United Nations agencies and the World Bank pledged on Tuesday to set up a task force to tackle an unprecedented rise in global food prices that is threatening to spread social unrest. The international bodies called on countries not to restrict exports of food to secure supplies at home.
United Nations agencies and the World Bank pledged urgent action on Tuesday to tackle an unprecedented rise in global food prices that is hurting developing countries. The international bodies called on countries not to restrict exports of food to secure supplies at home, warning that could only make the problem worse.
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/ 16 November 2007
A new World Trade Organisation (WTO) accord could improve access to clean-energy tools in poorer countries, but any deal making it easier to ship cargo internationally would also carry a heavy carbon footprint. Environmental economists are uncertain about the relative merits of the WTO’s Doha round.
Global warming will produce stay-at-home tourists over the next few decades, radically altering travel patterns and threatening jobs and businesses in tourism-dependent countries, according to a stark assessment by United Nations experts. They said concerns about weather extremes and calls to reduce emissions-heavy air travel would make long-haul flights less attractive.
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/ 3 September 2007
There has been a ”marked reduction” in human rights violations, road ambushes and illegal firearms in Uganda’s north-east over the past six months, the United Nations said on Monday. In a report, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said the Ugandan national army had made important advances between April and August.
Sudan should grant refugee status to tens of thousands of mostly Arab Chadians who have fled into Darfur to escape violence in their country, the United Nations refugee agency said on Tuesday. But the UN urged Sudan to clarify land issues so Chadians do not settle on property abandoned by Darfuris who have themselves fled conflict for shelter in refugee camps.
Steel and coal from the Titanic have been transformed into a new line of luxury wristwatches that claim to capture the essence of the legendary ocean liner which sank in 1912. Watchmaker Romain Jerome SA billed its Titanic-DNA collection as among the most exclusive pieces showcased this week at the Baselworld trade fair.
A new -million prize for good leadership could spur African heads of state to govern better, said former United Nations chief Kofi Annan, who will head the committee making the award. The Mo Ibrahim Prize would make African rulers more conscious of their records on human rights and democracy, said Annan.
European Union states called on Wednesday for closer international surveillance of human rights in Darfur after a United Nations-commissioned report largely blamed the Sudanese government for continuing war crimes there. In a proposal to the UN Human Rights Council, they said a team of experts should be formed to keep pressure on Khartoum.
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/ 25 January 2007
Developing countries stand to suffer the worst effects of global warming, and should not have to pay for a problem created mainly by the rich, executives and experts said on Thursday. At a gathering of 2 400 of the world’s most powerful people at Davos, leaders from emerging nations said they wanted the United States, European Union and others in the West to be more accountable.