Global Us: What connects us all

Parveen Bibi was one of the first women to drive a rickshaw in Lahore. Many men react with hostility, but she says it's her business how she supports her family.

The sight of Parveen Bibi behind the wheel surprises most men. Many are downright hostile. Pakistan is a patriarchal society and a lot of males think a woman's place is in the home. But traditional women's work is very poorly paid. And Bibi has had to support her daughter and her daughter's three daughters since her husband's death. We profile a courageous lady.

NAFTA, ASEAN, MERCOSUR and GAFTA - more than 3,200 multinational or binational agreements exist today. DW asks whether free trade agreements really create jobs - or are corporations the winners?

Duque de Caxias is sandwiched between the mountains and the sea and is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Now the city wants to take action to stop flooding and landslides.

Duque de Caxias is less than 20 km as the crow flies from the heart of Rio de Janeiro. Although industry and urbanization have left their mark, the city is surrounded by enormous natural resources, such as mangrove forests and rainforest. Now the city's planning department is radically rethinking policies to better take nature into account in future development. By protecting the rainforest and the mangroves outside the city, people can also protect the city's inhabitants.

Duque de Caxias is sandwiched between the mountains and the sea and is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Now the city wants to take action to stop flooding and landslides.

Parveen Bibi was one of the first women to drive a rickshaw in Lahore. Many men react with hostility, but she says it's her business how she supports her family.

Ati En lives in Lonton in the north of Myanmar. He likes playing football, watching matches on TV and listening to hip-hop. He's concerned about climate change and the volume of plastic waste in the world.

Turtle eggs were long considered a delicacy on India's western coast. But since the beginning of this century, there's been a big turnaround. The olive ridley sea turtle has now been listed as an endangered species and locals in the village of Velas are working to protect it. Thanks to an NGO, residents now collect and preserve the eggs, rather than eating them.

The beaches are also being cleared of plastic waste. These days, they've become a major tourist attraction, with visitors coming to watch the turtle eggs hatch. The animals are now held in high esteem. Since the village doesn't have a history of tourism, locals have offered up their homes to tourists. The program is supported by the International Climate Initiative.

Arnold Eduard Morales-Rocelio comes from Tiquipaya in Bolivia. The city has a population of around 50,000. He's happiest when he's with his family.

Abdelaziz Alhamza leads a group called ‘Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently.’ It’s an underground organization that smuggles images and videos of IS out of the Syrian city of Raqqa and publishes them abroad. The idea is to document the horrors of life under the rule of the terrorist group.

Members of the group risk their lives to do this work. Some still live in Raqqa, while others have moved to Turkey or Germany. Five years ago, Abdalaziz Alhamza was living the life of a typical student. But the Arab Spring changed everything. Syrians who protested against Bashar al-Assad were imprisoned and tortured. Those horrors were followed by the arrival of Islamic State in Raqqa. Throughout that time, Abdalaziz Alhamza documented what was happening in the city. The 24-year-old became a resistance fighter. But the threat of retaliation from the militant group forced him to leave his home and seek refuge in Berlin. From here, he and others publish material that’s been smuggled out of Syria. Abdalaziz Alhamza is the only public face of the group - that way, only he could become an IS target.

Lagos is home to more than 20 million people. But the city is battling with the threat of rising sea levels. Eko Atlantic is an ambitious project which aims to address the problem. It's a planned city which is to be located on land reclaimed from the sea. But critics say this won't solve the city's environmental problems.

The plan is for this district to house more than 250,000 people and for a further 150,000 to commute here for work. The project is worth billions and is being financed by private investors. The power and water supply will also remain in private hands. It will be an area for the super-rich in what is already one of Nigeria's most expensive cities. It's in stark contrast to the many problems elsewhere in Nigeria, where overcrowding and lack of housing has forced people to build their homes on water.