Mayor Unveils Final Gun Control Report at Briefing

In what was described as his last anti-gun press conference, outgoing New York city Mayor Mike Bloomberg criticized the sale of guns without background checks.

Number 6

Politicians’ Delay Means Climate Catastrophe for Malawi’s Poor

Delays in finalising Malawi’s climate change policy, which has been in the making for the last three years, are affecting millions of families living in disaster-prone areas across this southern African nation, says the country’s minister of environment and climate change management Halima Daudi.

Developing Countries Still Waiting for a Global Response to Climate Change

As president of the Council of Ministers of the African, Caribbean and Pacific states, Samoa's Prime Minister Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Sailele Malielegaoi had the perfect forum to voice his concerns about the effects climate change has had on his island nation.

Changes Coming to South Africa’s Patent System

Paul Anley, chief executive officer of Pharma Dynamics, one of South Africa’s leading generic drug companies, wants to sell a cheaper version of popular birth control pill Yasmin. But he legally cannot because German multinational Bayer has patent protection on the drug in South Africa, even though its initial patent expired in 2010.

WHO Celebrates Major Progress in Fighting Malaria

Enhanced efforts to fight malaria have saved an estimated 3.3 million lives and nearly halved the disease's global mortality rate since 2000, according to the latest edition of the World Health Organisation's (WHO) annual "World Malaria Report", released Wednesday.

South Africa’s Arms Industry Most Advanced in Global South

When the white apartheid regime in South Africa kept the overwhelming majority of blacks under military repression, the country's security forces were armed with weapons originating mostly from a highly-developed domestic armaments industry.

In Minimum Wage Debate, A Battle Over Inequality and Job Loss

In the midst of a nationwide movement for policymakers to raise minimum wages for millions of workers in the United States, experts here continue to debate the advantages and drawbacks of raising the federal rate.

In Minimum Wage Debate, A Battle Over Inequality and Job Loss

In the midst of a nationwide movement for policymakers to raise minimum wages for millions of workers in the United States, experts here continue to debate the advantages and drawbacks of raising the federal rate.

Throwing the Tanzania-Zambia Railway a Lifeline

Some say it’s the journey, not the destination that matters. Hop aboard the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) line at Tanzania’s Dar es Salaam port and begin the 1,860-kilometre journey to Kapiri Mposhi, a small town in Zambia’s Central Province, and you may find yourself pondering this adage.

Cuba, What Are Your Plans for the New Year?

After three decades of supposedly planned socialism (1960-1990), when government plans were often only halfway fulfilled, lost in oblivion due to lack of oversight or of realism, or in the best of cases carried out any which way just to live up to the goals, Cubans got used to waiting (with or without hope) for the political leadership, financed with heavy Soviet subsidies, to come up with the next “plan”.

Throwing the Tanzania-Zambia Railway a Lifeline

Some say it's the journey, not the destination that matters. Hop aboard the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) line at Tanzania's Dar es Salaam port and begin the 1,860-kilometre journey to Kapiri Mposhi, a small town in Zambia's Central Province, and you may find yourself pondering this adage.

Golan Druze Feel the Brunt of Syria’s Civil War

The faint explosion is a reminder that though the newly refurbished fence protects their town, the two-and-a-half-year-old civil war which is tearing their motherland apart is never far off.

Number 5

Some Spanish Police Protect Immigrants

They are members of Spain’s Guardia Civil. But instead of pursuing undocumented immigrants like the rest of the police in Spain, they are there to defend them from the crimes to which they often fall victim.

U.N. Strives for “Zero Corruption”

With some 40 billion dollars lost every year to corruption in the developing world alone, the United Nations has repeatedly called on member states to practice transparency and good governance. 

Battling Extractive Industries in Romania

Authorities in Romania have been attempting to bulldoze through public opposition to push through controversial extractive projects such as gold mining at Rosia Montana and shale gas drilling at Pungesti.

“We in the Caribbean Are Living Climate Change”

The Mocho Mountains that run through the centre of Jamaica were once covered by lush tropical forests that helped control rainfall. Now, much of the forests and farmlands have been destroyed and the community is hard hit by the resultant extreme weather.

Zero Corruption Equals 100% Development

Progress in achieving some of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have been hitting road blocks due to corruption and lack of good governance in many countries, according to the United Nations.

Climate Change & Agriculture in East Africa

A new book, published by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and released by three research organizations, says population growth in East Africa is among the highest in the world and could worsen food insecurity, which is already severe.

Egypt’s religious minorities bear the brunt of renewed insecurity

In a new report released Tuesday, the London-based Minority Rights Group International (MRG) says Egypt’s January 25 Revolution was driven by a demand for greater liberty. But with the increase in insecurity and sectarian violence, the country’s religious minorities are bearing the brunt.