UNITED NATIONS, Feb 13 (IPS) - A leading advocacy group warns of a "worldwide deterioration in freedom of information" last year.

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 12 (IPS) - A lawsuit by the Marshall Islands accusing the United States of failing to begin negotiations for nuclear disarmament has been thrown out of an American court.

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 12 (IPS) - World leaders from government, finance, business, science and civil society are attempting to negotiate a legally binding and universal agreement on climate change at the upcoming 21^st United Nations Climate Change Conference being convened in Paris in December.

GENEVA, Feb 12 (IPS) - This week in Geneva, Switzerland, the U.N. climate negotiations have begun in what looks set to be a busy year. In order to reach an agreement in Paris by December, negotiators will have to climb a mountain of contentious issues which continue to overshadow the talks.

NAGAPATTINAM, India, Feb 12 (IPS) - Geeta Selvaraj and a few other women take turns to prepare meals with just one large gas cooker in a tiny shop.

NEW YORK, Feb 12 (IPS) - With battle lines sharpening over the stalled Keystone XL pipeline, a new analysis details the intense industry lobbying of both houses of the U.S. Congress since 2013 – to the tune of 58.8 million dollars by five refinery companies alone.

CAUTO CRISTO, Cuba, Feb 11 (IPS) - When it rains, trucks get stuck in the mud on the poor roads in this rural municipality in eastern Cuba. The local population needs more and better roads to improve their lives and help give a much-needed boost to the country's farming industry.

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 11 (IPS) - The United Nations, in a sustained political hype, is touting 2015 as a likely breakthrough year for several key issues on its agenda - primarily development financing, climate change, sustainable development, disaster risk-reduction and nuclear non-proliferation.

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 11 (IPS) - More than 200 Darfurian women were reportedly raped by Sudanese troops in one brutal assault on a town in October 2014, with the conflict in war-torn Darfur escalating to new heights.

SYDNEY, Feb 11 (IPS) - The rapid rise of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the Pacific Islands, which now cause 75 percent of all deaths, is one of the greatest impediments to post-2015 development, health ministers in the region claim.