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Population

Iranian American census

Arab Americans lobbied for their own US census box. Will it backfire?

Culture

The Census Bureau has recommended that a new Middle East and North Africa (MENA) racial category be added to the next census, coming in 2020. This could be interpreted as an alarming development — but advocacy groups have been pushing for it for a while.

World is ticking toward a milestone: 7 billionth person expected on Halloween

Development & Education
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Lima taps ancient Andean canals to help fight its water shortage

Environment
Illegal migrants stand in an immigration holding centre located on the outskirts of Misrata Libya, on March 11, 2015. Italy wants Egypt and Tunisia to play a role in rescuing stricken migrant vessels in the Mediterranean.

Who’s responsible for the flood of migrants arriving on the shores of Italy?

Conflict
Local elementary school students vote for fairy tale and movie-themed gingerbread houses created by pastry students from the San Ysidro Adult School Culinary Arts program in San Ysidro, California on December 9, 2014.

Five things we learned in 2014 about immigrants in the US — documented and undocumented

Global Politics

Clean water a casualty of civil war in South Sudan

Host Hari Sreenivasan talks to Manyang David Mayar about the situation in South Sudan where flooding and unrest has made it extremely difficult to find clean drinking water.Host Hari Sreenivasan talks to Manyang David Mayar about the situation in South Sudan where flooding and unrest has made it extremely difficult to find clean drinking water.

Interactive: Explore a map of fertility rates around the world

Health & Medicine

Over the years, family sizes have shifted greatly. Most places are having fewer children than ever before — but not all. Explore this map to see where the biggest switches are taking place.

A mountain of grain in a Chinese warehouse. China is importing more of its supply of thirsty and land-intensive crops like corn and soy, often from leased or purchased land that guarantees a supply outside of the regular international market.

Guaranteed lunch? China’s food ‘pipeline’

Environment

Facing huge population, environmental and climate stresses, China is building what some call a “food pipeline” to import food free of competition on the international market.

Film director Zhang Yimou

Chinese film director admits violating one-child policy

Lifestyle & Belief

Popular film director Zhang Yimou has confirmed he has three children with his wife, in violation of China’s strict one-child policy.

A girl walks along a street in Beijing. China has announced reforms to the policy of allowing most families to have only one child.

China loosens its one-child policy in the face of a disturbing population trend

Global Politics

The Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party announced wide-ranging reforms this week, from liberalizing markets to ending forced labor camps to altering one of the most well-known social engineering policies in the world – the one-child policy. But when it comes to children, the step is a small one.