People’s Expo: civil society’s international forum gives voice to those working the land

People’s Expo: civil society’s international forum gives voice to those working the land

Alongside the Milan world exposition (Expo Milano 2015) there is People’s Expo, the international Forum of the civil society and farmers’ movements that will be held in Milan, at the Fabbrica del Vapore, from 3rd to 5th June 2015, to respond to the “Feeding the Planet” challenge, by implementing the principles of Food Sovereignty and Environmental Justice.     During People’s Expo, 150 NGO’s

Nebraska is the 19th US state to abolish the death penalty

Nebraska is the 19th US state to abolish the death penalty

Nebraska, American conservative state governed by Republicans, abolished the death penalty. The decision to retire executioners for good was made thanks to the vote of the Parliament that overrode a veto by Governor Pete Ricketts, who was in favour of capital executions.     The veto has been overridden thanks to 30 votes out of

World hunger has dropped. Next target? Zero-hunger rate

World hunger has dropped. Next target? Zero-hunger rate

People suffering from hunger in the world have dropped, registering a decrease of 10 million people, moving from 805 to 795 million people over the last 2 years. Data are even more significant due to the fact that between 1990 and 1992 the number of hungry people exceeded 1 billion.     The new figures

French supermarkets will be banned from throwing away food

French supermarkets will be banned from throwing away food

French supermarkets, larger than 400 square metres, can no longer throw away or destroy edible food. The French national assembly, the lower house of the French Parliament, approved unanimously a law against food waste of shops and supermarkets. Lawbreakers will be sanctioned up to 75,000 euros or 2 years in jail.   Supermarkets are thus

The photos of the last surviving Chinese women with bound feet

The photos of the last surviving Chinese women with bound feet

Jo Farrell, award-winning photographer and cultural anthropologist, has been documenting the last surviving Chinese women with bound feet since 2007. Her project, Living History, was borne out of the desire to record the dying tradition and has culminated in the publication of a book featuring photographs of and interviews with women with “lotus feet”. Women

The Bajau Laut, the last nomads of the sea

The Bajau Laut, the last nomads of the sea

The Bajau Laut are an indigenous group that lives in and around the seas of the Coral Triangle, an area between Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines that is considered the epicentre of global marine biodiversity. Traditionally, the Bajau Laut live as “sea nomads”, on boats called lepa lepa, coming to land only to bury the

What happens if you don’t stop looking at your phone

What happens if you don’t stop looking at your phone

https://youtu.be/PsH9wGB_Acs Our lives have radically changed since the arrival of smartphones. This video clip, realised by the Chinese student Xie Chenglin, ironically tells the problems we daily face due to our smartphones, from little accidents to a possible nuclear disaster. The feature film, entitled Life Smartphone, was awarded by the Central Academy of Fine Arts

First gay marriage of EU prime minister takes place in Luxembourg

First gay marriage of EU prime minister takes place in Luxembourg

Xavier Bettel, the Prime Minister of Luxembourg, has become the first acting European Union government leader to marry someone of the same sex. On the 15th of May he wedded the architect Gauthier Destenay in Luxembourg City, the country’s capital. Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel also attended the ceremony.   “Luxembourg can set an example”,

State-sanctioned sexual violence used as a weapon in Egypt

State-sanctioned sexual violence used as a weapon in Egypt

Sexual violence is used by Egyptian security forces to repress opposition, alleges a report by the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH). Whilst such tactics are not new to the country, arbitrary arrests and detentions have multiplied since the current military regime came to power in 2013, especially to suppress the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, the