Madagascan Coast Saved by Plants from Encroaching Sand

INTERNATIONAL: Fields, homes, wells, and even tombs were gradually being buried under shifting sand dunes in this windswept stretch of Madagascar's southern coastline until the local community fought back, armed only with plants and elbow grease.

“According to the communities, these dunes play a negative role when it comes to the protection of cultural spaces. First of all the tombs, some tombs were buried in the sand, the community is very attached to their customs, especially the places where they put ancestors to rest. So it’s really very important for the community. They also spoke of the dunes burying agriculture fields,” said Theodore Mbainassem, the World Food Programme (WFP) chief in the region.

After years of painstaking planting by hundreds of local volunteers, 36 hectares of dunes have been stabilized by long lines of plants that trap moisture in the ground and stop the relentless wind from blowing all the sand further inland.

The build-up of sand dunes started becoming a problem in the area roughly a decade ago due to droughts and an increase in strong winds, partly linked to the El Niño climate pattern -- and climate scientists warn things will only get worse.

Madagascar, an island with a population of 30 million and great natural variability in its weather patterns, faces increased aridity and more frequent droughts and extreme weather events in the future, according to the U.N.'s expert climate panel.

Domestic Workers Demand Rights and Denounce Labor Abuses in Peru

Dozens of Peruvian domestic workers protested on Wednesday in downtown Lima to demand respect for their labor rights and denounce the abuses and discrimination they face, which, they say, have worsened during the pandemic.

Domestic workers do cleaning, laundry, cooking, watching the kids, or more around the house. There are two types of domestic workers: those who live in your house and those who only come to work and then leave. A very low percentage of total domestic workers are registered with contracts. Rest time, vacations, and public holidays are also harder to implement especially when the workers live in the house.

During the coronavirus pandemic, people were asked to stay at home to help curb the spread. Unfortunately, this transfers the burden on domestic workers even more.

Shanghai Creates More Makeshift Hospitals to Receive New Covid-19 Patients

COVID-19 patients in Shanghai were being treated in a makeshift hospital that was converted from an exhibition center, according to state television CCTV on Wednesday (March 30).

The Chinese financial hub, home to 26 million people, is in its third day of a lockdown that authorities are imposing by dividing the city roughly along the Huangpu River, splitting the historic center from the eastern financial and industrial district of Pudong to allow for staggered testing.

While residents in the east have been locked down since Monday (March 26), those in the west were officially scheduled to start their four-day lockdown on Friday (April 1).

The city reported a record 5,656 asymptomatic COVID-19 cases and 326 symptomatic cases on Tuesday (March 29), up from 4,381 new asymptomatic cases and 96 new cases with symptoms on the prior day.