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Stay poor or drill paradise? Ecuador’s present dilemma
In a live broadcast on television, radio and the web, President Rafael Correa announced that Ecuador will exploit the oil reserves of the ITT area (or a portion of it, located in the Yasuní National Park, the most biodiverse area in the world. In fact in Ecuador there is more […]
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Romania’s Gilded Opportunity
These past days Romania’s little corner of the Internet has been all astir : lines have been drawn in the sand and crossed, war drums beaten and in a very uncharacteristic move, Romanians have once more taken to the streets. The reason? A controversial gold mining project has recently been approved […]
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Austerity: No Walk in the Park
Lean times have fallen on America. Barring a massive political bargain, this year’s federal budget will clock in at below $3.45 trillion, down $150 billion from the previous year (a 4% decrease). Missing are $42.7 billion in defense spending, $28.7 billion in domestic discretionary spending, $9.9 billion in Medicare, […]
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Parks and Trees – Collateral Damage in the Make-Over of Downtown Skopje
The green public space has no owner. It belongs to everyone. Until, that is, it no longer is a green public space. In Skopje a heated debate is being waged about who the parks belong to. On one side is the Government which believes that it is the rightful owner, […]
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Bangladesh fights malnutrition … with zinc!
While its much affluent neighbour, India, is busy squabbling over a Right to Food Bill, Bangladesh has been busy. Bangladesh has just launched the world’s first zinc-enriched rice variety. With a country that’s fighting acute malnourishment, and which has one of the highest rates in the world with 41% of children […]