U.N. Targets “Lost Generation”

Even as the U.N. launched the International Year of Youth last week, one of its agencies was warning of a "lost generation" of disillusioned young workers who are unable to find decent jobs.

U.N. Decade Hopes to Push Back Encroaching Deserts

Desertification has long been recognised as a major environmental, economic and social problem for countries the world over. But despite major efforts, which started with the United Nations Conference on Desertification (UNOCD) in 1977, the process of land degradation is intensifying.

MIDEAST: God Grant Us a Permit to Pray

For Muhammad el-Baradiyeh, 38, the Muslim holy month of Ramadan is always a blessing.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Warning Against Tourism on Protected Islands

Venezuelan environmentalists are on alert after President Hugo Chávez proposed organizing massive tourism to Los Roques archipelago, an idyllic group of Caribbean islands with white sands and turquoise waters, 180 kilometers north of Caracas.

Ecobreves – CUBA: Cleaning Up the Malecón

Residents of Havana have begun to gather along the Cuban capital's Malecón, an eight-kilometer esplanade and roadway, to clean up the garbage left by pedestrians.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Southern Plains Devastated and Neglected

The Pampa, the biome of prairies in Brazil's far south, has already lost 54 percent of its original vegetation, according to figures from the Ministry of Environment, which show that 2,183 square kilometers were destroyed between 2002 and 2008.

Cancer Surge Getting Short Shrift in Developing World

Although long treated as a problem exclusive to high-income and developed countries, cancer is also a major cause of mortality in the developing world. A group of leading cancer and global health experts is now calling for new strategies to effectively prevent and treat cancer in poor countries.

Drug shortages in South Africa’s Western Cape Province hospitals pose a risk to patients

Drug shortages in South Africa’s Western CapeProvince hospitals pose a risk to patients.

Provincial government in South Africa’s Western Cape Province promises to deal with shortages of crucial medicine for chronic conditions

Provincial government in South Africa’s Western Cape Province promises to  deal with shortages of crucial medicine for chronic conditions.

Hopewell Football Club: playing to win

Youth in rural South Africa have taken a leadership role in promoting safer sex

Labour Rights Under Scrutiny in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka

The garment industry in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka has come under intense scrutiny amidst widespread accusations of large- scale labour exploitation.

TRADE-NEPAL: Carpet Industry Frayed at the Edges

It was an industry pioneer and had even proved itself successful in the export market. But these days Jawalakhel Handicraft Centre (JHC) is barely able to sustain itself on retail sales, and general manager Chimi Dorjee has been reduced to just recalling how things had been when the going was still good.

DRC Farmers Welcome Support

Farmers in the southwestern Democratic Republic of Congo are looking forward to increased production after 16 tractors and 200 ox-drawn carts were distributed across three regions in the province of Bandundu.

Latest version of Uganda’s anti-counterfeit bill satisfies the World Health Organisation

Latest version of Uganda's anti-counterfeit bill satisfies the World Health Organisation.

MALAWI: Used Car Dealers Seeing Red Over New Green Tax

Small-scale importers of used cars in Malawi are crying foul over a government decision to introduce higher duties on second-hand passenger vehicles aged eight years and older.

U.N. Salutes Indigenous Filmmakers

The United Nations celebrated the International Day of the World's Indigenous People this week by showcasing award- winning short films produced by indigenous filmmakers and reaffirming indigenous rights and cultural treasures.

DRC Farmers: Untapped Potential

Today, one in six people on the planet go hungry, according to United Nations statistics. The food crisis and now the global economic crisis, together, have increased the number of undernourished people in the world to more that one billion for the first time since the 1970’s.

Rwanda Goes to the Polls

The presidential elections held in Rwanda on Aug. 9 2010 saw incumbent President Paul Kagame winning by a landslide, amid claims of political repression.

Trial of “Child Soldier” Opens at Guantanamo

Omar Khadr was only 15 when he was captured by U.S. forces in 2002 in Afghanistan. Now, eight years later, the 23-year-old is on trial in Guantanamo Bay, in the first military commission trial since the beginning of the Barack Obama administration.

WORLD CUP: ‘Now We Demand They Do It For the Poor’

Weak floodlights barely held back gathering darkness as Somalia met Serbia in the finals of the Poor People's World Cup. A small band of supporters were on hand to see an African side lift the cup in Cape Town's Vygieskraal Stadium.

Haitians in DR Reap Far Less than They Sow

Luis Miguel, a soft-spoken and serious 21-year-old from Haiti's Artibonnite Valley, stands on a ridge overlooking the small farm in the Dominican Cibao where he works as the owner's overseer. He adopted his Dominican moniker in order to fit in.