AWAZA, Turkmenistan, August 6 (IPS) - Agriculture is a critical sector in landlocked developing countries, as more than half (55 percent) of the population is employed in the agriculture sector – significantly higher than the global average of 25 per cent. As such, the deterioration of food security in landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) is an unfolding catastrophe.

CIVICUS discusses Bolivia’s upcoming presidential election with Juan Carlos Uribe and Lucas Illanes from ChequeaBolivia, an initiative that monitors and verifies social media content.

DOHA / WASHINGTON, DC, August 6 (IPS) - Technological progress and the course of human history have moved forward together; more recent technological innovations have emerged with unprecedented speed and reach, deeply influencing many areas of human activity.

Trapped by geography and squeezed by global market forces, the world’s 32 landlocked developing countries remain among the poorest – and most overlooked.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) on Wednesday welcomed a contribution of $3.5 million from the Government of Indonesia to support the agency’s school meal programme in Afghanistan.

Hostilities have continued in Sweida, Syria, despite a ceasefire agreement, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in an update published on Wednesday.

UN data published on Wednesday underscores the tiny amount of cultivable land that remains in the Gaza Strip, contributing to the famine conditions now being endured by more than two million people there.

Hopes for peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have been shaken by a surge in brutal attacks on civilians by armed groups, including the Rwandan-backed M23 militia, in the country’s troubled eastern region.

For the world’s landlocked developing countries (LLDCs), geography isn’t just a challenge, it’s a costly barrier to trade. Cut off from direct access to the sea, these nations face steep transport costs, sluggish delivery times, and a maze of border procedures that slow down economic progress.

The world changed forever 80 years ago this Wednesday when the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima during the Second World War.