Features

Is Operation Car Wash the world’s biggest corruption scandal? By Vanessa Baird

Vanessa Baird sets out to see how dictatorship is being rebranded in Latin America’s most populous nation.

Indigenous communities in Colombia refuse to occupy an empty space in history, and believe their very cultural survival is at stake, reports Hazel Healy.

A wave of nostalgia is sweeping Latin America as the 50th anniversary of the death of Che Guevara approaches. Julio Etchart follows the ‘Che route’ to the remote spot where the revolutionary icon was executed.

Stephanie Boyd reports on a growing trend of private corporations hiring public law enforcers to protect their interests.

Newspapers love to dish up stories of inherent differences between the sexes because we lap them up. Gavin Evans reflects on why we are still so susceptible.

The world is full of extraordinary schools. We feature three inspirational stories about courageous teachers, second-chance education and progressive pedagogy in Yemen, South Sudan and Colombia.

Why is the West racing to copy Asia’s education system as fast as the East scrambles to reform it? Yong Zhao takes to task an unhealthy and deluded romanticization of education.

Can a US chain of profit-making schools really help the poor? Patience Akumu reports on the impact of Bridge academies in Uganda.

Silicon Valley types say that with enough data, they can ‘fix’ education. Where are the teachers in this grand plan? asks Tamasin Cave.

A snapshot of progress, setbacks and future prospects

An update on progress towards the dream of universal education

The Right has captured education all over the world. Hazel Healy makes the case for how to do things differently.

Photographer Ana Palacios documents the work to rescue and rehabilitate trafficked and abandoned children in Togo and Benin.

Conflicts over water are on the rise in India, but climate change is not the only culprit. Fiona Broom reports on a powerful water mafia that is sucking India dry.

The advantages of greater equality are clear – the more so as the negative effects of widening inequality in some countries become apparent. But how can we help turn the tide?

While it is clear that equality matters in terms of health and happiness, surprising new data reveals that it is also better for the environment – in the more equal rich countries, people on average consume less, produce less waste and emit less carbon.

A few fragments from the surprising history of equality. Cartoons by Ella Furness.

The political landscape may seem particularly bleak at present. But, if we stand back and look at the bigger picture, the dominance of rightwing populists and neoliberal policies is likely to be a temporary blip. The evidence is mounting that greater economic equality benefits all people in all societies, whether you are rich, poor or in-between. Once this is widely understood, politicians and policymakers will be forced to take note, as Danny Dorling explains.

Sand-dredging is big business, especially in Asia, where demand has sky-rocketed thanks to the booming construction industry. Rod Harbinson reports from Cambodia on an extractive industry that is mired in corruption and scandal, and meets some of those on the frontline of the fight against it.