TerraViva Europe

Mexico – Ground Zero in the Fight for the Future of Maize

By Emilio Godoy
In the 2011 action-thriller "Unknown", scientists are persecuted by the biotech industry because they plan the open release of a drought- and pest-resistant strain of maize that could help eradicate world hunger.

Rape Cases Highlight “Colonial” Police Practices

By Ranjit Devraj
Harsh police handling of public protests erupting across India over a spate of sensational rapes since December has resulted in renewed demands to reform a force that retains the repressive features of its colonial origins.

Still Homeless, Two Decades Later

By Amantha Perera
The camp should not have been difficult to find. We were told to drive straight on the road that leads north away from the town of Puttalam, 140 kilometres from Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo, and we would come upon the settlement of internally displaced people.

Women Taking the Lead in Northern Pakistan Province

By Ashfaq Yusufzai
“Women in Pakhtun society have traditionally helped their men in hard times,” declares former Pakistani lawmaker Shagufta Malik. They are doing so again, and how, going by their hectic campaigning activity in northern Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Skilled Midwives May be the Key to Healthy Babies

By Joan Erakit
The story goes like this: a young mother lies quietly in a dimly lit room having just given birth to her baby. For the next seven days she watches over the child with caution, nursing and swaddling it patiently. Fearful that the infant will not survive past a few days, she refuses to give it a name.

An Election for Iran or the Supreme Leader?

By Yasaman Baji
As the five-day registration period for presidential candidates began here Tuesday, the question of whether Iran’s upcoming election will represent the will of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei or the people of Iran is uppermost on many people’s minds, including those of the potential candidates.

Climate Change Adaptation: A Race Against Time

By Naimul Haq
Adaptation and mitigation. Identified by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and by scientists as the two major responses to address the problem, these were also the twin preoccupations of a climate change conference held recently in Dhaka.

Q&A: The Security of a Nation Is Its Women

By Ravi Kanth Devarakonda
Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, a human rights lawyer and the general secretary of the global rights network World YWCA, knows what it is like to struggle against poverty and violence: she herself comes from a poor family in Magaya village in Murewa district, which lies northeast of Zimbabwe’s capital Harare.

Lessons in Economic Integration for African Union

By John Fraser
As the African Union celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, it is still younger and less integrated than the 56-year-old body that is now the European Union, and, according to politicians and diplomats, has a big advantage over the Europeans as it charts its own path of integration.

Europe Urged to Step into Breach of Failed Mideast Peace

By Mitchell Plitnick
The Oslo peace process has failed and Europe must take stronger leadership in the Middle East, according to a distinguished group of former European leaders that is pushing for a stronger and more independent European stance on the Israeli occupation.

Rich Countries Drag Feet at Climate Talks

By Stephen Leahy
Another week of international climate negotiations ended in Bonn, Germany last Friday, but there was little mid-level bureaucrats could do when world leaders remain in thrall to the fossil fuel industry, say environmentalists.

U.S. Reforms Could Slash African Immigration Levels

By Carey L. Biron
Advocates for the African diaspora in the United States have stepped up a campaign to urge the U.S. Congress not to end a longstanding visa programme aimed at boosting immigration from “underrepresented countries”.

Dominican Women in Argentina Especially Vulnerable

By Marcela Valente
Despite the enormous distance between the two countries, Argentina has become an increasingly frequent destination for migrants from the Dominican Republic, especially women, who are vulnerable to falling prey to sexual exploitation networks.

U.N. Accused of Playing Down Nuke Disarmament Conference

By Thalif Deen
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is one of the most vociferous advocates of a world free of nuclear weapons.

‘Pirates’ Contest Icelandic Elections – And Win

By Lowana Veal
With an unprecedented number of political parties contesting Iceland's latest elections, Icelanders are discovering that if they are passionate about a particular issue, they need simply to find like-minded people and establish a political party.

Austerity is Dismantling the European Dream

By Roberto Savio
The European Union (EU) has asked its citizens to brace for further economic misery. In a report on European economic prospects released on May 3, the European Commission said that further deterioration is expected to last at least until 2015. But, as every such report says, things will then get better.

Hunger Rises in Great Britain

By Matt Carr
The social consequences of austerity economics have been most visible in Europe’s southern periphery. In the UK, the coalition government has brought in sharp cutbacks in welfare state provision in the name of dealing with the financial crisis. Their impact is becoming increasingly visible.

Going to School Away From School

By Pavol Stracansky
As the Czech government comes under fire for apparently backtracking on commitments to inclusive education, Roma children and teenagers continue to be systematically shut out of Eastern Europe’s mainstream education system.

U.S. Links Pesticides to Honey Bee Deaths, but Resists Ban

By Carey L. Biron
A major study by the U.S. government’s environment and agriculture agencies has suggested a strong link between the use of certain pesticides and the widespread deaths that have afflicted honey bee populations around the world in recent years.

Migrants Tune in to Community Support

By Simba Shani Kamaria Russeau
At the age of 23, Gao travelled to Thailand to escape intense fighting in his native Shan State in the east of Myanmar (Burma) and possible recruitment into the Shah army.

Asylum Seekers Housed Where Eagles Dare

By Ray Smith
Struggling to accommodate all its asylum seekers, Swiss authorities have turned to unused army quarters. Some of these lie on mountain passes, far away from inhabited areas.
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