ROME, Feb 09 (IPS) - When former UN Secretary-General Ban K-moon was in Abu Dhabi for the World Future Energy Summit last year, he singled out the key role played by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in "safeguarding the future of our planet" by showcasing clean, sustainable energy --- a centre piece of the UN's post-2015 development agenda.

ROME, Feb 09 (IPS) - They are more than 370 million self-identified peoples in some 70 countries around the world. In Latin America alone there are over 400 groups, each with a distinct language and culture, though the biggest concentration is in Asia and the Pacific– with an estimated 70 per cent. And their traditional lands guard over 80 per cent of the planet's biodiversity.

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 08 (IPS) - A UN Special Rapporteur has expressed grave concern over escalating violence and discrimination against the Rohingya minority in Myanmar.

ROME, Feb 08 (IPS) - At Saydnaya Military Prison, "the Syrian authorities have quietly and methodically organised the killing of thousands of people in their custody," according to a new Amnesty International (AI) report.

PASO REAL, Honduras, Feb 08 (IPS) - In this village in southern Honduras, in one of the poorest parts of the country, access to credit is limited, the banking sector is not supportive of agriculture, and nature punishes with recurrent extreme droughts.

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 07 (IPS) - The United States and most Western donors have traditionally exercised their financial clout to threaten developing nations who refuse to fall in line on critical UN voting either in the Security Council, the General Assembly or the Human Rights Council.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, Feb 07 (IPS) - As Caricom countries struggle to move away from their traditional reliance on a single industry or major crop in the face of growing economic uncertainty worldwide, they are finding it increasingly difficult to enter markets in the EU and North America with new types of food products.

NAIROBI, Feb 06 (IPS) - On 06 February 2017, the world marks the 14th International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).  

BRASILIA, Feb 06 (IPS) - Josefina Stubbs, from the Dominican Republic, may become the first woman to preside over the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), which is dedicated to eradicating rural poverty.

ROME, Feb 06 (IPS) - "Members of Parliament must be free to enjoy their human rights. If not, how can they defend and promote the rights of those who elected them? Yet, around the world vocal parliamentarians find themselves under threat. The 40,000-strong community of parliamentarians includes many men and women who have risked careers and even their lives to express their beliefs."