Many families in India still mourn the birth of a girl. But when Leena was born, people celebrated. Sagar Gram, her village in central India, is unique that way. Girls outnumber boys. When a woman marries, it is the groom’s family that pays the dowr...
Mariatu was 15 years old when her widowed mother died and she ended up sleeping rough on the streets of Freetown where she fell into commercial sex work. Not long after, she was arrested for “loitering” and, unable to pay a police bribe, spent six m...
From the flight of Rohingya Muslims into neighbouring Bangladesh to the journey undertaken by pilgrims travelling to the Ganges delta, the lives of migrants are celebrated in a series of stunning entries to a photography competition organised by O...
Nalini Nadkarni is sitting with her notebook and tape measure near the top of a strangler fig in Costa Rica’s Monteverde forest, on a branch 35 metres above the ground that is almost broad enough to walk along. Attached to the rope she has climbed t...
Janio Heinrich used to promote peace on the streets of Grande Bom Jardim before he was shot dead two months ago. Now his face stares out from a large mural on a dusty street, a tribute to the 18-year-old whose crime was to enter the turf of a gang t...
India has pledged to spend $100bn (£79bn) more on healthcare over the next seven years in a move partly aimed at reducing maternal mortality rates. The country will more than double its health spending from just over the current 1% of GDP to 2.5% by...
“Many well-known guests have stayed here,” says Jimmy, the proprietor of the gift shop in the Hotel Continental, a stately pre-colonial landmark overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar. He runs down the list: Edgar Degas, Winston Churchill, Paul Bowles....
There is a manmade famine in Yemen, even if it has not been officially acknowledged. The man who made it is Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, and there is strong prima facie evidence that he should be charged with causing starva...
Moham Kumar wolfs down a few spoonfuls of spiced black chickpeas for lunch between passengers. It is 3pm. Kumar has been on the roads of the Indian capital since 9am without a break. He will continue driving until 9pm or 10pm. This is his routine, s...
The world’s 1 billion people who live without electricity are not benefiting from climate change money promised by governments to help them develop. In theory, there has never been a better time for developing countries to install renewable energy s...
Arriving in the village of Kivalo in south-west Madagascar after a boat ride of about three-quarters of an hour through beautiful mangrove from the nearest land point, is a bit like stepping out of time. Children frolic in the water. Palm trees sway...
The resurgence of violence in Central African Republic has made life for the country’s children harsher and more dangerous than ever before. Two-thirds are in need of humanitarian assistance and yet, with schools, hospitals and places of worship inc...
The news in May 2017 that Taiwan was to legalise same-sex marriage was a watershed moment for Vivian Chen and Corrine Chiang, who could finally look forward to sharing legal guardianship of their daughter, Zola, now three. But 18 months on from the...
The UK government is to invest £50m in an attempt to end female genital mutilation by 2030, claiming it is the biggest single investment to tackle the issue by an international donor. The money, announced on Friday, will go to grassroots programmes...
William Hague has defended the controversial initiative he established with Angelina Jolie, describing it as having made “enormous progress” in raising awareness and breaking taboos around sexual violence in conflict. Set up by the former British fo...