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Illac Diaz (R) and Siplicio Mondas inspect a solar light bottle installed by Philippine soldiers in a shanty town in Manila. With the help of some plastic bottles plus a social media campaign, Diaz is aiming to help a million poor people in a year.

"What will a warmer, drier climate do to the legendary quality of Swiss cheese? To address this and other questions, researchers from EPFL and Agroscope Changins-Wädenswil had small flocks of sheep graze below plastic greenhouse tunnels in western Switzerland, near Yverdon. The main focus of the experiment was to study the effects of droughts on mountain pastures and their forage production. On Wednesday, September 12th, the organizers are holding an open day to present the campaign to members of agricultural institutions, researchers and the public."

Chinese hackers temporarily brought down the world's fastest-growing social action platform after more than 90,000 people in 175 countries endorsed an online call for the release of internationally acclaimed Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. Weiwei, best known for his role in the construction of the Beijing Olympic stadium and his recent Sunflower Seeds exhibition at the Tate Modern, has become an increasingly outspoken critic of the Chinese government in recent years, in particular over the handling of the 2008 earthquake in the country's Sichuan province.