Everywhere, Every day, Women Face Discrimination

Their stories are often lost beneath the pile of headlines on war, politics or economic collapse, but a few determined crusaders are refusing to let the issue of women’s rights get pushed under the rug.

Climate Change a Mixed Blessing for Coconut Farmers

Climbing up the coconut industry has been anything but easy for Rosamund Benn, who has dedicated the past 32 years of her life working on a 50-acre coconut farm in The Pomeroon, a farming region of Guyana.

Mystery Attackers Hit Sinai

A period of more than three months since former president Mohamed Morsi’s ouster by Egypt’s powerful military establishment have been marked by almost daily attacks on Egyptian security personnel, especially in the restive Sinai Peninsula. The identity of the attackers remains a mystery.

Swat Not at Peace With Malala

Back in Swat Valley in Pakistan where she comes from, Malala Yousafzai who had been tipped to win the Nobel peace prize this year, has not only left behind more girls in school now than there were a year ago but also large numbers of people who are now distanced – and even hostile – to her.

U.N. Sued for Haiti Cholera Epidemic

A cholera epidemic that has so far killed at least 8,300 people in Haiti, and is suspected to have infected about 650,000 others since its outbreak in 2010, is now the subject of a lawsuit against the United Nations.

For Journalists, A Confounding War in Syria

The fractured nature of Syria’s civil war leaves the media searching for narratives that may not clearly exist, said journalists and members of civil society at a panel discussion, “Syria from the Ground Up,” held at Columbia University on Wednesday.

Latest Factory Fire in Bangladesh Must Be the “Last”, ILO Says

On Tuesday, Oct. 8, 25 miles north of Bangladesh's capital Dhaka, the town of Gazipur became the site of yet another tragedy involving the South Asian country's massive garments sector.

“Peanut Oil” Endangers Health of Young Bodybuilders

You can’t buy it in a store or get it in Cuba’s public health clinics. But young men who frequent gyms know who sells it and secretly inject themselves with “peanut oil,” as people in this country refer to synthol and other products that increase muscle mass. The trend of injecting different substances to obtain huge muscles almost instantaneously seems to have taken root here. And it has already claimed victims.

Chile’s Mining Industry Turns to Sunlight to Ease Energy Shortage

The mining industry in the north of Chile, the world’s leading producer of copper, is trying to partially satisfy its insatiable appetite for energy with a renewable, ever-available source: the sun.

In Trinidad, Sports Complex Targets a Key Watershed

Trinidad’s Orange Grove Savannah sits at the foothills of the Northern Range, whose watersheds provide copious volumes of fresh water into the aquifers – natural underground water storage areas – lying below these green spaces.

U.N. Predicts Rise in Urbanisation

In a few decades, 65 to 70 percent of the world’s population will live in urban areas, said Joan Clos, executive director of the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat). “It is a huge transformation of life experience,” he added, highlighting the importance of increasing access to a range of services, including health, education and mobility.

Seeding Ethiopia’s Future Food Security

Datta Dudettu and his seven children know what is like to go hungry. They live in Woliyta, a drought-prone area in southern Ethiopia that has experienced chronic food shortages. But hopefully, thanks to the successful use of hybrid seed, that is now firmly in the past.

Hope and Pessimism as Israelis and Palestinians Resume Talks

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators returned to the negotiating table on Thursday, ready to put claims by the United States that it will engage more forcefully in the negotiating process to the test. The talks, which paused for the meetings of the United Nations General Assembly, have been struggling amidst Palestinian complaints of Israeli foot-dragging and the lack of U.S. participation.

Turkey’s Reform Package Gets Tepid Reception

(EurasiaNet) - Turkey’s new democratisation reform package may mark a step forward for civil rights, but it does not go far enough to ease social tension and feelings of mistrust that are afflicting the country, analysts say.

UN Pledges Support for International Migrants

At a two-day high level dialogue on migration and development, member states adopted a Declaration calling for respect for human rights and international labour standards.

Ugandan Women Put On Their Boxing Gloves

Helen Baleke took up boxing at 16, after she was attacked by a man in Kampala’s Katanga slum. But the beating turned her into what she is today – one of only several female Ugandan amateur boxers.

U.S. Expels Three Diplomats in Tit-For-Tat Measure with Venezuela

(Al Jazeera) - The United States has expelled Venezuela’s chargé d’affaires and two other diplomats in Washington in reprisal for the expulsion of three U.S. diplomats from Caracas, both countries said late Tuesday.

“Turn your back on division and hatred,” says U.N. Chief

The United Nations commemorated International Day of Non-Violence with a tribute to one of the world’s best known proponents of non-violence:  the late Mahatma Gandhi of India.

Hunger Decreases, but Unevenly, U.N. Reports

Some 842 million people still suffer from chronic hunger, according to the State of Food Insecurity in the World (SOFI 2013), published Tuesday by the three Rome-based U.N. food agencies. As high as this number seems, it should still be considered progress, since it is is down from 868 million last year.

U.S.-Africa Trade Mostly Benefits Oil, Textiles

With a key U.S.-Africa trade agreement up for renewal in 2015, advocates on all sides of the issue say current policies are rife with shortcomings that leave many African businesses out in the cold. Since its enactment in 2000, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) has sought to create trade opportunities for small- and medium-sized African businesses by helping them export their products to the U.S. market.

Ninja Citizen Journalists Don’t Claim to Be Impartial

 The citizen journalists of Midia Ninja, who have covered the protests that broke out across Brazil in June right in the thick of things, are part of a new kind of reporting: one that is proud to be biased.