What the experts had to say on energy consumption at the <i>Mail & Guardian</i>’s Critical Thinking Forum
Zimbabwe’s crackdown on political dissent may need to be discussed by the United Nations Security Council, a prominent Southern African human rights activist declared this week. Opponents of President Robert Mugabe have reported large-scale harassment and intimidation in the tense period leading to elections due later this month.
European Union officials have signalled that they will ban subsidies for biofuels in cases where their production causes serious environmental damage. Staff at the union’s executive arm, the European Commission, have now recognised that the production of biofuels can be ecologically destructive.
The European Union is failing to prioritise health and education in its plans for spending aid in poor countries, according to a new study, which also found that the EU appears to be using development aid to promote Western political and commercial interests, rather than to alleviate hardship.