‘Fighting is all around’: Myanmar faces deepening humanitarian crisis | Conflict News

‘Fighting is all around’: Myanmar faces deepening humanitarian crisis | Conflict News

In late October, Sai Lam had an uneasy feeling. The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), an ethnic armed organisation operating in Myanmar’s northern Shan State, was massing forces near his village on the Chinese border and he sensed that fighting was imminent. So the 27-year-old, who had already secured…

Finding a fix: Nigerian women lead drive to upcycle plastics | Environment

Finding a fix: Nigerian women lead drive to upcycle plastics | Environment

Lagos, Nigeria — For years, Maryam Lawani was really pained when it rained. She lived in the Oshodi Isolo area of Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, where canals often overflow messily into the streets during downpours. Additionally, she was always struck by the huge amount of plastic waste on the streets…

‘Never giving up’: A former Afghan refugee’s mission to heal trauma | Refugees

‘Never giving up’: A former Afghan refugee’s mission to heal trauma | Refugees

Chester, United Kingdom – It is just after 8:30am on a Friday and 40-year-old Waheed Arian is cycling down a path next to a frost-covered football field in the northwestern English city of Chester. His cheeks are slightly flushed as he hops off his bike, and he seems sprightly despite…

‘We are the living dead’: Drought-hit Tunisian villages battle isolation | Climate Crisis

‘We are the living dead’: Drought-hit Tunisian villages battle isolation | Climate Crisis

Tunisian villager Ounissa Mazhoud ties two empty jerry cans to a donkey and cautiously descends a stony hill towards the last local source of water. The North African country, in its fourth year of drought, is grappling with its worst water scarcity in years. Mazhoud – like other women in…

Australia is preparing to burn – more fossil fuels | Climate Crisis News

Australia is preparing to burn – more fossil fuels | Climate Crisis News

Australians are used to seeing messages with advice on preparing for bushfires and other extreme weather at this time of year. “Amid the Christmas promotions, [we’re] seeing increased warnings about extreme heat and fires and how to cope and stay safe,” Belinda Noble, the founder of climate advocacy organisation Comms…

Pio Gama Pinto: The Indian who became a Kenyan freedom fighter | Features

Pio Gama Pinto: The Indian who became a Kenyan freedom fighter | Features

Nairobi, Kenya – On December 12, 1963, six months after Kenya’s independence from the British, the former colony officially became a republic. It is an occasion that has been marked ever since as Jamhuri Day. With the new status came the fight against a colonial-era hierarchy in which Europeans sat…

Rice, beans and best friends: A Nigerian embrace for Cameroonian refugees | Refugees

Rice, beans and best friends: A Nigerian embrace for Cameroonian refugees | Refugees

Ogoja, Nigeria – Rebecca stares down her sandy street past the palm trees and T-junction. No sign of Blessing. It is already after 7:30am, and their school’s morning assembly will soon start. Rebecca sighs with relief when she sees her friend running towards her. “Sorry, sorry,” Blessing gasps, “I had…

Batang Kali: A British massacre in colonial Malaya and a fight for justice | Human Rights News

Batang Kali: A British massacre in colonial Malaya and a fight for justice | Human Rights News

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – In the smart offices of a law firm located among the skyscrapers of the Malaysian capital, 85-year-old Lim Kok’s thoughts turn back to a crime perpetrated by British forces three-quarters of a century ago. The decades in between have not faded Lim’s memories of the period…

Communities on US LNG front line ask Biden to reject export terminal | Business and Economy

Communities on US LNG front line ask Biden to reject export terminal | Business and Economy

Travis Dardar, a fisherman and member of the Isle de Jean Charles Tribal Community off the coast of Louisiana, has twice been displaced by fossil fuels. Rising sea levels forced him and his tribal nation to move in 2016 from the island where they had settled in the 1830s to…

In Mexico, a community gathers to celebrate a quinceañera — for the elderly | Arts and Culture

In Mexico, a community gathers to celebrate a quinceañera — for the elderly | Arts and Culture

Mexico City, Mexico – It was the eve of Lupita Rivera’s 84th birthday, but she had chosen instead to go back in time and celebrate her 15th. Hard of hearing and reliant on a wheelchair most of the time, Rivera was decked out in a bronze-coloured ballgown, sparkly nail polish…