Fraud Concerns on Eve of Mexico Elections

Political patronage, busing of voters, bribery, vote-buying and coercion are deep-rooted practices in Mexico and a source of unease for observers and citizens preparing for the Sunday Jul. 1 presidential elections.

BOLIVIA: From Police Mutiny to Indigenous Vigil

After a 62-day march from Bolivia’s tropical lowlands, over 1,000 indigenous protesters opposed to the construction of a road through a pristine rainforest reserve reached the seat of government Wednesday, just a few hours after the police called off a six-day national strike.

Mapping out Climate Change Adaptation Plans on Kenya’s Airwaves

On a Wednesday morning in Mutitu-Andei township in Makueni County, one of Kenya’s driest areas, smallholder farmer Josephine Mutiso tunes into Radio Mang’elete 89.1 FM and listens as meteorological experts discuss the changes in rainfall patterns in the county.

Some Nurses Take Flight, Others Take to the Streets

Nurses in India are up in arms against the deterioration of the nursing profession in the country, including unfair wages and the policies of private hospital managements.

Israel’s New Dissidents Find an E-Voice

A reserve soldier went on hunger strike in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners last week, vowing to surrender his citizenship and live as a Palestinian in a refugee camp; another activist was briefly jailed. They are Israel’s new dissidents. An e-book now comes to light, shedding light on their raison d’être.

No Strategy for Civilisation in Crisis

The Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) in Istanbul in 1996 was one of the international meetings most open to civil society participation.

Cuba Seeks to Guarantee Food Supplies in Changing Climate*

In the face of the challenge of producing more food in a changing climate, farmers in Cuba are coming up with alternatives like planting drought-resistant crops and digging ponds to guarantee water supplies, in order to keep food on the table during times of drought, heavy rains or hurricanes.

U.S. Marijuana Reform May Have Hit Tipping Point

Over the last several years, many U.S. states have quietly adopted laws decriminalising the possession of marijuana or legalising medical marijuana.

China’s One-Child Policy Faces New Challenges

Graphic online photographs of seven month-pregnant Feng Jianmei lying prostrate on a hospital bed next to a bloody foetus have created outrage in China over the brutal enforcement of the controversial one-child-policy. The husband of the woman whose forced late-term abortion caused uproar worldwide has gone missing, according to his family.

Israeli Guns Hold University Degrees Away

After more than 25 years spent fighting for women’s rights in the Gaza Strip, Andaleeb Shehadeh is now struggling for the right to complete her university education.

Pressure from the Region Could Be Decisive in Paraguay’s Crisis

The international community, and especially the rest of South America, could play a key role in the crisis triggered in Paraguay by the impeachment of President Fernando Lugo and his replacement by Federico Franco, his vice president.

Native Protest March Approaches La Paz

Snow-capped mountains shrouded in clouds tower over the ninth gruelling march of indigenous people from Bolivia's eastern lowlands to the seat of government, to challenge the government's environment policy and protest the construction of a road through a protected area of rainforest and water reserves.

Climate Change: Waiting for a Catastrophic Wake-Up Call *

Disasters are the new midwives of history. But in order to play this role, they need to be catastrophic, like the accidents in Chernobyl in 1986 and Fukushima in 2011 that led governments to suspend and even abolish their nuclear energy programs.

Biofuels and Hunger, Two Sides of the Same Coin

Despite growing evidence that biofuel production is causing food insecurity around the world, the new European Union policy blueprint on renewable energy ignores the social effects of biofuels. Last week, Guatemalan victims of the food crisis came to Brussels to make European policy makers aware of the problem.

No Human Rights – in Theory or Practice

Since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on Dec. 10, 1948, in the aftermath of the Second World War, world leaders embarked on a process of ensuring the rights of every individual in the world.

Food Safety Up Against Biotech Giants

As the 2012 Farm Bill continues to take shape in the halls of the United States Congress, the immense influence of corporate interests is on display.

Bringing People “Back to Life” in Uganda’s Slums

As soon as Sanyu Nagia sits down outside Barbara Namirimu’s home, she asks to see her patient’s bag of medicine. It is too heavy for the ill Namirimu to carry, so her mother, Efrance Namakula, brings it out and hands it over.

Presidential Showdown Brings Egypt to the Brink

A week after Egypt's presidential runoff between the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi and Mubarak-era premier Ahmed Shafiq, the military's preferred candidate, both men continue to claim victory amid tit-for-tat allegations of electoral fraud.

Climate-Smart Agriculture to Reduce Vulnerability*

Agroforestry is gaining ground as a tool for climate change adaptation and mitigation in Central America, a region where global warming could generate losses equivalent to 19 percent of gross domestic product.

Weak Rio+20 Agreement Anticipates New Noah’s Ark

The downpour that fell Friday in this Brazilian city was nature’s warning to the heads of state meeting at the Rio+20 summit. The generation of Noe (Noah), an environmentalist’s son who will be born a month from now, will have to save biodiversity that is more complex than that of his Biblical namesake.

Climate Refugees – Today’s New Reality*

The continued exodus of Somalis to Kenya and Ethiopia has fuelled the debate on a new issue of global concern: climate refugees, driven from their homes and across borders by extreme weather events.