Côte d’Ivoire Rides the Fast Track to Public Transport Development

Two years ago, it would have taken Catherine Adjoua almost an hour to travel from M’Badon, the isolated fishing area where she lives that has no asphalt roads, to reach her workplace some 13 kilometres away in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire’s economic capital.

U.S. Corporate Conflict Minerals Reports “Historic” But Incomplete

For the first time, nearly 1,300 U.S. companies have filed reports on whether the products they manufacture or sell are made with minerals that have bankrolled conflict in the Great Lakes region of central Africa.

China Casts A Long Shadow Over Latin America

In the past 15 years, China has gone from being a relatively insignificant economic partner in Latin America to the number-one trading partner of some of the largest economies in the region.

Showing the West that Russia is Not Alone

Aleksander Mizdrakin is convinced he knows who Russia’s future international partners are – and they’re not in Europe, nor is the United States among them.

Let There Be Light, Implores U.N. Chief

When night falls, there are over 1.3 billion people, mostly in the developing world, who live in virtual darkness because they have no access to electricity.

Foreign Aid Funding Luxury Hotels in Myanmar

New investments from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank’s private-sector investment arm, may perpetuate economic inequality rather than alleviate poverty in Myanmar, critics here are warning.

Cell Phones and Cash Grants Can Promote Growth and Development

Mobile-finance and direct cash grants are revolutionary tools that can substitute for under-developed financial sectors and help reduce poverty and promote entrepreneurship in developing countries, according to researchers here.

Small Farmers’ Loss of Land Increases World Hunger

The world is increasingly hungry because small farmers are losing access to farmland. Small farmers produce most of the world’s food but are now squeezed onto less than 25 percent of the world’s farmland, a new report reveals. Corporate and commercial farms, big biofuel operations and land speculators are pushing millions off their land.

Rural Communities Push El Salvador Towards Ban on Mining

Mining is not viable in this country, say Salvador Sánchez Cerén - who will be sworn in as the new president of El Salvador on Jun. 1 - and his team of environmental advisers.

Seasonal Agricultural Workers Left Out of Chilean Boom

Tens of thousands of women employed as seasonal workers in rural areas of Chile suffer high levels of poverty and poor working conditions, even though their labour generates huge profits for agricultural exporters.

Tracking the Democratic “Alternative from the South”

Democratic governance offers a viable option for developing countries to achieve economic growth and inclusion, yet this doesn’t need to follow the Western model, new research released here this week suggests.

Narendra Modi: More Continuity Than Change in Foreign Policy

The Congress Party took a beating in India’s recent parliamentary election and has been now been sidelined by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (Indian People’s Party, or BJP).

China Tightens Grip On Africa

Janice Gacheri imports handbags and shoes from China which she sells on social media sites and by word of mouth to customers in Nairobi and neighbouring towns. 

Conflict with Local Communities Hits Mining and Oil Companies Where It Hurts

Conflicts with local communities over mining, oil and gas development are costing companies billions of dollars a year. One corporation alone reported a six billion dollar cost over a two-year period according to the first-ever peer-reviewed study on the cost of conflicts in the extractive sector.

When China Sneezes, Latin America Gets the Flu

China’s massive urbanisation has been built, literally, by metal, supplied mostly by Latin American countries (LAC). Yet now China’s slowing economic growth and falling commodity prices threaten Latin American commodity booms.

Militancy Pushes Northern Pakistan Close to Industrial Collapse

Already saddled with a veritable catalogue of crises, Pakistan’s largest province, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) now finds itself on the verge of industrial collapse, as extortion and kidnappings drive away all prospects for production or employment.

Lagging Urban Transport Works Hinder World Cup Sustainability

Brazil’s efforts to promote the image of an environmentally sustainable World Cup have focused on the stadiums built for the tournament. But the 12 cities where the matches will be played are in a race against time to complete the urban transport projects.

Trade Misinvoicing Costs African Countries Billions

Misinvoiced trade in five African countries cost their governments billions of dollars in tax revenue and facilitated at least 60.8 billion dollars in illicit financial flows from 2002 to 2011, says a new report by Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a research advocacy organisation here.

Investor Treaties in Trouble

The tide is turning against investment treaties and free trade agreements that contain the controversial investor-state dispute system, which allows foreign investors to take up cases against host governments and claim compensation of up to billions of dollars.

Community Electricity Lights Up Spain

Until recently it was inconceivable for small groups of organised citizens in fully electrified industrialised countries like Spain to generate their own power from clean sources of energy, challenging the prevailing energy model.

Piping the Waters of Southern Chile to the Thirsty North

Three private sector initiatives are aimed at carrying water from the rivers in southern Chile to the arid north of the country by ship or through underwater or underground pipelines. The objective is to slake the thirst of the mining industry of this country, the world’s largest producer of copper.