ENVIRONMENT-CUBA: From Dump to Growing Garden

When Irania Martínez said she would make that rubbish dump productive, people said she was crazy. Today the greenery, hundreds of trees and sense of order that reigns in the place confirm that she is in her right mind, and the project is a model that could spread all over the country.

Q&A: “We’re Living in a World of Global Economic Apartheid”

Less than a fortnight remains before the seventh annual World Assembly of CIVICUS - the World Alliance for Citizen Participation. This Johannesburg-based body brings together non-governmental organisations from across the spectrum to strengthen civil society, notably where its activities are under threat.

Q&A: “Farmers Are ‘Doubting Thomases’. What They’ve Not Seen, They Don’t Believe”

More than two decades of work in the agricultural sector have taught Grégoire Comlan Houngnibo that it's not a lack of technology which is preventing Africa from solving problems of poor soil and food insecurity - but rather lack of political will.

DEVELOPMENT: More in School, But Not Learning Enough

Poor countries are making progress in sending more children to primary school, but the quality of what they learn often leaves much to be desired, according to the World Bank Global Monitoring Report 2007 published Friday.

HEALTH: HIV-Positive Women Activists in Latin America Stand Tall

Patricia Pérez, an activist from Argentina who was diagnosed HIV-positive in 1986, has been nominated for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for her activism on behalf of women living with the AIDS virus. But her case is an exception to the rule.

DEVELOPMENT: Poor Could Lose 67 Billion Dollars

Poor countries risk receiving 50 billion euros (67 billion dollars) less than what they have been promised from the European Union by 2010 unless the bloc improves the quality of its development aid, anti-poverty campaigners have warned.

ENVIRONMENT: U.N. Debates Wider Leadership Role on Climate

As climate change and global warming continue to dominate the headlines, there is a concerted move once again to revive the longstanding proposal for an expansion in the role of the United Nations in fighting environmental degradation.

EDUCATION-BOLIVIA: Literacy Drive on Full Steam

Coipasa is ahead, with Chipaya on its heels. Right behind them are Urubichá and Guarayos. The competitors are not race horses but rural villages and towns in Bolivia racing to declare themselves free of illiteracy.

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Plans Against Desertification. But What of Funds?

For many, the Central African Republic (CAR) is associated with political instability - a legacy of multiple coups - while others may see the country in terms of environmental riches, notably its population of lowland gorillas. Less immediate, perhaps, are thoughts of desertification, even though vast tracts of CAR land are facing degradation.

PARAGUAY: Aquifer Wounded and Contaminated

Josefina Samaniego didn't know that water could have taste and colour until she moved to the city of Limpio, about 10 kilometres from the Paraguayan capital. The liquid from the wells in this community of 73,000 people is not odourless, colourless or tasteless as most expect water to be.

HEALTH: Thailand Turns Giant Pharma Killer

By standing up to pressure from ‘big pharma' over cheap anti-AIDS drugs, Thailand may have created an opening in global trade rules that will permit developing countries to more readily break patents in times of public health emergencies.

AFRICA: G8 Asked to Keep Its Promises

With only a couple of weeks to go to this year's summit of the group of the eight most industrialised countries (G8), Africa and its immense needs are again the theme of the day.

DEVELOPMENT: Arab Regimes, Local Elites Shun Reforms

Economic changes needed to alleviate biting poverty in the Arab world have largely been derailed at the hands of ruling regimes and entrenched local elites who use whatever revenues their economies generate to cement their own positions, charges a new report released here.

ENVIRONMENT-CHAD: Plastic Bags Convenient, Ubiquitous, Stifling

You see them in roads, public squares and dump sites. Even more are unearthed when road building operations get underway in Chad's capital, N'Djamena, making plastic bags one of the biggest sources of pollution in the city.

DEVELOPMENT-INDIA: NGOs Balk at Tighter Gov’t Controls

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in India are up in arms against moves by the federal government to regulate the flow of foreign funds into their coffers through a new bill that would amend existing law governing contributions from abroad.

TRADE-AFRICA: Where Are the EPA Impact Assessments?

Civil society organisations in southern and eastern Africa have urged John Kaputin, the secretary general of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of states, to insist that assessments be done to evaluate the potential effects of the European Union's proposed economic partnership agreements (EPAs).

CHILE: Fine Tuning the Fight Against Domestic Violence

The trial of Alfredo Cabrera, a Chilean man accused of murdering his six-year-old daughter by throwing her from the window of their seventh floor apartment after trying to kill his partner, will open Wednesday, amidst a clamour for him to be handed the maximum sentence.

ECONOMY-KENYA: Buying Airtime to Chat About Poverty

In an election year, it's undoubtedly something that Kenyan officials hoping to regain power will be pointing to: steady economic growth during President Mwai Kibaki's first term in office.

GUATEMALA: Indigenous Women Last in Line for MDGs

Guatemala is making slow, uneven progress towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), with maternal mortality and illiteracy remaining the most persistent problems, mid-way to the 2015 deadline.

POPULATION: NGOs Warn of World Bank “Fundamentalists”

When the United States tried to water down a longstanding policy on reproductive health and family planning at the World Bank last month, there was a storm of protests from population experts and activist groups worldwide.

PERU: Blood and Gold on Algamarca Hill

While two companies are disputing a hill rich in gold in the extreme northwest of Peru, more than 3,000 informal sector miners are working there without the most basic safety or environmental protection measures.