TerraViva Europe

Europe’s Leaders Visit Athens to Celebrate Their Failure

By Apostolis Fotiadis
The start of Greece’s six-month presidency of the EU was marked by a ceremony Wednesday in the Greek capital attended by the EU commissioners. But protests were banned and there was no in-depth talk about the raging controversy over the bloc’s handling of the Greek debt crisis and the renewed concerns about the vitality of the Eurozone.

Islamic Party Parts With Islamists

By Sam Kimball
In the city of Metlaoui in the Governorate of Gafsa, a mining region in the parched south of Tunisia, the streets are dust, filled with ruts, the skin of the men in the cracked lanes leathery brown from the heavy weather.

Hoodwinked, Jobless, and Back

By K. S. Harikrishnan
Ashik Rehman, 47, worked as a labourer in the southern Indian state of Kerala. He left for Saudi Arabia two years ago, hoping to earn enough to buy a house in his native place. Now he is back and staring at a bleak future.

Despite Legal Attacks, Conflict Minerals Ban Gets Stronger

By Carey L. Biron
Major manufacturing and business groups on Tuesday urged a court here to roll back a new U.S. regulation that would soon require major manufacturers to ensure that their global supply chains are free of minerals used to fund violence in the Great Lakes region of central Africa.

Christmas Storm Underlines Caribbean’s Vulnerability

By Desmond Brown
Guyanese President Donald Ramotar says the death and destruction caused by intense rainfall in three Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries over the Christmas holidays is a sign that the region has no time to lose in fortifying its resiliance to climate change.

Sawhoyamaxa Battle for Their Land in Paraguay

By Natalia Ruiz Diaz
The Sawhoyamaxa indigenous community in Paraguay have spent over 20 years fighting to get back their land, which they were pushed off by cattle ranchers.

Breast Is Best, But Not in Swaziland

By Mantoe Phakathi
Smiling as she breastfeeds her six-week-old baby boy, Lindiwe Dlamini, 38, is optimistic about his future.

Bike Paths, BRT Going Strong in Latin American Cities

By Emilio Godoy
Sustainable transport grew in the Latin American cities of Buenos Aires, Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro in 2013.

Best Wishes for a Less Destitute New Year

By Mutawalli Abou Nasser
Over the past year more than 50,000 Palestinian refugees have fled violence, chaos and destitution in Syria to seek sanctuary in Lebanon. The vast majority have found themselves living in dire poverty, and trapped in chronically insecure existence.

When Home Becomes a Firing Zone

By Pierre Klochendler
Jinba is in the crosshair of ‘Firing Zone 918’ - and ‘Firing Zone 918’ is a microcosm of the Israeli occupation. Together with seven other communities, Jinba is slated for demolition to make way for an Israeli training ground. Forced eviction hangs over a thousand Palestinians.

Arab Spring Breeds More Trade in Exotic Pets

By Cam McGrath
At a small pet shop in an upscale Cairo neighbourhood, puppies, kittens and sickly-looking parakeets occupy the cages behind the storefront window. But if you want more exciting and exotic animals – such as crocodiles or lion cubs - just ask behind the counter.

Need for Firewood Raises Threat for Georgia’s Christmas Tree Trade

By Molly Corso
The South Caucasus country of Georgia is a source of much sought-after Christmas tree seeds. But its own forests are now under threat, as firewood is in increasing demand as a cheap source of heat for homes, schools and hospitals.

Assisting Rather than Deporting Trafficking Victims in Spain

By Inés Benítez
María came to Spain from Paraguay to work as a housekeeper in a hotel. But it was a false job promise, and she ended up in a nightclub, where she was forced to work as a prostitute.

Some Cartoons Aren’t Funny

By A. D. McKenzie
A woman and her husband are seated at a table. As she talks, he seems to be ignoring her, his head hidden behind a newspaper.

Russia Plays the Pardon Game

By Pavol Stracansky
An amnesty freeing high-profile detainees and convicts and the pardoning of arguably Russia’s most famous political prisoner have failed to move critics of the country’s appalling human rights record.

China Gets More Territorial

By Richard Heydarian
Since his rise to power in late 2012, China’s President Xi Jinping has managed to consolidate his control swiftly over the three pillars of the Chinese political system, the state bureaucracy, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and the military. In response, many neighbouring countries cautiously welcomed a more self-confident and stable leadership in Beijing, hoping the new Chinese president will display greater flexibility on outstanding regional issues.

Caring for Water Is a Must for Brazil’s Energy Industry

By Mario Osava
As they build huge hydropower dams, the Brazilian government and companies have run into resistance from environmentalists, indigenous groups and social movements. But the binational Itaipú plant is an exception, where cooperation is the name of the game.

Nevis Embarks on Geothermal Energy Journey

By Desmond Brown
The tiny island of Nevis in the northern region of the Lesser Antilles is one of the few remaining unspoiled places in the Caribbean. It is now seeking to become the greenest, joining a growing list of Caribbean countries pursuing clean geothermal power.

Mexico Needs a Bouncer at the Oil Industry Door

By Emilio Godoy
As Mexico is about to open its oil industry up to foreign investment, it will need penalties for negligence and regulations that force private firms to follow best practices in order to avoid problems like oil spills, analysts say.

Q&A: “Libyan Women Were Handed Over as Spoils of War”

By Karlos Zurutuza
Unless immediate changes are enforced, Libya is heading towards an "Afghan" model regarding women´s rights, Aicha Almagrabi, a Libyan writer and senior women rights activist, told IPS from her residence in Tripoli.

World Bank Raises 52b Dollars for Poorest Countries

By Carey L. Biron
The World Bank has raised some 52 billion dollars, a record amount, for its fund for development in the world’s poorest countries, though some are expressing concerns over the terms under which some of this money is being offered by donor governments.
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