Eight years after the fall of the Taliban, targeted violence against women in Afghanistan is back at an alarming level. Women of all ages are enduring brutal physical and sexual abuse in their own homes. A few lucky ones find their way to one of only six shelters in the country. We visited one of them. 

Despite being rejected by society since birth, millions of so-called "Untouchables" in India are beginning to win the battle against the prejudice that has denied them basic human rights for centuries. 

Decades of oil drilling in Ecuador has devastated huge swaths of the Amazon rainforest and its wildlife, threatening to destroy the ancestral homes of native tribes and their culture. But some of these indigenous people are finding a way to balance development and conservation. 

Water scarcity has become one of the world's greatest challenges. In less than 20 years, nearly two billion people could face shortages. But Azerbaijan, which sits between Europe and Western Asia, has come up with an ingenious solution to its water crisis by looking to its past for inspiration. 

Across Africa, millions of adults and children die every year from treatable diseases. Sometimes all that is needed is one shot or a single pill. But with the vast majority of Africans living in remote areas, the question is how to get these potentially life-saving treatments to the sick? A bold new endeavour empowering members of local communities to help each other may just be an answer. 

Sea turtles are among the oldest animals on earth, but they are under threat from poachers who attack their nests and steal the eggs. In Sri Lanka, a unique initiative is turning some of these nest raiders into conservationists. 

Soaring food prices are making life hard for people everywhere. In Mexico, many families are taking the fight against the global food crisis into their own hands.