'IBSA what?' is the question you most often get in Geneva when enquiring about the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) dialogue forum, established in 2003 between these three multicultural democracies and emerging markets 'to contribute to the construction of a new international architecture'.

Migrant workers caught in the crossfire of the ongoing upheavals in Bahrain and Libya highlight the need to develop international migration policies based on migrants' rights rather than the economic interest of labour sending and receiving countries, knowledgeable sources say.

Contrary to claims by Chiquita Brands International that its payments to Colombian paramilitary and guerrilla groups over more than a decade were extorted, internal company documents released here Thursday strongly suggest that the transactions provided specific benefits to the banana giant.

Led by countries like Indonesia, 48 developing nations are rolling out a range of pledges to voluntarily cut their respective emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) by 2020, the year climate scientists say the earth’s rising temperature should peak by if an environmental catastrophe is to be avoided.

Thousands of people took to the streets in 20 cities across Mexico Wednesday to protest the wave of drug-related killings, in demonstrations triggered by the murder of the son of poet Javier Sicilia, in another show of the power of social networking sites in channelling public outrage.

Cuba is sticking to its plans to begin oil exploration this year in its territorial waters in the Gulf of Mexico, and has assured neighbouring countries that 'every reasonable' safety and environmental protection measure will be taken, in an area still haunted by the disastrous effects of the crude oil spill in 2010.

As Nigeria tries again to begin its staggered general elections on Apr. 9, spare a thought for the women who will be putting themselves forward as candidates in an overwhelmingly male field.

As the resounding cry for multi-party democracy reverberates violently throughout the Middle East, the African continent, long known for military rule and dictatorial regimes, is readying for a slew of presidential and parliamentary elections this year.

Seeing the bespectacled old man fasting in protest against corruption in the bustling heart of the Indian capital, many are reminded of Mahatma Gandhi, the man who used ‘moral power’ to lead India to independence from British colonial rule in 1947

In the past few years, United Nations headquarters in New York has undergone a transformation. Besides renovating the entire building, the U.N. is trying, as a leading international organisation, to take more responsibility and set an example for environmentally-friendly, sustainable practices by implementing such changes as cutting back on printing, posting more documents online, and creating water-saving measures.