, Feb 27 (IPS) - IT has been almost two weeks since the beginning of a protest movement of students, teachers and the wider democratic community in and around Delhi`s famed Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) that represents arguably the biggest challenge that Narendra Modi`s BJP government has faced since coming to power. Perhaps unsurprisingly, we in this country have scarcely paid attention to the whole af fair, even though it tells us much about India, its politics, and, indeed, just how similar our two countries are.

XOCHIMILCO, Mexico, Feb 27 (IPS) - David Jiménez grows two kinds of lettuce and other fresh produce on his "chinampa" or artificial island just under one hectare in size in San Gregorio Atlapulco, on the south side of Mexico City.

DHAKA, Bangladesh, Feb 26 (IPS) - The second part: the relevance of free speech and free media to development. Freedom is the central object of development, says Amartya Sen. He argues that development cannot simply be seen as GNP or industrialization or social modernization.

ROME, Feb 26 (IPS) - Exclusion of Greece from the European free travel zone established by the Schengen Agreement is pending. The European Commission has ruled that the Athens government has "seriously neglected its obligations to control its own borders," and if the deficiencies are not corrected within three months, the other member states of the Schengen area may exclude it from the agreement.

Emma BoninoIn 2015, some 850,000 people seeking asylum and work in northern European countries passed through Greece, and the influx is continuing.

, Feb 26 (IPS) - Global search and rescue charity, Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS), will begin a new mission in the Andaman Sea and adjacent areas on March 3 to track, monitor and, if needed, provide search and rescue of refugees or migrants.

Mahbubnagar, India, Feb 26 (IPS) - Anger is an inner demon that one must have a strong grip on, believes Virayya Shastri - head priest of Maddi Madugu Anjaneya Swamy temple in southern India's Mahbubnagar district. But mention ‘child marriage' and the priest finds himself struggling to stay calm. ""Early marriage ruins a girl's body and scars her mind. There is no way you can call yourself a believer when you support such a thing," says the priest turned anti-child marriage advocate.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb 26 (IPS) - Three decades of dengue fever epidemic did not manage to awaken a sense of urgency in Brazil regarding the need for improving and expanding basic sanitation. But the recent surge in cases of microcephaly in newborns, associated with the Zika virus, apparently has.

, Feb 25 (IPS) - The Lahore Literary Festival has ended in a blaze of success. The uncertainty about its being held at all and the doubts about the people`s capacity to defy fear and much else made the event all the more enjoyable. But the issues regarding the ways of dealing with security threats that it gave rise to still need to be seriously addressed.

DHAKA, Bangladesh, Feb 25 (IPS) - The greatness of a newspaper is not measured by the size of its readership but by its influence and credibility. That is why the New York Times or the Guardian are better known and more respected than the tabloids in their respective countries with ten times their circulation. Like those broadsheets, The Daily Star too strives for quality over circulation, influence over income and credibility over sensationalism.

Rome, Feb 25 (IPS) - "In 2005 I left my home town in Eastern Nigeria by boat, landing in Athens, Greece along with my fellow companions - members of a football team. I decided to push my luck and moved to Italy in search of what I believed to be better opportunities to start a new life and get a decent job. Unfortunately, this may have just been an illusion."