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News in RSS It was dubbed "The Glass House" by U.S. ambassador James Wadsworth in 1966. But how transparent are the workings of the United Nations today? From offices at Headquarters in New York, and around the globe, IPS's coverage goes beyond the edicts of the Security Council and its influential veto-wielding members to illuminate the power struggles, successes and shortcomings of the 192-member institution as it grapples with crises like climate change, conflict and poverty.

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Arabs & South Americans - Searching for Common Ground
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Ratko Mladic Goes on Trial for Genocide
By Correspondents*
DOHA, Qatar - The trial of General Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb army chief accused of orchestrating war crimes and a campaign of genocide, has begun at a special U.N. court at The Hague in the Netherlands.
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Rio+20
European Parliament Absent in Sustainability Summit
By Julio Godoy
BERLIN - The decision by the European Parliament (EP) to renounce its participation in the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development next month on the grounds that hotel costs are exorbitant has provoked sharp criticism from civil society organisations.
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Maternal Deaths Drop By Nearly Half
By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS - The statistics have remained staggering: every two minutes, a woman dies of pregnancy and child birth-related complications caused primarily by severe bleeding, infections, high blood pressure and unsafe abortions.
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"Small Five" Challenge "Big Five" Over Veto Powers
By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS - The 193-member General Assembly is expected to vote on a resolution - described as "historic" - requesting the five permanent members (P5) of the Security Council to consider "refraining from using their vetoes on action aimed at preventing or ending genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity".
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Brazilian Government Sets Guidelines for Success at Rio+20
By Fabiana Frayssinet
RIO DE JANEIRO - As the host of Rio+20, the Brazilian government has defined guidelines for achieving success at the upcoming world summit, whose aim is to assess and strengthen what has been done since the 1992 Earth Summit, the first global meeting on sustainable development.
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War Widows Turn to Sex Work in Sri Lanka
By Feizal Samath
COLOMBO - On May 18, some 800 women in Sri Lanka’s northern region will hold Hindu religious ceremonies for the welfare of thier husbands who disappeared or surrendered to the military as it moved in to mop up nearly three decades of armed Tamil separatism.
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U.N. Warns of Social Fall-Out from Spain's Austerity Plan
By Gustavo Capdevila
GENEVA - An expert body of the United Nations has warned the Spanish government that the severe budget cutbacks it is applying must not undermine its commitment to upholding the economic, social and cultural rights of the country's people.
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Q&A
Mother Earth Should Not Be "Owned, Privatised and Exploited"
Aline Jenckel interviews, TOM B.K. GOLDTOOTH, executive director of the Indigenous Environmental Network
UNITED NATIONS - For centuries, indigenous peoples and their rights, resources and lands have been exploited. Yet long overdue acknowledgment of past exploitation and dedicated efforts by indigenous peoples have done little to end or prevent violations of the present, stated indigenous leaders in the Manaus Declaration of 2011.
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Bomb Hits Syrian Truck Escorting U.N. Convoy
By Correspondents*
DOHA, Qatar - A roadside bomb struck a Syrian military truck near Deraa, wounding six soldiers just seconds after a convoy carrying the head of the U.N. observer mission passed by.
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Q&A
Protecting Oceans Equals Protecting Our Planet
IPS U.N. Bureau Chief Thalif Deen Interviews AMINA MOHAMED, deputy executive director of the U.N. Environment Programme
UNITED NATIONS - The U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP), whose mandate includes the preservation and protection of the world's fast-degrading oceans, will play a pivotal role in Expo 2012, an international exhibition to be formally opened later this week in the coastal town of Yeosu in South Korea.
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Islamists Stall Gender Equality Bill
By Kafil Yamin
JAKARTA - The fate of a gender equality bill pending in Indonesia’s parliament and aligned with the United Nations convention on the elimination of all forms discrimination against women (CEDAW) has become uncertain after falling afoul of powerful Islamist groups.
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Native Peoples Aim to End Historic and Current Injustices
By Haider Rizvi
UNITED NATIONS - Leaders of the world's 370 million indigenous people are urging governments not only to replace laws that violate the natives' rights to protect their lands, resources and culture but also to introduce legislation that protects their rights.
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Q&A
"Women's Leadership is Key to Ensuring Sustainable Development"
Fabíola Ortiz interviews REBECCA TAVARES, head of U.N. Women for Brazil and the Southern Cone
RIO DE JANEIRO - The vital role of women in creating a green economy will be highlighted at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, to be held in Brazil in June.
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COLOMBIA
Saving the River Basin, One Schoolchild at a Time
By Constanza Vieira
NEIVA, Colombia - "Out of love for the river, we reforest, recycle, and make this place beautiful," says a sign welcoming visitors to the Floragaita school, where a balsa (Ochroma pyramidale) tree with enormous white flowers guards the entrance to the lush green grounds on a hill in the heart of Colombia’s Andes mountains.
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U.N. Fails to Finalise Rio+20 Plan on Sustainable Future
By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS - After two weeks of closed door negotiations, a U.N. preparatory committee (PrepCom) has failed to reach consensus on a global plan of action, titled "The Future We Want," to be adopted by a summit meeting of world leaders mid-June in Brazil.
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Women 'Invisible' in Myanmar
By Roberto Tofani
YANGON - While Aung San Suu Kyi enjoys iconic status in Myanmar (also known as Burma), women remain invisible in this country steeped in Buddhist tradition and emerging from decades of military rule.
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South-South Solutions: Media Briefs
South-South Solutions: Media Briefs is a pilot project of Inter Press Service in partnership with the Special Unit for South-South Cooperation/UNDP to encourage and share independent reporting of innovative solutions to poverty challenges that have been developed by developing countries.
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News in RSS
Ratko Mladic Goes on Trial for Genocide
Rio+20: European Parliament Absent in Sustainability Summit
Q&A: The Future of Agriculture May Well Be in Cities
Maternal Deaths Drop By Nearly Half
COLOMBIA-U.S.: Trade Deal "Throws Country into Jaws of Multinationals," Critics Say
OP-ED: Arab Autocrats Aiding Resurgence of Terrorism
Colombian River Basin Passes the Test of El Niño and La Niña
Manila and Moscow Inch Closer to Labour Agreement
EU Feels Force of Israeli Demolitions
Public Funds Could Help Provide Water and Electricity, Researchers Say
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News in RSS
The real challenge for Rio+20
  By Don de Silva
Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink?
  By Mikhail Gorbachev
Victory of Hollande a Cause for Hope in Europe
  By Mario Soares
Improving Tense U.S.-Pakistan-Afghanistan Relations
  By Johan Galtung
"Crowdfunding" 2.0?
  By Hazel Henderson
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