently under siege in the war-ravaged Middle Eastern nation.

What a Waterful World

Water is the engine of the earth. It sustains all forms of life, and our species’ progress completely depends on the availability of water. The importance of this precious resource is matched only by the challenges that its scarcity and poor quality can present to the entire world, even the most developed countries. To better grasp human’s vast and complex relationship to water, we must consider its biological and social impact on individuals and communities.

Repressive NGO Act

Nearly two weeks after controversially winning a fifth term, it has emerged that Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has signed another repressive law which restricts the operations of thousands of NGOs working in the country.

UN Says it Shattered Glass Ceilings Creating a Carpet of Shards

In the 1960s, when gender discrimination was widespread at the United Nations, there was a story doing the rounds of a woman candidate who had applied for a mid-level professional job in the UN Secretariat.

Majority of World’s Hungry are Women, Says Expert

Women, responsible for more than half of global food production, comprise of 70 percent of the world’s hungry, said Hilal Elver, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food.

Rural Community Fights a Second Dam and a New Expropriation of Land

In 1976, the construction of a hydroelectric dam destroyed farmland in the rural municipality of Chicoasén in southern Mexico. Forty years later, part of the local population is fighting a second dam, which would deprive them of more land.

Alcohol Harm a Gender Empowerment Issue

International Women’s Day is a chance to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women around the world – often against great odds and all too often remaining invisible. But women and girls worldwide are change makers and leaders for a better world. Role models are many.

Time Out of Joint

The obsession with women is evident in Friday sermons across the country, in the Council of Islamic Ideology’s fixation on regulating women’s bodies, in society’s vigilance of women and in the preoccupation with women’s dressing, holding it responsible for earthquakes and expediting the Day of Judgement.

“Take My Iraqis and Give Me Some Syrians” – Europe to Turkey

In a yet another violation of international laws and their own human values, 28 European countries have just agreed with Turkey to open a new “bazaar” of refugees, this time using the old barter system. i.e. Iraqis and Afghans in exchange of Syrians.

NYC Moves 30,000 Homeless to Permanent Housing

Grappling with an ever-growing problem of a housing shortage facing low income residents, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced plans to provide 30,000 New Yorkers with rental assistance for permanent housing -- largely to avoid or exit shelters.

Are We “Celebrating” Women Again?

It is time to “celebrate” International Women’s Day (IWD) again. Celebrating women sounds like a positive, upbeat action. We can note women’s increasing roles in government, in business, and as leaders of civil society. We can also describe how women are the backbone of every community and virtually every family.