U.N. Agencies Respond to Humanitarian Crisis in Philippines

The United Nations and its agencies, including the UN children’s agency UNICEF and the World Food Programme (WFP)  have marshalled their resources to help victims of the deadly typhoon in the Philippines that has killed more than  1,200.

Uganda Needs to Exploit its Own Mineral Riches

This year, as Uganda gears up to start producing the nearly two billion barrels in oil reserves that were discovered near its western border, critics say that little is being done to exploit the rich mineral resources located in some of the country’s poorest areas.

Early Childhood Development Handbook Launched

The U.N. children’s agency UNICEF, in coordination with the University of Northampton (UK), Thursday launched a ground-breaking new work, the Handbook Of Early Childhood Development Research And Its Impact On Global Policy.

Saudi Arabia Arrests Thousands of Illegal Migrant Workers

(Al Jazeera) - Saudi authorities rounded up more than 4,000 illegal foreign workers at the start of a nationwide crackdown ultimately aimed at creating more jobs for locals, media reported on Tuesday. Hundreds of thousands of workers have already left the kingdom following a grace period of seven months during which authorities told expatriates that if they did not fix their legal status they had to leave the country or face jail.

Insuring Cows and Goats Improves Kenyan Lives

“That is the sound I love the most in the whole world,” Hussein Ahmed says as the bells tied to his cattle begin clinking as they return home. Ahmed, a pastoralist in Marsabit district in arid and semi-arid northern Kenya, lost all his animals in 2011 during one of the worst droughts in the region for over 60 years.

Less Food for More Hungry

Deep cuts in food aid for poor people in the United States are poised to bring higher demands on charities and food pantries across the country that provide food to families in need – and which are already overstretched.

Africans Dominate NYC Marathon

The annual New York City marathon, which drew more than 50, 000 runners Sunday, was the largest ever in the history of the annual event since its inception in 1970.

Moscow Murder Investigation Stokes Anti-Russian Sentiment

(EurasiaNet) - Public anger is building in Azerbaijan over Russia’s rough treatment of an ethnic Azeri accused of murder. The incident likely will scuttle any chance, however remote, that Baku will join the Moscow-led Customs Union.

Gamani Corea, Former UNCTAD SG, Passes Away

Gamani Corea, 87, world-renowned Sri Lankan economist, Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (1974-1984), and former chairman of the Board of the South Centre, passed away after a brief illness in Colombo on Sunday, a day before his 88th birthday.

Abyei Pressures Two Sudans for Resolution

The non-binding referendum in Abyei – where people voted overwhelmingly to join South Sudan – and the ensuing celebration, has brought little immediate resolution to the long-festering Abyei problem.

A ‘Green Intifadah’ Takes Root

“O green Battir, mother of the air,” Mariam Ma’mmar sings in praise of her village. As the hot season draws to a close, the land – her people’s strength – dries up. Not here in her Battir, where a peaceful form of resistance against the Israeli occupation is taking root.

Sahel New Target for Joint World Bank -U.N. Mission

Announcing a joint mission to the Sahel region, Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and President of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim addressed the press Friday on their new mission which would place peace and development at the forefront.

Sri Lanka Assumes Leadership of Colombo Process

The chairmanship of the Colombo Process, a regional consultative exercise focusing on the management of overseas employment and contractual labour in Asia, was transferred from Bangladesh to Sri Lanka during a meeting held at the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka in Geneva last week.

Bodies of Migrants Found in Niger Desert

The bodies of 87 migrants were found in Niger’s northern desert after they died of thirst just a few kilometres from the border of Algeria, their planned destination, security officials said.

Ivoirians Face an Incomplete Justice

“We are sad. We want our president back,” Yao Amandine told IPS from a street corner in the Ivorian economic metropolis, Abidjan, after the International Criminal Court ruled against granting former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo a conditional release on Tuesday.

Bangladesh Workers Short of Compensation

Six months after the worst man-made disaster in Bangladesh’s history, safety conditions in garment factories have a chance to improve. But not the lives of survivors or the victims’ next of kin.

Eye Disease Sweeps Pacific Islands

For generations, eye diseases have taken their toll on Pacific Island peoples. Now the first nationwide survey in the Solomon Islands of Trachoma, which can lead to irreversible blindness by early adulthood, is revealing the silent penetration of this disease in widely dispersed Melanesian rural island communities.

ICE Raids Leave Broken Homes in Their Wake

Saul Merlos is an undocumented migrant from El Salvador. About two years ago, he was living and working in the southern U.S. city of New Orleans. “One day, our employers told us we were going to get paid, but instead they sent immigration,” he told IPS. “I was a witness to the raid, where they got 55 of us.”

OP-ED: South-South Energy Initiative Led by Ghana

In Nairobi next week, the Global South South Development Expo 2013 will showcase how developing countries can share the know-how to develop “green” economies.

Ecuador-Colombia Settlement Won’t End Spraying

The secrecy surrounding a friendly settlement in a case that Ecuador brought against Colombia in the International Court of Justice for damage caused by anti-drug spraying along the border has further angered those affected by the fumigation.

Zimbabwe’s Battered Old Cars Worsening Air Pollution

It is a common sight in Zimbabwe’s rural areas – dilapidated old cars making their way from one district to the next overloaded with chickens, maize, luggage and people.