By Claudia Ciobanu. BUCHAREST, Dec 1 (IPS) - The chaotic political programmes of the parties and a new electoral system discouraged more Romanians than usually from casting a vote in Sunday's parliamentary elections. The main opposition force, the Social-Democrats, obtained the best result, but with none of the parties achieving a clear majority, the centre-right forces might still coalesce to form the new government.

Voter turnout was below 40 percent, one of the lowest figures in all electi more...

By Emilio Godoy, IPS. MEXICO CITY, Dec 2 (Tierramérica) - The countries of Latin America have failed to design integrated policies to control the processes of changes in land use, one of the causes of climate change. The region produces 12 percent of the world's emissions of greenhouse gases, which are driving up the planet’s average temperatures and changing the climate around the globe. Half of the emissions are the result of deforestation, with Brazil and Mexico leading the region in terms more...

By Emilio Godoy. MEXICO CITY, Nov 22 (IPS) - The countries of Latin America and the Caribbean need billions of dollars to deal with the economic impact of climate change -- funding that is not easily found on the international market. A World Bank study presented Friday, the first day of a Nov. 21-23 congress of legislators from the Americas meeting in Mexico City to discuss the challenges of the global financial and climate crises, says natural disasters related to climate change, like storms, more...

By Jim Lobe. WASHINGTON, Nov 20 (IPS) - Capping a nearly two-year consultation involving dozens of U.S. and international leaders, a new report by three U.S. think tanks is calling on President-elect Barack Obama and other leaders to implement sweeping reforms in global governance to more effectively tackle shared regional and global threats over the next half century. 'Global governance is the number one challenge for the world and the number one challenge for the next president,' said Strobe T more...

By Fabiana Frayssinet. RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov 21 (IPS) - Although the global financial crisis has not yet triggered a rise in unemployment in Brazil, car industry and related workers are starting to forge strategies for facing severe recession in the sector. The south of Rio de Janeiro state, where car factories like Peugeot-Citroën, Volkswagen's truck and bus assembly plant and big metalworks like the Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN - National Steelmaking Company) operate, is on the alert.
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By Thalif Deen. UNITED NATIONS, Nov 21 (IPS) - As the United Nations readies for a key climate change meeting in Poland next month, a London-based human rights group warns that any new deal on global warming would be seriously compromised if the most vulnerable groups, specifically indigenous peoples, are shut out of the negotiations. 'The entire U.N. process will be flawed if communities that have firsthand experience of dealing with climate change are not allowed to participate,' says Minority more...

The Energy Efficiency Initiative was established in June 2005 to increase investments in clean energy up to $1 billion per year starting in 2008. Investments in 13 projects from both public and private sectors in China, India, Pakistan, and Philippines within the first half of the year have led to this landmark achievement.

MANILA, PHILIPPINES - The Government of Spain has agreed to contribute a total of $10 million to multi-donor trust funds operating under the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Water Financing Partnership Facility and Clean Energy Financing Partnership Facility. With its pledge of assistance, Spain joins Norway, Australia, Austria and Sweden as financial contributors to the funds under the facilities.

'We are grateful for this significant contribution, which will strengthen support to the water more...

MANILA, PHILIPPINES - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is financing a project to improve health care services in Viet Nam's south central coast region, home to nine million people, including half a million people from ethnic minorities. The Project covers Da Nang City and seven provinces (Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan, and Binh Thuan) – four of which have poverty levels significantly above the national average of 19.5%.

The 32-year, $72 million loan will b more...

CARTAGENA, 18 November 2008 (PlusNews) - On the surface, the historic northern city of Cartagena on Colombia's Caribbean coast is an up-market tourist destination, with cruise boat passengers strolling through the old, walled city's maze of narrow streets as sight-seers duck into air-conditioned boutiques and cafés to escape the tropical heat.

But there is a seedier side to this travel-brochure charm. The backpacker hostels that line a picturesque street just outside the old city are in a n more...