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Sales of ethical goods and services have increased despite the recession, growing to more than £47bn last year. Since the onset of the economic downturn five years ago, the value of ethical markets from Fairtrade products and green energy to free-range and sustainable food has grown from £35.5bn to £47.2bn, according to a report produced by the Co-operative Bank.

"Syria has disappeared from the internet. That's not an exaggeration either, nearly the entire Middle Eastern country has been cut off from the web. A post from research company Renesys reveals that what effectively amounts to all of Syria's internet connectivity shut down earlier today: Starting at 10:26 UTC (12:26pm in Damascus), Syria's international Internet connectivity shut down. In the global routing table, all 84 of Syria's IP address blocks have become unreachable, effectively removing the country from the Internet. We are investigating the dynamics of the outage and will post updates as they become available. A more detailed post reveals that 77 networks, representing 92% of the routed networks in the country experienced an outage. The outage comes among increasing violence in the country. According to the Daily Star, the government cut off internet as well as cell phone activity amid increasingly fierce clashes between government troops and rebels."

"Survey suggests effective management means levels are increasing - but stocks won't be sustainable for at least a year"

Look out for change in price of Bacon as feedstuffs increase.

"Zambia has one of the highest deforestation rates in the world, with many citizens relying on wood for fuel and timber. A pioneering reforestation scheme aims to increase awareness and halt the trend"

"The west has in recent years undergone a prolonged and painful financial crisis. In contrast, much of Africa has experienced relatively more rapid economic growth. While there are questions about the environmental impact, sustainability and quality of Africa's growth, what accounts for these different economic trajectories? Part of the explanation lies in the growth of the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) economies. These are largely responsible for higher African economic growth through increased demand for primary commodities and investment in mining, infrastructure and other sectors. They are also changing the nature of globalisation."

"The Chinese authorities have set up 25 "baby hatches" across the country to allow parents to safely abandon their unwanted infants. They plan to establish many more over the coming months, despite criticism that they could encourage people to give up their babies. The hatches, which consist of an incubator and a delayed alarm, increase the chances of a baby surviving. Most of those abandoned have disabilities or serious illnesses."

"Throughout the 20th century, and continuing into the 21st century, governments have tried to develop the world's poor countries. Development efforts have sought to increase national income, lift poor people out of poverty and improve their quality of living. However, people have had different ideas about how to best develop poor countries.  This resource considers six of those approaches."

"Glaciers on or around Everest have shrunk 13% in 50 years with the snow line 180 metres higher than it was 50 years ago"

Guardian's population history checker