The Medicines Are Fake, the Illnesses Real

Reports of fraudulent medicines in the south-west Pacific island states of Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea have drawn attention to the need for more public awareness of the lethal trade and its tragic consequences.

More Egyptian Unrest Rises in Social Media

Gory social media images that fueled the global Jihadist influx into Syria 18 months ago are back. But this time the outpouring is coming from Egypt.

Weakening Al-Shabaab Finds New Aggression

Strong action now expected against the al-Shabaab group may well end up strengthening the group rather than weakening it, local people fear. The extremist group is suspected of involvement in the attack on the Westgate mall in Nairobi.

Climate Change Report “Gives No Reason for Optimism”

Amidst rumours that global warming has slowed over the past 15 years, the new report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that each of the last three decades has been warmer than any preceding decade since 1850.

Victims Memorial in Spain Awaits Names of the Dead

A pyramid is being built in the old San Rafael cemetery in the southern Spanish city of Málaga - a monument to thousands of people shot by firing squads here during the 1936-1939 Spanish Civil War and the 1939-1975 dictatorship of General Francisco Franco.

CO2 Reshaping the Planet, Meta-Analysis Confirms

Greenland will eventually truly become green as most of its massive ice sheet is destined to melt, the authoritative U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported Friday.

Alliance of Civilizations Seeks Global Harmony for Development & Prosperity

Speaking at the annual UNAOC ministerial meeting on “Global Harmony for Development and Prosperity”,  Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, the U.N.  High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations said  that without global harmony, as enunciated in the U.N. charter, “the development and prosperity that our nations deserve will be difficult to achieve. “

Latin America Stirs the Marijuana Pot

In Latin America, where marijuana is the most widely consumed illegal drug, there is basically no home-grown research into its effects and properties. But possible legalisation in Uruguay and the Mexican capital could open the door to new studies.

Latin America Stirs the Marijuana Pot

In Latin America, where marijuana is the most widely consumed illegal drug, there is basically no home-grown research into its effects and properties. But possible legalisation in Uruguay and the Mexican capital could open the door to new studies.

Pakistani Gays Stifled in Closet Living

It took fifty-something Sameer*, father of two, 25 years of marriage and deceit to eventually break free and come out of the closet three years back.

OP-ED: The U.S.-Iran Wrestling Match

From Tehran’s perspective, the current negotiations between Iran and the United States may be best described as a wrestling match.

U.S. Projects 17-Percent Emissions Cut by 2020

The United States has formally told the United Nations that it is on track to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 17-percent by the end of the decade, assuming that currently proposed regulations are implemented.

Sudan’s “Wanted” President Skips U.N. General Assembly

Sudan's beleaguered president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who threatened to visit the United Nations despite an arrest warrant for war crimes, has backed out at the 59th minute of the eleventh hour.

Haitian Government Applies Make-up to Misery

Pink, green, blue, red. From a distance, the thousands of brightly coloured houses look like a painting. The observer can’t see the suffering and dangers threatening the residents of the Jalousie neighbourhood – problems that are being ignored by the government, which is spending six million dollars on a massive make-up job.

Bloody Days in Sudan

Activists claim that more than one hundred people have been killed and thousands injured during demonstrations in Sudan following the removal of fuel subsidies.

Rising Temperatures Hurt Pollination – and Food Production

A rise in temperature modifies the physiological features of some plants – a consequence of climate change that is less perceptible than stronger and more frequent hurricanes, but just as harmful to food production.

Survivors Question U.N. Focus on Legalising Sex Work

The age-old debate over how to regulate sex work has led to a rift between the United Nations and anti-trafficking organisations, which are pressuring the world body to rethink its position following two reports that advocate decriminalising all aspects of prostitution.

MDG Fund, Boosted by Spain, Benefits Nine Million People Worldwide, Says UNDP

At a U.N. ceremony  Wednesday, the Millennium Development Goals Achievement Fund (MDG-F) presented the results of its work, which it claims has directly benefitted nine million people around the world. Created from a US$ 900 million donation from Spain in 2007, the MDG-F administers development programmes in over 50 countries through the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) and its worldwide network of agencies.

Minorities & Indigenous Peoples Suffer More ill-Health & Poorer Quality of Care

Minorities and indigenous peoples suffer more ill-health and receive poorer quality of care, says a new report from an international rights organisation.

Baka Pygmies Drink Up Their Voting Rights

When Daniel Mgwape, a Baka man in Mindourou of the East Region of Cameroon, felt like drinking local liquor commonly called ‘kitoko’, he simply took his biometric voter ID card to the village bar tender.

Sunshine Gets Slowly More Energetic in Zimbabwe

On top of a small wooden cabin in Norton, a dormitory town outside the capital of Zimbabwe, is a solar panel that Silvester Ngunzi uses to light up his household.