Driving Home the Link Between Gender and Climate Change

Tuesday was Gender Day at the COP19 climate summit in Warsaw, and many of the events that took place in the National Stadium focused on the topic of gender and its relation with climate change, and tried to shed a light on problems that require action from policy-makers.

Libya’s Fragile Peace Cracks

Car accident in Omar Mokhtar Avenue in downtown Tripoli. Nobody was injured but there’s a bumper hanging off the back of a car. In just a few seconds, a group gathers around.

Coal Tries to Clean Up Its Image

An International Coal and Climate summit organised by the Polish Ministry of Economy and the World Coal Association kicked off Monday in the Polish capital Warsaw in parallel to the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP19, amid outcry from environmentalists who accused COP host Poland of bias in favor of the coal industry.

Gamani Corea, Former UNCTAD Secretary General: an Appreciation

This afternoon, I have the sad honour of paying tribute to my distinguished predecessor, Deshamanya Gamani Corea, who died earlier this month. His passing is a great loss to us. He was a true warrior for the weak and disadvantaged, and the tribute we pay to him today only underscores the continuing importance of his life’s work, and the lamentable reality that much of what he fought for remains unfulfilled.

At Kyrgyzstan’s Kumtor Mine, “No Light at the End of the Tunnel”

(EurasiaNet) - The Kumtor gold mine is Kyrgyzstan’s lone economic gem. Yet, despite the mine’s vital importance to the Kyrgyz economy, officials appear to be mulling a doomsday option for the Canadian-run project. Officials in Bishkek and executives for Toronto-based Centerra Gold, the entity that owns Kumtor, have been struggling to work out a new operating arrangement.

It’s Rubbish to Waste Like This

Before one reaches the premises of the Società Recupero Imballaggi (SRI), the smell in the air announces that this company in the southern Italian region of Campania deals with waste.

Côte d’Ivoire Poised at a Development Crossroad

All over the Ivorian economic capital, Abidjan, large cranes, involved in the construction of new buildings and highways, are dotted across the city skyline.

Bank Crash Hits Women Harder

Women in Iceland have been more badly affected by the economic collapse in 2008 than their male counterparts, both in terms of physical and mental health, studies show.

OP-ED: Malawi’s Constitution Clear on Gay Rights but Politicians Aren’t

Are Malawians, apparently, overwhelmingly prejudiced against homosexuality? And what does it signal when politicians call for a referendum on the issue of homosexuality?

Bank Crash Hits Women Harder

Women in Iceland have been more badly affected by the economic collapse in 2008 than their male counterparts, both in terms of physical and mental health, studies show.

“World Toilet Day” No Joke for Billions Without Sanitation

The United Nations has a longstanding tradition of commemorating political milestones - like the abolition of the slave trade - or sustaining day-long vigils on controversial issues such as a ban on nuclear tests.

Treating the Injured Leaves its Wounds

Ajab Gul is haunted by bloody scenes. He hears women crying and children screaming. “I can’t sleep,” says the 25-year-old health worker at a well-known Pakistani hospital in the frontier city that tends to terror victims.

Obama Gets More Time for Iran Nuclear Deal

The administration of President Barack Obama appears to have succeeded in preventing Congress from enacting new sanctions against Iran before the next round of nuclear-related talks between the U.S. and other great powers and Tehran scheduled for Geneva Nov. 20.

Lavrov Reveals Amended Draft Circulated at “Last Moment”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov revealed a crucial detail Thursday about last week's nuclear talks with Iran in Geneva that explains much more clearly than previous reports why the meeting broke up without agreement.

Bachelet Poised for Easy Win in Fed-Up Chile

Voters fed up with the extremely unequal distribution of wealth and power in Chile are expected once again to elect a centre-left government Sunday.

Japan Bails Out on CO2 Emissions Target

Japan announced Friday that it will renege on its carbon emissions pledge, likely ending any hope global warming can be kept to 2.0 degrees C.

Indonesia’s Forest Communities Victims of ‘Legal Land Grabs’

Indonesia’s rainforests are facing “legal land grabs”, allege NGOs. Its ancient communities are finding that their ancestral lands are slipping into the hands of foreign companies for oil palm cultivation, as demand for the product grows in Europe, India and China.

Fishing Communities Will Face Warmer, Acid Oceans

Eating fish has been an integral part of the Caribbean's cultural traditions for centuries. Fish is also a major source of food and essential nutrients, especially in rural areas where there are scores of small coastal communities.

Brazil Headed Towards an Energy Revolution

Energy consumption and production are undergoing fundamental shifts but the world is still on course to a 3.6 degree C hotter climate according a report released during the U.N. climate talks in Warsaw.

Indonesia’s Forest Communities Victims of ‘Legal Land Grabs’

- Indonesia’s rainforests are facing “legal land grabs”, allege NGOs. Its ancient communities are finding that their ancestral lands are slipping into the hands of foreign companies for oil palm cultivation, as demand for the product grows in Europe, India and China.

UNFPA Calls for Development Goal on Youth

The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) is calling for a youth centered goal in the post-2015 economic agenda currently under discussion. Young people are a vital force that must be front and centre in global development efforts, said Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, UNFPA Executive Director.