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EDITORIAL: Rendezvous with Planet Earth
2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity. And we all have a rendezvous with Planet Earth this year. In order that as many of us as possible feel encouraged to make it to the venue at the right point in time, the United Nations has launched some of the most innovative initiatives.
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COLUMN: How to Correct Global Imbalances
One of the side-effects of the global crisis has been a temporary narrowing of current account imbalances among the world's major countries and economic areas. This is good news, but will it last? Policy actions may be needed.
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CONSIDER THIS: BP Disaster Could Destroy a Way of Life
Viceroys, lesser officials, military commanders, and commercial barons of the empire on which it was believed the sun could never set would have envied the speed with which their distant descendants at British Petroleum (BP) have made their mark internationally, with maximum visibility and public attention.
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PLANET EARTH: Getting the Oceans on Radar Screens
But for the World Oceans Day, that "continuous body of water" covering about 71 percent of the Earth's surface will be hardly on anyone's radar screen. In fact, the United Nations too started focussing worldwide attention on the oceans only in 2009 by marking June 8 as the World Oceans Day.
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PLANET EARTH: The Water Winners and Allies
The critical importance of water for human development and international peace has been underlined by the announcement of two prestigious awards and launch of a 'coalition' to coincide with the climate change talks under way in Bonn, Germany.
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PLANET EARTH: Worth Multiple Trillions
What the 'Mother Earth' is worth to its inhabitants is no longer a mystery. 'The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB)', hosted by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), and a myriad of other recent reports and initiatives are providing a glimpse of the value of the Earth's natural assets and their role in development.
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DEVELOPMENT: Wisdoms and Platitudes
The United Nations Development Programme has found the Stone of the Wise Ones to achieve in the next five years deep and far-reaching goals that range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education.
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DEVELOPMENT: G8 and Africa Have Promises to Keep
The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's appeal to developed countries to make good on promises made repeatedly at summit meetings of the G8 and G20 and at the United Nations to double aid to Africa, comes at a right point in time and sets the record straight about an under-reported and much-maligned continent.
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DEVELOPMENT: Name Aid Offenders but Do Not Blame Them
The 27-nation European Union and its member states contribute a lion's share of official development assistance (ODA) the rich nations give to the poor. For such programmes between 2007 and 2013, it has allocated 51 billion Euros. But a new report says that a bulk of the money is not being spent on achieving the goals the international community has set itself.
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OUTLOOK: Do more for Development Goals
The 27-nation European Union and its member states contribute a lion's share of official development assistance (ODA) the rich nations give to the poor. For such programmes between 2007 and 2013, it has allocated 51 billion Euros. But a new report says that a bulk of the money is not being spent on achieving the goals the international community has set itself.
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OUTLOOK: The Farce Called 'Responsible' Soy
Civil society organizations are calling for phasing out industrial plantations of soy and instead promoting agro-ecological farming systems of local crops.
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OUTLOOK: Asian Leaders Look Beyond Today
Asian leaders are calling for a greater role in global governance in which clean and inclusive growth must play a vital role.
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OUTLOOK: Vietnam Expects Boost in Agriculture and More
A public-private task force is being launched by the Government of Vietnam jointly with twelve global companies to advance sustainable agricultural growth.
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MEDIA: From Zero to Plurality in Afghanistan
Nine years ago, we did not have mass media in Afghanistan. The Taliban punished even Television sets by hanging them in public. In fact the terms 'free press' and 'freedom of speech' were omitted from the life of the people of Afghanistan for three decades.
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MEDIA: Community Radio Coming Out Of the Shadows in Asia
In the 1990s, pressured by the globalization push from the West, there was a great wave of media liberalization across Asia. Many governments reluctantly gave up control of the airwaves, first allowing private FM radio and later private television channels as well.
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THE SUMMITRY MUSINGS: How to Spend a Billion in 3 Days
The June-end Summitry in Toronto promises to go down in history as a memorable piece in the legendary 'how to . . . ' series. Not only be-cause of the horrendous amount of money spent on security. But also what it means when compared to billions spent -- or not spent – for things more sustainable.
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MIDDLE EAST: Israel Banditry Refocuses Need to End Gaza Blockade
The best that can be hoped for in response to Israel's recent act of "banditry and piracy" is that it will stiffen the resolve of the international community to secure the end of Israel's barbaric blockade of Gaza.
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STRAY THOUGHTS: Something Systemic about the Oil Spill
If the world needed a symbol of the dimensions of the environmental catastrophe the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico embodies, then it was this: Dozens of pelicans, the archetypical bird of the area, oil-soaked, condemned to dying before our eyes. Before us, helpless spectators, horrified by British Petroleums deeds.
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MIDDLE EAST: Pressure Israel – Church Agencies Tell EU
Faith-based development agencies CIDSE and APRODEV are calling on the 27-nation European Union to pressure Israel for an immediate, sustained and unconditional opening of crossings to allow access to humanitarian aid, commercial goods and persons.
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