Norman Borlaug: another subjective obituary

New Internationalist
Paul H Johnson argues that the glowing obituaries are only telling half the tale.

Norman Borlaug (centre) contemplates crops at the International Rice Research Institute. Called the ‘Father of the Green Revolution’, Norman Borlaug died on 12 September.

All of the poor people were going to starve. Then Norman invented some better seeds and everyone had [...]

H. Res. 441: Honoring the historical contributions of Catholic sisters in the United States

H. Res. 441
In the House of Representatives, U. S.,
September 22, 2009.
Whereas the social, cultural, and political contributions of Catholic sisters have played a vital role in shaping life in the United States;
Whereas such women have joined in unique forms of intentional communitarian life dedicated to prayer and service since the very beginnings of our Nation’s [...]

Euro vote important for democracy, say Jesuits

Independent Catholic News
In June, Europeans elect the members of the next European Parliament. The European Union seems to many a bureaucratic entity far removed from Europe’s citizens. But a careful vote in the elections is one way of strengthening the democratic accountability of the EU.

BRAZIL: E-Waste Can Produce Marvels

By Clarinha Glock*
PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil, Apr 25 (IPS) – Using pieces from all sorts of useless equipment, students at the Computer Recovery Centre in the southern Brazilian city of Porto Alegre have put 1,700 computers into operation in three years.

Crisis Pushing Key Poverty Goals Out of Reach

By Jim Lobe
WASHINGTON, Apr 24 (IPS) – The global economic crisis has created a “development emergency” that will put at least some of the U.N.’s key poverty-reducing 2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) out of reach for many countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, according to a new report released Friday by the World [...]

NICARAGUA: Universal Primary Education Still Far Off

By José Adán Silva
MANAGUA, Apr 1 (IPS) – Damaris Aguilar had to pull her daughter out of school this year. “My oldest child is already in fifth grade; now we’re waiting for the situation to improve so that she can go on learning,” says the 34-year-old Nicaraguan mother of two.

Access to Water: A Human Right or a Human Need?

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At Jiftlik on the West Bank, Oxfam plans to build a reservoir connected to this four inch-pipe to increase the amount of water reaching the village’s 800 households. (Photo by Sarah-Eve Hammond courtesy Oxfam

ISTANBUL, Turkey, March 27, 2009 ([ENS) – Twenty countries have officially challenged the Ministerial Declaration released Sunday at the close of the [...]

No Quick Fix for Malnutrition and Hunger

Common Dreams
by Kristin Palitza
ROME – Almost five million children under the age of five die of malnutrition every year in the developing world. Food aid – which mainly contains nutrient-poor carbohydrates – does little to address the absence of a diverse diet that would prevent the condition.
Humanitarian relief organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is therefore [...]

No Quick Fix for Malnutrition and Hunger

Common Dreams
by Kristin Palitza
ROME – Almost five million children under the age of five die of malnutrition every year in the developing world. Food aid – which mainly contains nutrient-poor carbohydrates – does little to address the absence of a diverse diet that would prevent the condition.
Humanitarian relief organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is therefore [...]

Good tidings come early this year

Daily Nation
By Millicant Mwololo
Life for the ordinary Kenyan family today is hard hit by the economic crunch, skyrocketing food prices, unemployment and other looming challenges.