Welcome to Panos London's magazine, reporting on development issues that are often neglected by mainstream media. Through our global team of local journalists we seek out the views of people on the edges of society and offer you fresh perspectives.
Brazil's media agenda: whose news is it anyway?
Why the truth about Zimbabwe is so hard to tell
Radio Malaria
Farmers insure against bad weather
Flooding: a tale of rich and poor worlds
Water everywhere but not enough to drink
News: 13 May 2008
Storms hamper quake effort
Heavy storms are hampering efforts to reach areas hardest hit by yesterday's earthquake in south-west China. The 7.9 magnitude quake in Sichuan province, China's worst in thirty years, has so far left 10,000 people dead. Rain and thick clouds over the epicentre in Wenchuan county meant military helicopters could not land and parachutists from the People's Liberation Army had to cancel a rescue drop. The area was cut off due to road damage and landslides.
US allows apartheid lawsuit
The US Supreme Court has cleared the way for a lawsuit against major international companies accused of aiding South Africa's apartheid system. The Khulumani Support Group, which counsels more than 32,000 South African apartheid victims, is seeking more than 400 billion US dollars in damages. US President George Bush and the current South African government wanted the case blocked, saying it could harm South Africa's development. The Supreme Court could not intervene as four of the nine judges have ties to some of the firms named in the lawsuit.
40 dead after ferry capsizes
At least 40 people are dead and many more are missing after a ferry carrying nearly 150 passengers capsized in Bangladesh yesterday. The boat was caught in a storm and capsized in the Ghorautura river, nearly 180km from Dhakar. Police said only 25 passengers managed to swim ashore. Ferry accidents occur frequently in Bangladesh, killing hundreds of people a year. Poor enforcement of safety laws means boats are often in disrepair and overloaded well beyond capacity.
Spain pledges aid to Africa
Spain has pledged 90 million US dollars to five African countries to help fight hunger and climate change. Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega said she hoped the package, which covers Burkina Faso, Benin, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone and Niger, would counter the effects of climate change on food security. Spain has signed a series of aid agreements with West African countries, hoping to improve their cooperation in controlling migrant flow. Thousands of young people make the voyage from West Africa to Spain each year in the hope of making money in Europe.
Haiti rejects new PM candidate
The new candidate for Haiti's prime minister has been rejected by parliament. The nomination for President Rene Preval's candidate, Ericq Pierre, failed a vote in the lower house. He was widely expected to succeed Jacques Edouard Alexis, who was fired by the Senate after a week of food riots last month. The nomination process could now drag on for several weeks, threatening national stability. Slum leaders in Les Cayes, where the riots began, threatened more violence if parliament did not install a new government by early this week.
Free doctor, say Nobel winners
Twenty-two Nobel laureates have written a letter to India's prime minister calling for the release of the country's best-known "barefoot doctor". Binayak Sen, 58, a paediatrician and human rights activist who treated tribal communities for free, has been in custody for a year facing terrorism charges, which could carry the death penalty. He is accused of carrying notes from a Maoist rebel who was his patient. Sen protests his innocence. The academics want him released in time to accept an international health and human rights award in Washington this month. The state government says it has documentary evidence against him.
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