According to traditional conservative doctrine, governments do not create jobs only free markets can do that. However, economists around the world contradict that facile and dated logic. Investment in green job creation is a short term strategy that helps green industries to grow. Helping green industries to achieve economies of scale reduces costs, enhances competitiveness and provides jobs.
After years of negotiations, a long-awaited legal treaty sets new rules for donors on food assistance, but experts say it fails to address the growing food insecurity facing many poor countries as global food costs rise.
Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s election as president of Somalia has been heralded as the start of a new era for the troubled Horn of Africa state, which has been mired in conflict for over two decades. Residents of the capital, Mogadishu, say the new president has his work cut out for him.
As the world focuses on daily fighting in Syria and the flight of refugees to neighbouring countries, the humanitarian situation inside Syria continues to be under-reported. Here are 10 pressing issues you may have missed.
With more than half the world now living in urban centres, city residents’ quality of life, vulnerability to natural hazards and diets are matters of growing importance, drawing significant attention at the World Urban Forum in Naples, Italy, this week.
During his two decades in power, Meles Zenawi committed himself to ending Ethiopia’s dependence on food aid. With his death, IRIN looks at his legacy in promoting food self-sufficiency and fighting rural poverty in a country historically associated with drought and environmental stress.
In Central London, late on Sunday afternoon, as workmen were clearing away the barriers from the Olympic marathon route, and crowds headed to the Games’ closing ceremony, a small group gathered at the UK prime minister’s office.
After a year of nation-wide protests and often violent clashes in the capital, Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi was declared Yemen’s new president in February, replacing Ali Abdullah Saleh, who stepped down after ruling for 33 years. But nearly six months after his departure, Saleh continues to hold significant influence and control over military forces, leading to several clashes between factions vying for power.
The drafting of Egypt’s new constitution – like the rest of the country’s politics since former President Hosni Mubarak was ousted from power last year – has been a hotbed of contention.
The failure of a proposed treaty to regulate the multi-billion dollar global conventional weapons trade does not mean disaster, according to some campaigners looking to develop effective international arms controls.