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The world is tipping over into unknown territory. All the pundits are now starting to agree with US economist, Nouriel Roubini, famous for his prediction of the 2008 financial crash, that a second recession is inevitable. South Africa’s Reserve Bank governor Gill Marcus has also added her voice (…)

The world has experienced an explosion of openness. From individual artists opening their creations for input from others, to governments requiring publicly funded works be available to the public, both the spirit and practice of sharing is gaining momentum and producing results.
Creative (…)

“Yes we accepted to sell our land, but we had no choice...”, Community member, Bousra village
Economic land concessions (ELC) are long term leases granted over land for agro-industrial exploitation. Over the past years, ELCs have dramatically increased in Cambodia and are the subject of severe (…)

For some, food is a crisis of scarcity, but for many in U.S., it’s just the opposite. The book "American Wasteland" show us how much we squander and what we can do about it.
As a nation, we grow and raise more than 590 billion pounds of food each year. And depending on whom you ask, we (…)

The idea that Africa could benefit from a so-called “Green Revolution” of the kind that failed to deliver on its promises in the 1960s has made unfortunate headway since 2004 when Kofi Annan, then Secretary-General of the United Nations, declared himself in favour of a “uniquely African green (…)

A New York Times column from early July provided an unusual if cynical insight into the “a la carte” corporate lobby influence on American legislation. While the United States is among the world’s strongest proponents of ever-increasing intellectual property protections and their worldwide (…)

This report is the result of consultations and convenings involving representatives of business, government, UN agencies, civil society, academia and other experts organised by the Institute for Human Rights and Business…This report clarifies the relationships between business, human rights and (…)

In the Tana Delta’s unique wetlands, villagers fight for their plots of land as the government forces them out — to make way for water-thirsty sugar-cane and jatropha plantations.
Gamba Manyatta village is empty now, weeds already roping around the few skeletal hut frames still standing. The (…)

Corporate America & obesity: why Americans can’t Live on food stamps
America is gaining weight and the most vulnerable populations are those with low levels of education and income, as well as those with black or Hispanic heritage. The most obese state in the country, Mississippi, also (…)

What do you do if you want to build a pipeline to move 300 million barrels of oil but an "uncontacted" tribe is in the way? Employing consultants who claim they don’t exist certainly helps.
On July 22, Peru’s Energy Ministry gave the green light to Anglo-French company Perenco to build a (…)

WWF’s flagship scheme to promote sustainable timber – the Global Forest and Trade Network (GFTN) – is allowing companies to reap the benefits of association with WWF and its iconic panda brand, while they continue to destroy forests and trade in illegally sourced timber, a new briefing by Global (…)

Interviewed by Frank Barat, Coordinator of the Russel Tribunal on Palestine, Noam Chomsky answers a series of six questions regarding the major current international issues such as the role of intellectuals in challenging the established order, the Arab Revolutions or corporate power. He ends up (…)

In a campaign almost as frenzied as the effort to get Barack Obama into the White House, liberal groups are now mobilizing against the White House and reported deals that would cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits. They accuse President Obama of being weak and willing to “cave” (…)

What can a humble loaf of bread tell us about the world?
The answer is: far more than you might imagine. For one thing, that loaf can be “read” as if it were a core sample extracted from the heart of a grim global economy. Looked at another way, it reveals some of the crucial fault lines of (…)

As the U.S. suffers through catastrophic tornadoes, heat waves, and other climate extremes - no doubt just a small taste of what the climate crisis will bring in the future - polluting industries and the politicians that serve them want to convince you that excess carbon dioxide in the (…)

The European Patent Office awarded Syngenta a patent on melons „with a pleasant taste“, after an opposition filed by another seed company to revoke the patent had been rejected. According to a poll among Swiss consumers a majority of respondents reject such patents as well as the food products (…)

Worries about contagion; Brazil now a U.S. creditor
After three decades spent battling their own debt crises and getting constantly lectured about them by Uncle Sam, many Latin Americans are watching the countdown to a possible default in Washington with a mix of schadenfraude and fear of what (…)

Since cross-LoC trade began between Muzaffarabad-Uri and Poonch-Rawalakot, traders have found a way of insulating the process from outside influences with a fair amount of success.
“Both sides agreed to convene a meeting of the Working Group on cross-Line of Control (LoC) Confidence Building (…)

Alliance Sud and Nestlé have been engaged in a high-level dialogue on Colombia between 2006 and 2011. Alliance Sud examined the behaviour of the multinational and the accusations being levelled at it by local trade unions. Two years later it evaluated the implementation of its recommendations. (…)

The Tunisian Taoufik Ben Abdallah has lived in Dakar for many years. As the news about the conflict in Tunisia began to spread, he was working on the organization of the World Social Forum, whose next edition was taking place in that Senegalian capital. As member of the International Council of (…)