China's quest for natural resources has been the defining narrative of its development programme across Africa. But is that a true reflection of the country's intentions? Find out how Beijing has spent billions of dollars on development in our interactive, which uses research by AidData in the US.
Projects funded by the Chinese include gyms and stadiums in Ghana, a hospital in Zambia and an opera house in Algeria. We also look at a Chinese footwear manufacturer's plans to create a global hub for the shoe industry in Ethiopia, and discuss reaction in China to the government's huge investments in Africa. Browse it all on our series page.
We also explored China's involvement in Ghanaian mining in our film The Price of Gold. Afua Hirsch reports on the Chinese migrants who are working in the west African country's illegal small-scale goldmines.
Elsewhere on the site
Mark Tran reports that the number of internally displaced people has reached record highs. According to figures released by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, Colombia hosts the largest number of people displaced because of violence and conflict.
The new head of the World Trade Organisation will hail from the global south. Paige McClanahan has the latest following the penultimate round of candidate eliminations.
And we report on research that the value of overseas development assistance is overstated by billions of dollars because interest repayments are not taken into account.
Modern-day slavery in focus
In our new series, funded by Humanity United, our podcast looks at the problem of forced labour. Plus Gulnara Shahinian, the UN special rapporteur on slavery, says the crimes must be recognised and tackled.
Guardian's international development journalism competition
There is still time to enter to win a trip overseas to report on a story. To enter, pick one of the 12 themes listed on the competition website and write a feature between 650 and 1,000 words. The deadline is 12 May.
Multimedia
Democratic Republic of the Congo: the Last Stand (video)
For the past five years, photojournalist Susan Schulman has been following the plight of the village of Kimua in Congo. Plagued by an armed militia and driven from their homes, locals have decided to fight back. But their resistance has come at a terrible price.
Mine clearance in South Sudan (in pictures)
Decades of conflict have left behind a landscape littered with mines and other unexploded devices. The Mines Advisory Group and the UK's Department for International Development are working to clear explosives.
Coming up
The European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development is looking at the place of family planning in development. We'll report from the conference in London next week.
Rachel Williams travels to Dang to look at Nepal's struggle to contain human trafficking.
And as another conference on Somalia is held in London, we'll report on the new government's attempts at rebuilding the country.
Awards
The Global development site has been shortlisted in this year's Global Editors Network data journalism awards. The nominations are our interactives on US food aid, migrant money and whether the world is getting better or worse, which related to the Rio+20 summit. Vote for your favourite here.
What you said: some of the best reader comments
We received some great recommendations for our new world library series.
On Nigeria, AggieH mentioned books including Ike Oguine's A Squatter's Tale, which was described as:
A good story, nicely populated by imperfect and unreliable characters. It addresses universal themes – personal uncertainty, individual ambition, immigration & emigration.
mayasethi said:
Half of a Yellow Sun was such a gripping and compelling book. [Chimamanda Ngozi] Adichie has got to be one of my favourite authors, her style of writing is gripping and she paints such a vivid picture of Nigeria.
On Colombia, Arven19 said:
I really enjoyed The Informers, The Secret History of Costaguana and The Sound of Things Falling by Juan Gabriel Vásquez. There's also The Armies by Evelio Rosero, which I think won a translation prize, and his most recent book Good Offices. I've also heard that the biography Oblivion by Hector Abad Faciolince is meant to be really good!
On a blog by Kaifala Marah, Sierra Leone's minister of finance and economic development, arguing that it is time Africa confronted conflict, chipmorgan wrote:
It may be Africa's least endearing trait to most of us – but it is of massive benefit to the arms industries of the UK, USA, Russia, France, Italy and China. All of these countries support development initiatives in Africa on one hand and sell weapons through arms dealers to undermine that development on the other.
Highlights from the blogosphere
On Think Africa Press, Mothusi Turner looks at the success of Chinese traders in Lesotho.
Isis Gaddis asks whether Tanzania can achieve its green revolution, on the World Bank's Africa Can … End Poverty blog.
And Oxfam's Duncan Green is going head-to-head with Claire Melamed of the Overseas Development Institute to discuss the process for devising new targets for when the millennium development goals expire in 2015. Kicking off the debate, Green, who has reservations about the process, argues that politics and the impact of any outcomes on national government policy need to be included in talks. Melamed, who is heavily involved in the post-2015 discussions, is yet to respond.
And finally …
Poverty matters will return in two weeks with another roundup of the latest news and comment. In the meantime, keep up to date on the Global development website. Follow @gdndevelopment and the team – @MaeveShearlaw, @ClaireProvost, @LizFordGuardian and @MarkTran – on Twitter, and join Guardian Global development on Facebook.