HUMAN RIGHTS: More Than 100 Million Homeless Worldwide

Homelessness is a growing problem around the globe, affecting both the industrialised and developing worlds, Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing Miloon Kothari told the 61st session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, currently underway.

HUMAN RIGHTS: The Unwelcome Visitor

Governments do not usually welcome visits from United Nations special rapporteurs on human rights. But what they really fear is a call from the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Juan Méndez.

COMMUNICATIONS: A Small Step Towards the Information Society

The only visible progress made at the recent preparatory meeting for the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) was the adoption of a financing mechanism created a year ago by city governments of Europe and Africa.

HEALTH: Tobacco Treaty – a Groundbreaking Global Victory

The first global public health treaty ever adopted - the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) - will enter into force this Sunday, after being ratified by 57 countries.

HEALTH: Tobacco Treaty – a Groundbreaking Global Victory

The first global public health treaty ever adopted - the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) - will enter into force this Sunday, after being ratified by 57 countries.

HEALTH: AIDS Vaccine Elusive – Even for Patents

An AIDS vaccine will not be achieved until perhaps 10 years from now, but when that does happen, it will likely be made widely available around the world, without facing hurdles from the question of patent rights, according to WHO officials.

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM: Starring Role for the Doha Round

The World Economic Forum's 2005 meeting will be remembered more for having served as the scenario for the reinvigoration of the Doha Round of trade talks than for the statesmen and celebrities who visited this Swiss mountain resort this week.

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM: Unique Awards Highlight Corporate Irresponsibility

As the world's business and political elite continue their annual meeting in this Swiss alpine resort, civil society representatives have singled out four transnationals as the most socially irresponsible on the planet, and presented them with the Public Eye on Davos Award.

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM: A Siren Song for Doha Negotiators

The multilateral trading system has now entered the final stage on the road to the 6th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), set to take place in December in Hong Kong, yet its path seems strewn with distractions, drawing attention away from the main objective: a Doha Round agreement.

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM: Corporations in Search of Paradise – Fiscal, That Is

All of the rhetoric about corporations' social responsibility, promoted in the international arena and adopted by the World Economic Forum (WEF), suffers from a structural flaw because it pays little attention to corporate tax evasion, say activists.

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM: Emerging Economies Most Dynamic, Experts Say

The favourable economic results recently reported in Latin America reflect a dynamism that is currently absent in the world's traditional economic powers, according to the experts gathered for the World Economic Forum (WEF), currently underway in the Swiss alpine resort town of Davos.

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM: Time to Tackle Tough Choices

The international business and political leaders who will gather this week in Switzerland for the World Economic Forum (WEF) will be called upon to "take responsibility for tough choices," said the event's founder and executive chairman, Klaus Schwab.

UNITED NATIONS: Generosity Should Extend to All of the World’s Victims

This is an ideal moment to appeal to the generosity of the international community, said United Nations emergency relief coordinator Jan Egeland, as he launched an appeal for 1.7 billion dollars to help meet the needs of 26 million people around the world.

ASIA: Tsunamis Leave Painful Lessons on Preparedness

The tsunamis that claimed tens of thousands of lives in eight countries on the Indian Ocean Sunday left behind a crucial lesson on the need for an early warning system to reduce the risks and vulnerability of local populations in that region.

ASIA: Tsunamis Leave Painful Lessons on Preparedness

The tsunamis that claimed at least 23,000 lives in eight countries on the Indian Ocean Sunday left behind a crucial lesson on the need for an early warning system to reduce the risks and vulnerability of local populations in that region, said United Nations experts.

ASIA: Tsunamis Leave Painful Lessons on Preparedness

The tsunamis that claimed at least 23,000 lives in eight countries on the Indian Ocean Sunday left behind a crucial lesson on the need for an early warning system to reduce the risks and vulnerability of local populations in that region, said United Nations experts.

LABOUR: Half of World’s Workers Live in Poverty, Says ILO

That there were 185.9 million unemployed people around the world in 2003 is discouraging enough, but the fact that three times that many people were working and yet making less than one dollar a day is even more troubling.

DISARMAMENT: Biology, a Science of Life – and Death

Canada has had difficult experiences with disease in the past few years, like outbreaks of "mad cow disease" (BSE) and avian flu, that affected agriculture, or exposure to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which raised awareness regarding the dangers of "human pathogens".

TRADE: US to Face Severe WTO Sanctions

The WTO authorised trade sanctions Friday that could cost the United States 150 million dollars a year for failing to conform with the rules of the 147-member multilateral trade body.

IRAQ-BRITAIN: U.N. Committee Investigates Torture Allegations

The British government has submitted a report to the U.N. Committee Against Torture acknowledging 17 possible cases of torture committed by its troops in Iraq, a source close to the committee told IPS.

HEALTH: WHO Wants Research Put to Work for People

Some medical researchers are primarily interested in the three P's of publication, patents and professorships, while others focus on policies, practice and people. Unfortunately, the former vastly outnumber the latter in the scientific world today.