Olga Ceaglei for Rise Moldova: Huge swaths of forestland are being leased to companies by the Moldsilva, the agency that manages Moldova’s forests. However, those leases are, in turn, being subleased for much more on the black market. [Reporting sponsored by The Reva and David Logan Foundation.] Photo Credit: Iurie Sanduta ...
Francesca Lyman for InvestigateWest: Savers, Inc., does more than $1.2 billion in business annually, turning it into the biggest player in the growing for-profit thrift store industry. But Savers’ claims about doing good for charities appear to be vastly overblown. Sometimes Savers’ charity partners have received less than 5 percent of sales revenue on goods donated on their behalf; overall, only ...
From Mark Olalde for The Star, a four-part series that introduce us to illegal miners, or zama zamas as they are called in South Africa, who live and work mostly in the shadows and outskirts of a lucrative industry. When one gold mine was abandoned, so were hundreds of miners and toxic dumps. Improperly closed mines pose problems. In his closing piece, Olalde answers key questions ...
From Kolawole Talabi for SciDev.Net: Corruption in Nigeria is potentially threatening public health on a global scale because of forgeries of yellow fever vaccination cards needed to travel. A lack of coordination and transparency in handing out the cards contribute to the problems, and experts say more needs to be done to combat forgeries. [Reporting sponsored by individual donors referred ...
Marianna Grigoryan for MediaLab: The story of four women at different stages of their lives, all under mandatory treatment in a psychiatric hospital in Armenia. Despite various reforms and declarations about the importance of human rights, the mental hospitals and similar facilities in Armenia still remain extremely closed institutions, where abuses sometimes occur and reforms are needed. [Reporting sponsored by ...
Wanjohi Kabukuru travelled to Kenya’s Tana River Delta for New African magazine and found a region overrun by conflict, broken dreams, political strife and unfulfilled promises. Competing interests — agricultural, environmental and corporate — often collide amid a history of government failures to adequately manage the region. [Reporting sponsored by The Reva and David Logan Foundation.] ...
From Joseph Sorrentino for 100Reporters: Despite being deemed likely candidates for asylum, refugees from Central America, many of them women and children, are held in detention until they can post bond — which most cannot afford — or agree to wear tracking devices. [Sponsored by The Park Foundation.] Photo credit: Joseph Sorrentino ...
Author Susan Southard’s book Nagasaki: Life After Nuclear War, came out in 2015 and was well received by critics. Her interviews with survivors of the US nuclear attack centered not only on the tragic deaths and physical injuries, but also on the persistent feelings of “bitterness and outrage” toward the United States. The Washington Post called it the “most painful” book ...
From Yvette Cabrera for Voice of OC: Hundreds, if not thousands, of children have been turned over by probation departments across California to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and placed in deportation proceedings. In doing so, some probation officers have violated the privacy and legal rights of the children, broken up families and put children and families in limbo, sometimes ...
From Allyn Gaestel for Al Jazeera America, homes for the poor burn to the ground in Lagos as luxury apartments and commercial districts take their place. In extreme cases, impoverished residents have been murdered; thugs are blamed but long time residents suspect a connection with the real estate developments that are pushing them out. [Reporting sponsored by The Green Park ...