Newsletter Archive

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‘Guerrilla gardener’ Ron Finley once defied local authorities to bring nature to the inner city by farming on empty land in Los Angeles. He and other urban gardeners spent years pressing politicians to let them grow food in vacant lots. Now their efforts are bearing fruit as food forests flourish in the middle of the city.

‘Digital democracy’ is a whole new way for Africans to scrutinize the government and those on the public payroll. Across the continent, Africa websites and mobile apps are offering citizens the chance to engage more closely in politics. With social media amplifying their voices, they’re also becoming influencers, and governments are starting to take notice.

Indonesia is taking an explosive approach — literally — to illegal fishing in its waters. The government has been irked by foreign fishing in Indonesian waters for a long time, but it’s an uphill battle. As the world’s largest archipelagic nation, Indonesia has up to 17,000 islands and many kilometers of unsecured coastline. To discourage illegal fishing, the government has turned to blowing up illicit fishing boats, but wants to do more.

VIDEO: Fasting 5K: A group of Muslims recently decided that, along with fasting for Ramadan — having no food or water during the daylight hours — they’d also run a 5K to raise money for charity. They took off on a recent summer night while the sun was still shining, even though they hadn’t had a drop to drink or eat since before dawn.

Women are flexing their muscles in Hollywood this summer with the female-directed film Wonder Woman soaring past $600 million at the box office worldwide and another woman-led production, The Beguiled, picking up the coveted Palm D’Or for Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival. But will those successes translate into more opportunities for women in Hollywood’s boys club?