New Internationalist. The people, the ideas, the action in the fight for global justice.

Photo blog by Mary Katherine Keown
www.mkkeown.com

Balsena children and a Shaishav staff member work on preparing the Child Right Audit in Bhavnagar, Gujarat in India. Photo and story by Peter Norris.

Balsena children play in a dry salt pan on the outskirts of Bhavnagar in Gujarat, India. Photo and story by Peter Norris.

Zines (pronounced 'zeen') are the lesser known little sibling of magazines. They're often handmade and roughly stapled, photocopied on tired old copy machines and occasionally even sewn together. They're raw and from the heart, and more often than not teach you something new about the beautiful awkward world that we live in.

On my last journey through Europe I walked many gritty streets in search of street art. This piece had been painted on a construction site in Italy. I loved the Pinocchio / television references.. I'm not sure if that's what the artist meant, but what I read from it is 'the television lies!'. Digital detox anyone?

I came across Jonathan Darby's work today and wanted to share it with you. I like his comments on modern day consumer culture and its effects on kids of an increasingly young age. He's got an exhibition on in London at the moment you might want to check out.

The production of handmade paper umbrellas, also known as “Khan Nyu”, is a craft that has been passed on from generation to generation in Xieng Khaung Province in the far north of Laos. Photo by Khan Nyu.

Sometimes the best journeys are the ones you take on your own.

After working with street children in Kisumu, Kenya, I was blessed with the opportunity to travel through east Africa while making my way home. I had joined a tour group travelling from Nairobi to Johannesburg, which to my disgust, seemed more interested in drinking and complaining about the quality of accommodation than having any experience of the sights and sounds of Africa.

Photo and words by Jessica Stevens

Rising flood waters in the streets near the river through Hoi An. Photo: Jeremy Pollard

Victim of the Mumbai train blasts cries in the intensive care unit of a hospital.

Photo by Adeel Halim, Mumbai, India.