Refugees Flee Political Violence in Burundi

A year after political violence erupted in Burundi, nearly 300 000 people have fled to neighboring Tanzania and Democratic Republic of Congo.

Man-Made Disasters Intensify Vulnerability

As sea levels continue to rise, coastal communities in the province of Sindh, Pakistan, must now move further inland. Whereas uncontaminated, fresh water could be found in abundance up to 20 years before , the villagers must now dig up to 18ft in search of the few sources of clean water. When the cyclone hit District Thatta in 1999, mass destruction followed in its wake. Today, villagers still feel the grave consequence of its aftermath.

Rain as a Source of Fear

In the province of Sindh, Pakistan, rain is no longer a source of happiness, it is rather, a source of fear. "In the past, the climate was not so cruel", Haji Qasim, a local villager explains. As ongoing drought threatens the future of land cultivation and livestock in rural villages in the region, survival is no longer guaranteed to these victims of harsh climate change.

WATCH: Tongi Inferno

At least 24 people were killed and 74 injured, many critically, in a huge fire triggered by a boiler explosion at plastic packaging factory Tampaco Foils Limited in Tongi industrial area of Gazipur today.

Rickshaw Painting in Digital Age

With the advent of the digital printing press, Riskshaw painting a previously well known art form is on the verge of extinction. Many painters had to switch their profession to survive the "digital revolution".

The Floating Schools of Chalan Beel

They don't go to schools, schools come to them. Currently, some 2,000 underprivileged children are attending classes in 22 floating schools that move across the Chalan Beel in Pabna, Natore and Sirajganj districts.

100-year-old Boat Market in Pirojpur

The use of traditional boats may be disappearing fast, but there is one place in Nesarabad upazila (formerly Swarupkathi) in Pirojpur, where you can still buy newly made boats for a trifle amount.

In 2016 Islamophobia is a Political Tool

When the blasphemous anti Islam cartoons published in 2006 by a Danish newspaper left 205 people dead, the then Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Ekmeleddin Mehmet Ihsaoglu, went to see Javier Solana who was responsible for foreign affairs of the European Union. The position of the EU was that there was no islamophobia at all, and this was an isolated incident. Since then, this has been more or less the position of the European institutions.

Addressing Climate Change On Several Fronts In The Caribbean

Climate change is already affecting the Caribbean. But there is concern that a gap still exists between what the region’s leaders are saying about the issue and what residents believe.

More Challenges For Antigua As Drought Continues

Climate change has brought with it many challenges for the people of Antigua and Barbuda.

El Salvador Forges Ahead in Fight Against Hunger

In the last 15 years, El Salvador has managed to reduce the proportion of hungry people living in extreme poverty by four percentage points. But they still represent 12.4 percent of the population, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

Bewildering Biodiversity – A Success Story of Food Security for Indigenous Peoples in India

The 2013 National Food Security Act of the Government of India seeks, according to its preamble, to “provide for food and nutritional security by ensuring access to adequate quantity of quality food at affordable prices to people”. Despite rapid economic growth and gains in reducing poverty, India has with among the highest levels of hunger and malnutrition in the world.

An Interview with Guyanese President David Granger

Guyana's new president, David Granger, sits down with IPS correspondent Desmond Brown to talk about how his country is preparing for climate change – and hoping to avert the worst before it happens.

India Confronts Water Woes as it Transitions from MDGs to SDGs

As the United Nations closes its chapter on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and charts a new plan of action under the framework of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), India – a country of 1.2 billion people – is confronting its resource challenges.

India’s Four Million Sex Workers Demand Equal Labour Rights

Although forced prostitution and trafficking of women remains a huge challenge in India, health experts, policy-makers and legal advocates say that most of the country’s estimated four million commercial sex workers join the trade of their own free will.

Migrants Between Scylla and Charybdis

Two Somali migrants who survived crossing the Mediterranean and reached the Italian island of Sicily describe their ordeal and hopes for the future, while local opinion is divided over the issue of immigration.

Grenadian Fishermen on the Front Lines of a Rising Sea

Grenada and its tourism-dependent Caribbean neighbours are thought to be among the globe's most vulnerable countries to the myriad impacts of climate change, especially coastal flooding due to natural disasters and storm surges.

Clean Cookstoves Could Change the Lives of Millions in Nepal

When 26-year-old Laxmi married into the Archaya household in Chhaimale village, Pharping, south of Nepal’s capital Kathmandu, she didn’t think she would be spending half the day in the kitchen inhaling smoke from the stove.

Urban agriculture sprouts in favelas, Fabíola Ortiz reports

Video report “Urban agriculture sprouts in favelas” plus full contribution by IPS journalist Fabíola Ortiz. You don’t need to live in the country side to grow vegetables. It is possible to maintain an organic farming based on ‘agricology’, in the favelas or shanty towns in Rio de Janeiro a pioneering initiative is now underway. Ms. Maria Helena joined the first course of organic urban agriculture.

“Sustainability Equals Conservation Plus Energy Efficiency”

IPS Correspondent Desmond Brown interviews Richard Huber, chief of the Sustainable Communities, Hazard Risk, and Climate Change Section of the Department of Sustainable Development of the Organisation of American States (OAS), who works to foster resilient, more sustainable cities – reducing, for example, consumption of water and energy – while simultaneously improving the quality of life and the participation of the community.

A Chinese NGO Promotes People-to-People Cooperation in Northeast Asia.

IPS Editor in Chief Ramesh Jaura talked to Professor Huang Haoming, Vice Chairman & Executive Director of China Association for NGO Cooperation (CANGO), about interaction for people-to-people cooperation in Northeast Asia​ in Sendai, Japan, during the World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR) from 14 to 18 March 2015.