A local variety of the nutrient-rich, blue-green algae known as spirulina could boost incomes for women in Chad who harvest the product as well as help fight nutrition, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported today.

It was thrilling this week to see President Barack Obama signing a new law to combat "conflict minerals" mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo -- a heinous practice financed by armed rebel militias, whose extreme violence against women has made Congo one of the most deadly places on earth for females.

Prior to the January 12 earthquake, almost half of the households in Haiti were exclusively matriarchal, at least in terms of management. Though accustomed to taking care of families and a myriad of domestic and economic responsibilities, Haitian women still comprise only a very small portion of their own government.

“Recovery in Haiti is one of the most complex humanitarian and development challenges in modern times.”
—Oxfam

Earlier this month, I traveled to Port-au-Prince as a part of a GFW delegation to learn about the current situation of women in Haiti and to learn how we can best support women's roles in decision-making throughout the reconstruction process.

On our first day in Haiti, grassroots women's organizations -- including our sister organization KOFAVIV -- stood up in a UN meeting on gender-based violence and demanded that their voices be heard. For months, women in the camps for displaced people have faced persistent sexual violence, and they have found few if any effective solutions coming from the UN.

On one of their daily walks through Khimki forest in the summer of 2007, Yevgenia Chirikova and her husband, Mikhail, noticed something unusual. Nearly all of the trees were marked with small red Xs.

After some research on the Internet, the couple learned that, unbeknownst to most nearby residents, the forest had been sold and a construction company planned to knock down large swaths of it to build a new highway.

The Bolivian goverment ratified its support for the Regional Peace Plan proposed by Venezuela to Colombia, in order to guarantee regional political stability.

Bolivian President Evo Morales reiterated to Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro that his country rejects any violent method to solve conflicts and that it will always appeal to dialogue.

The Khmer Rouge tribunal delivered its first verdict on Monday and sentenced a top leader of the genocidal regime, comrade Duch, to 30 years behind bars, but many victims outside the emotional courtroom were left complaining over this sentence.

President Ellen Johnson is today expected to deliver a special statement to the Women of Liberia when she formally launches the radio project of the Liberia Women Media Action Committee in Monrovia.

It is not known what the statement focus on, but observers are suggesting that the president may use the time to encourage Liberian women to aim as high as their male counterparts.