World trade talks collapse

The seven-year world trade talks being held in Geneva collapsed this afternoon when the United States, China and India failed to reach an agreement on agriculture imports.
See reports from the Associated Press, The Daily Telegraph, The Hindu, and China View.

“Last ditch” trade talks could produce deal

According to news reports, marathon negotiations this weekend might finally produce a deal on the so-called Doha round of world trade talks, after seven years.
The talks, begun in 2001 in Doha, Qatar, are supposed to help the world’s poorest countries to compete in global markets. The talks at the World Trade Organization in Geneva had [...]

Holy light sabers, solar power from space

With a barrel of oil costing $120, more and more renewable forms of energy are receiving new looks. One of the latest is solar power from space.
To produce solar power from space, miles-wide solar panels orbiting 22,000 miles in space collect light from the sun and turn it into microwave radiation [...]

Microfinance continues to grow

According to the latest Vital Signs Update released by the Worldwatch Institute, the number of poor people worldwide receiving micro-loans increased 17 percent in 2006. The 2006 (latest data year) increase continued a double-digit growth rate that averaged about 29 percent annually between 2001 and 2006.
Microfinance has become an very effective tool for fighting poverty [...]

Somalia nears crisis

Last week, we outlined how East Africa could be a flash point in the world food crisis. Now humanitarian organizations say that Somalia in East Africa is just months away from a major crisis.
According to the World Food Program (WFP), insecurity, drought, a succession of poor or failed harvests, are deepening the suffering of millions [...]

Food crisis threatens political stability

National leaders speaking Monday at the two-day U.N. General assembly debate on the global food and energy crisis warned that international investment in agriculture is critical for hard-hit countries to deal with food shortages and avoid political unrest.
United Nations General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim told the Assembly on Friday that, according to research by the [...]

Report finds wide disparity in human development in U.S.

A new report released this week by the American Human Development Project, ranked the U.S. 12th in the world in human development, and revealed a wide disparity in development potential between ethic groups and regions.
According to Oxfam America, a sponsor of the report, “The Measure of America: American Human Development Report 2008-2009,” published by Columbia [...]

USAID: Global food crisis unlike any in 50 years

Testifying before Congress Wednesday, the Acting Deputy Administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development James R. Kunder said the global food crisis is unlike any other food crisis we have faced in 50 years:
We are in the midst of a global food crisis unlike other food crises we have faced in the past half [...]

New Jersey-size “dead zone” in Gulf of Mexico

Scientists announced Tuesday that this year the “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico will reach a record size equivalent to the state of New Jersey. The record dead zone is the result of soaring production of corn-based ethanol and widespread flooding in the Midwest, according to the scientists.
The dead zone is caused by the [...]

Food Flash Point: East Africa

Across the globe, from Brunei to London, the affects of soaring food and fuel prices are having a dramatic impact on economies and governments. But one region to watch in particular is East Africa.
According to a June 30 posting on their website, FEWS NET (Famine Early Warning Systems Network) estimates almost nine million people in [...]