Nobel Laureate Calls for Armed Intervention in Nigeria

On the International Day of Peace, Nobel Prize winner Wole Soyinka visited the United Nations - and called for armed intervention against the terrorist group Boko Haram in his home country of Nigeria.

Spain at Risk of Chronic Protests

Over the past year and a half, Spain has been caught up in constant street protests against measures taken to combat the severe economic crisis. But some say the movement has failed to come together around concrete proposals.

U.N. Chief Jabs Media for Overblown Coverage of Hate Crimes

When the United Nations commemorated International Day of Peace last week, the celebrations were marred by news of widespread rage in the Islamic world, a continued bloody civil war in Syria, suicide bombings in Iraq and Afghanistan and violent demonstrations in Pakistan, Indonesia and Bangladesh against a video caricaturing the Prophet Muhammad.

Rural Mexican Communities Rich in Resources, Poor in Capital

The La Ventanilla community in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca has not given up in the face of devastating hurricanes, but has organised to protect mangroves and animal species like the Olive Ridley sea turtle.

Alternative to Wikileaks Arises in Iceland

With the imprisonment of Bradley Manning and detainment of Julian Assange, WikiLeaks is effectively on hold. But that does not mean that leaks and whistleblowing activities have stopped.

Assad and Opposition Both Losing

Two floors have been ripped from the top of an apartment block in Aleppo in northern Syria. A lone man stands amidst the rubble four stories up after a missile from one of his own government’s fighter jets smashed into the building that morning. With his arms crossed, the solitary figure surveys the destruction around him.

A Day Off to Riot in Peace

The holiday declared by the Pakistani government on Friday seems to have given free rein for the rioting and killing over the American film that is disrespectful of Prophet Muhammad.

Water for Phosphate, Not People

Gafsa region in the south of Tunisia was once an oasis; today the phosphate industry has plunged it into a water crisis.

Second Chance For an African Green Revolution

As the world searches desperately for ways to boost food production by at least 70 percent by 2050 to feed an increasingly hungry planet, many are looking to Africa as the place where a large part of this potential can be realised, mainly for its huge portion of arable land.

Human Rights Education Shows Its Potential

The impact of human rights education, a rising star, is highlighted in a short documentary sponsored by United Nations experts and civil society.

Q&A: A New Era of Citizen Action Is Dawning

The Global Civil Society Network CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation has a new secretary general - Dhananjayan (Danny) Sriskandarajah, who was appointed Monday by the board of directors following the CIVICUS World Assembly in Montreal.

Religious Groups in Brazil Condemn Attacks on Islam

The Brazilian Commission for Combating Religious Intolerance (CCIR) condemned the film “Innocence of Muslims" as “disrespectful” of the prophet Mohammed, and organised a mass protest demanding respect for freedom of religion in this country.

Post-Arab Spring Democratic Gains at Risk, Group Warns

Almost two years after popular uprisings swept across the Middle East and North Africa, rights advocates are warning that ominous backsliding is taking place in countries across the region and beyond.

Occupy Celebrates Birthday, Forges Ahead

Led by a spirited brass band and waving placards decrying corporate greed, hundreds of occupiers took to San Francisco streets Monday to celebrate Occupy Wall Street’s first birthday, culminating in a ceremony where they symbolically ripped apart loan documents.

Q&A: “Pacification of Favelas Not a Real Public Policy Yet”

The “pacification” of the favelas in this Brazilian city, aimed at driving out armed groups and fighting drug trafficking, has not yet become a fully effective public policy, says Eliana Sousa Silva, who has lived in one of Rio’s shantytowns for nearly 30 years.

Occupy Marks Anniversary Amid Grim Economic Climate

Amid a heavy police presence, thousands of anti-capitalist activists in marked the one-year anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement against the U.S. political and economic system, which they say favours billionaires at the expense of the middle and working class.

New Plans to Protect Nature

At the close of the ten-day World Conservation Congress that ran from Sept. 6-15 on the South Korean island of Jeju, members of the convening International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) agreed on an ambitious four-year action plan for protecting global natural resources.

Companies Calculate Their Debt to Planet Earth

As ravenous consumers of natural resources, companies are beginning to recognise that they owe a monetary debt to the planet, and are sharpening their pencils to calculate it.

No Safe Exit for Military Leaders

When Egypt's army was deployed to restore order in the streets during the uprising that ended president Hosni Mubarak's rule, Egyptians greeted the troops as saviours. But by the time the generals handed the country over to a civilian president in June this year, many Egyptians regarded the 16 months of transitional military rule as more oppressive than the 29 years under Mubarak.

Saving the Top 100 Threatened Species – a Question of Valuing Life

The Red River Giant softshell turtle (Rafetus swinhoei) is the stuff of legend in Vietnam. The fabled turtle in Hanoi’s Hoan Kiem Lake is popularly known by the name Kim Qui or Golden Turtle God, and it made its first historical appearance in 250 BC.

Czechs Weigh Human Rights Against Business

The Czech foreign ministry has insisted the country’s support for human rights is “not for sale” after calls from the prime minister to drop “fashionable political causes” such as supporting the Dalia Lama and the jailed Russian pop group Pussy Riot.