As 2024 starts, the good news is that there haven’t been any notable requests by a low-income country for comprehensive debt relief since Ghana’s, more than a year ago. Despite this, vulnerabilities remain, with high debt servicing costs a growing challenge for low-income countries. Financing pressures due to relatively high interest
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Israel-Palestinian conflict: Is the two-state solution now dead?
The growing rift between the Biden administration and the Netanyahu government over Israel’s war in Gaza is now in the open, with public disagreement between them on the viability of a two-state solution to the conflict. US President Joe Biden literally embraced Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu within days of Hamas’ horrific
Western hoolock gibbon conservation in Bangladesh urgently needs funding
Western hoolock gibbons (Hoolock hoolock), native to the forests of northeastern India, western Myanmar, and eastern Bangladesh, are among the world’s most threatened primates, listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List. Previously, they were listed among the 25 most endangered primates, and Bangladesh’s gibbon population may be the most
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Addressing the dual challenge of food waste and food insecurity
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A hot debate on electronic smoking devices is expected to engage governments, scheduled to meet in Panama from 5-10 February for the tenth session of the Conference of Parties (COP) to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC). The WHO FCTC, the first health treaty, was developed to address
Rights coalition calls for Israel arms embargo to end Gaza carnage
A coalition of 16 leading human rights organizations issued a joint statement Wednesday calling on all nations to immediately stop sending weapons to both Israel and and Palestinian militants, warning that continued arms transfers risk exacerbating what’s already one of the worst humanitarian crises in modern history. The groups—including Save the
How much influence does Iran have over its proxy ‘Axis of Resistance’
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Asia and the Pacific is home to 54 per cent of the world’s urban population, who are disproportionately vulnerable to the impacts of climate change (ESCAP, 2023; IPCC, 2022). Why then, do climate action projects in cities commonly face delays in implementation? Crucial new developments in mitigation and adaptation including: renewable