HOPE IN DURBAN FOR A CLIMATE-SAVING DEAL

Next year will be another big year for civil society, a year which will see every effort focused on achieving climate justice: getting a good deal for the climate out of the United Nations World Conference on Climate Change in Durban, but also making sure that governments and corporations take action outside of the so-called political process.

SOUTH-SOUTH CO-OPERATION MUST BE ROOTED IN POLICY DIALOGUE

At the dawn of the Millennium, the world of the South was unimaginably different from what we see today.

MIDEAST: Israel Now Builds Separation Wall With Africa

After the separation barrier against Palestinian territories, Israel has begun to build a new wall, this one to keep migrants from Africa out. The new wall is coming up on the Egyptian border, and with Egyptian support.

BIODIVERSITY: Dying Beneath the Calm Waters

At first glance, Lake Constance, trapped between Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, looks as peaceful as ever. But under the lake's apparently placid waters, a dramatic change is taking place - one that threatens to obliterate much of local biodiversity.

Death Penalty Alive and Well in the Gambia

The appeal by the Gambia's former Chief of Defence against his death sentence for treason is being heard during December. An amendment to the country's drugs and human trafficking laws could mean many more capital cases come before the courts.

ENERGY: Cleaner Coal Technology Heats Up in Pakistan

As a dutiful new bride, Rubina Ikram moved into her in-laws’ home lugging a huge dowry that consisted not only of clothes, furniture and linen, but also a wide array of electric appliances – from a DVD player to a washing machine.

CAMBODIA: EU, India Trade Deal Could Hurt Access to Anti-Retrovirals

Every day, twice a day for the last seven years, Men Thol has swallowed a set of pills that gives him the strength to lead a normal life.

West Continues to Dodge Migrants’ Rights Treaty

Against the backdrop of rising xenophobia and growing anti- immigrant trends in Western Europe, the United Nations will commemorate International Migrants Day next week calling on member states to ratify the 1990 international convention aimed at protecting the rights of migrants worldwide.

LATIN AMERICA: Rural Women, Success Stories and Exploitation

The traditional image of rural women in Latin America is shifting, from one of subsistence farmers raising their families to that of women playing a growing role in small- and large-scale commercial and productive activities. But behind that change lie both success stories and exploitation.

IRAN: Minister’s Sacking Shores Up Ahmadinejad’s Power Base

While Iran gears up for a second round of nuclear talks with Western countries next month, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's abrupt dismissal of his foreign minister on Monday indicates a new power struggle with moderate conservatives that could alter the tone and face of Iran's foreign policy machinery in the years to come.

NGOs Want Reforms Tied to New World Bank Funding

With the World Bank expected to announce a new funding package for the world's poorest countries Wednesday, NGOs are making a last-minute appeal to donor countries to use their leverage to compel reforms at the institution.

GUATEMALA: Allegations Taint Anti-Corruption Commission’s Efforts

With accusations now being levelled against the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), the effort to clean up corruption in this Central American nation has become a legal knot that will be difficult to untangle.

VENEZUELA: More Protests – and More Crackdowns

Rubén González, a 51-year-old welder who is the secretary general of the Sintraferrominera ironworkers union, has spent over a year in prison in Venezuela for leading a strike by hundreds of workers outside the San Isidro mine in Ciudad Piar, 550 kilometres southeast of the capital.

U.S.: And Justice for Few

Poor defendants on death row, immigrants in unfair deportation proceedings, torture victims, domestic violence survivors and victims of racial discrimination - all these groups are consistently being denied access to justice while those responsible for the abuses are protected, according to a new report by the American Civil Liberties Union.

Africa’s Future Lies in a Green Energy Grid

Development in Africa could falter as climate change grips the continent, increasing the length and severity of droughts and floods by altering precipitation patterns, among other impacts.

RIGHTS-COLOMBIA: Putting a Face to the Numbers

"First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a communist; Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a socialist...." The celebrated quote by German anti-Nazi Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller remains frighteningly relevant today in some parts of the world, like Colombia.

TRADE: Time for Fairer Trade, Indonesia Tells EU

Business people and officials are demanding more fair trade from the European Union, arguing that its policies, including those that come in the guise of climate change concerns, make it difficult for the country’s products to compete in EU market.

Drought Hits Middle East Farmers, Again

Anxious farmers gather in their field on a warm, clear day in Syria’s arid northern region of Al-Raqqa, near the banks of the Euphrates River. The ground in this corner of the ‘fertile crescent’ is barren, save for a small herd of sheep on the ten-hectare farm.

ENVIRONMENT-INDIA: Waste-to-Energy Plants Face Public Heat

A plan to establish waste-to-energy plants in New Delhi as part of a carbon- trading programme has run into fierce opposition over hazards posed by toxic chemical byproducts.

HIVSA, a South African NGO helping people with Aids in Soweto, says more counselling is needed for people infected with HIV

HIVSA, a South African NGO helping people with Aids in Soweto, says more counselling is needed for people infected with HIV

African ministers have proposed that a committee be set up to oversee an adaptation fund after many countries reported no benefits from the Copenhagen pledges.

African ministers have proposed that a committee be set up to oversee an adaptation fund after many countries reported no benefits from the Copenhagen pledges.