What is the secret of the LRAs survival?
When regional troops launched a long-planned and U.S.-backed attack on the bases of the brutal Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) nearly a year and a half ago, the days of the Ugandan rebel outfit were supposed to be numbered. But the cult-like group, led by sel
Laos hydropower project deprives villagers of water, food, income
Ikuko Matsumoto is the Laos programme director for International Rivers. Back in November, I visited Navan Tai village on the Xe Bang Fai River in Laos. The morning sun shone down on a bustle of activity. The surface was scattered with small fishing boats
Developing nations vie for top UN climate job - view from India
The race for the U.N.'s top climate change post is heating up - and there are calls for it to go to a candidate from a developing country. Costa Rica put its hat into the ring this week, nominating its lead climate change negotiator Christiana Figueres to
Social media plays growing role in aid world
It seems everyone is now firmly on the social media bandwagon. In a week when the co-founder of Facebook and brains behind Barack Obama's online election campaign announced his new not-for-profit project Jumo, the U.N. appointed a new Social Media Envoy fo
Everyones talking about better construction in Haiti
Esther Williams works for Christian aid organisation Tearfund, which says its vision is to see 50 million people released from material and spiritual poverty through a global network of churches By Esther Williams Adults and children alike in Haiti are anx
People must move away from floodable areas before the rains start
Esther Williams works for Christian aid organisation Tearfund, which says its vision is to see 50 million people released from material and spiritual poverty through a global network of churches A rat has moved into our campsite in Port-au-Prince, which te
Government must do more, say earthquake-hit Haitians
Esther Williams works for Christian aid organisation Tearfund, which says its vision is to see 50 million people released from material and spiritual poverty through a global network of churches By Esther Williams It's clear to see as you walk through the
Refugee camp is icon of past and present African crises
Please help me, said a desperate-looking woman coming towards me. "I have been raped and beaten several times in this camp but no one seems to hear me out," added the woman, Maria Mutetsi. Mutetsi is a Rwandan widow who fled her country soon after the 19
They came to India in boats. And now?
I want to go home, Nisha tells me. She is one of the 100,000 Sri Lankan refugees who fled the 26-year-long civil war and are scattered across India's vast Tamil Nadu state. Nisha's journey as a refugee began in 2008 when she left Vavuniya. She had alread
Charting US media coverage of conflicts
The Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism has just released its annual "State of the News Media", looking at the American news industry and its coverage of a huge variety of subject matter. The full report is a whopping 180,000 words, but if you want a