Nairobi’s slums are not known for positive community inputs, but in Waruku a group of residents have taken steps to improve access to water.

Nairobi’s slums are not known for positive community inputs, but in Waruku a group of residents have taken steps to improve access to water. Mary Itumbi visited the Kenyan informal settlement.

CLIMATE CHANGE: “Act of Conscience” Could Earn 10-Year Prison Term

A college student who derailed a federal auction of oil and gas leases to protest drilling near national parks in the western U.S. state of Utah, as well as the larger issue of reliance on fossil fuels, has reignited debate over the legitimacy of civil disobedience in addressing profound global problems like climate change.

Theatre For Development and Peace

Some African playwrights say they want to use drama to promote development and peace, and they appealed to world leaders to listen on World Theatre Day, celebrated Wednesday.

MEDIA: It’s Still a Man’s World, Especially at the Top

Long known as a "boy's club", the worldwide media industry continues to struggle with gender equality, with new research showing women are still underrepresented in the majority of newsrooms across the globe.

MOZAMBIQUE: Linette Olofsson – A Life Spent in Politics

There is no way one can have a conversation with Linette Olofsson without being dragged into her collection of images about her community agricultural project in central Mozambican Province of Zambezia.

SOUTH AFRICA: Firebrand Politician Enters Mayoral Race

The woman described by former South African President Nelson Mandela as his "favorite opposition politician", Patricia de Lille, has thrown her hat in for the position of mayor of Cape Town.

SADC says World Water Day must be used to highlight the movement of Africa’s rural people to the cities and the pressure that the influx is putting on water resources.

SADC says World Water Day must be used to highlight the movement of Africa’s rural people to the cities and the pressure that the influx is putting on water resources.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Managing Mental Illness on a Few Pesos a Month

Cristina, 41, was able to support the last two of her five children despite the fact that she could neither read nor write. Raised by a step-grandfather, she started working as a house cleaner when she was 14 and had the misfortune to have children by two alcoholic and abusive men.

MALAWI: Enterprising Approach Underlies New Sanitation Campaign

The market can do better: a sanitation and hygiene campaign to be launched in Malawi plans to apply this tenet to improve cleanliness and public health in the country's cities.

MALI: Early Anxiety Over Price of Grain

In the small village of Gwélékoro, 60 kilometres south of the capital, Bamako, the fields are empty now, during the dry season. After a poor harvest, farmers are worried by swiftly rising prices for staple foods like sorghum and millet.

U.N. Water Conference Focuses on Cities

As a U.N. conference on water opens in South Africa today, the country's Council for Scientific and Industrial Research has repeated warnings that the country faces a water supply crisis. Experts attending the three-day conference will consider the challenges posed by growing demands, migration and water resources potentially limited by careless use and climate change.

MOZAMBIQUE: Educator in the Foothills of Her Political Career

If women like Judith Mussacula realise their aspirations to become the next generation of Mozambican politicians, the country's future will be in safe hands.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: Birdwatching Tourism Potential Untapped

Mexico is failing to take advantage of the significant potential of ecotourism geared to birdwatching, says a report released by two environmental organisations on Mar. 15.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Flood Risk Targeted in 10 Vulnerable Municipalities

The Honduran government has begun infrastructure work to reduce the risk of overflowing rivers and flooding in 10 highly vulnerable municipalities.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Banana Peels Can Filter Heavy Metals

Water contaminated with potentially toxic metals can be purified using banana peels as a filter, according to a study from the São Paulo State University (UNESP) in Botucatú, 230 kilometres from the city of São Paulo.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Shutdown of Embalse Nuclear Plant Urged

The Foundation for the Defence of the Environment in Argentina has challenged the decision of the government of the central province of Córdoba to continue operating the Embalse nuclear power plant without conducting an environmental impact assessment or public hearing.

Israel Deploys a Miniature Missile Defence System

Amidst recrudescence of tension on this critical front, the Israeli army is hoping to gain the technological upper hand in missile combat with 'Palestinian militants' by equipping one of its most sophisticated tanks with a miniature missile defence system.

POLITICS-ZAMBIA: Days of Male Domination Numbered

Elizabeth Phiri was so incensed when she was overlooked as a parliamentary candidate for the Patriotic Front in a 2008 by-election on the basis of her gender that she quit the party. Four years on, she has rejoined the party but remains pessimistic - but other women politicians see reasons to hope the 2011 elections will be different.

U.S. Congress Weighs Aid Package to Post-Mubarak Egypt

As Egypt braces for Saturday's vote on constitutional amendments in its first referendum since the revolution, lawmakers here are seeking to address the North African country's economic situation in addition to immediate political developments, by introducing legislation that seeks to stimulate foreign direct investment (FDI).

AFRICA: ‘We Cannot Leave Lives of Nationals to Development Partners’

As donors retreat from funding HIV prevention and treatment, the vulnerability of national programmes reliant on external funding has become apparent. Without long-term sustainability, the lives of millions could be at risk.

Agricultural Policy Is Gender Policy

Eva, a Ghanian woman, was given five pigs and some training on how best to care for them. Eventually, her farm grew to 400 pigs and she was able to buy more land and a motorbike which she not only used for transporting her goods to market but for helping neighbours get to town and to hospital quicker.