Region

Food shortages have worsened, with the number of South Sudanese without enough to eat rising from 3.3 million last year to 4.7 million currently, according to a new UN [report.](http://www.wfp.org/news/news-release/high-levels-food-insecurity-south-sudan) This figure represents more than 50% of the recently independent oil-rich country, estimated in less than 9 million.

Journalist Pepe Naranjo writes from Dakar the the President of Senegal, Abdoulaye Wade, has acknowledged for some time that he is not legally able to run for a third term of office. Now, he has changed tack and the outstanding issue is that having changed his ‘opinion’ he is going for it and the population sees its democracy endangered.

In a variation of the legendary slogan “make love, not war”, an eminent Buddhist philosopher is calling for a nuclear-free world in which genuine human security, sustainable development and unwavering respect for the dignity of life do not only comprise an ideal but constitute an entrenched reality.

“I continue both personally and through my office to lend all possible support to formal and informal efforts and events dedicated to a timely convening of the 2012 conference. These efforts will continue,” Al-Nasser told Global Perspectives, IDN’s monthly magazine for international cooperation, in a wide-ranging, exclusive question-and-answer interview.

New York – A lack of job opportunities, inadequate education, vulnerable working conditions and insufficient government investment are some of the main concerns of young people around the world, according to a United Nations report on youth published yesterday.

Filmmaker and environmentalist Josh Fox is to appear in court on 15 February on a charge of “unlawful entry” following his arrest in Congress on 1 February, when he was prevented from filming a hearing of the House Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment on the grounds that he lacked press credentials.

Israeli policies on Palestinian residency have arbitrarily denied thousands of Palestinians the ability to live in, and travel to and from, the West Bank and Gaza, Human Rights Watch said in a new report.

The United Nations declared an end to famine conditions in Somalia, but warned that the crisis in the Horn of Africa is not over and requires continued efforts to restore food security and help people resume normal lives.

Bad news, very bad news, for the survival of planet earth. On the one hand, politicians attempt to gain votes by claiming a kind to and iron-and-steel, unwavering commitment commitment to save humankind, reduce destructive greenhouse gas emissions and produce “green energy”. On the other, governments spend 1.4 billion dollars… per day… to destabilize climate.

Russia and China vetoed on Saturday a draft resolution on the crisis in Syria led by the Western powers who advocate regime change in that country. The resolution was approved by the other 13 members of the body (United States, France, Britain, Germany, Portugal, India, Colombia, Guatemala, Morocco, Pakistan, South Africa, Togo and Azerbaijan).