Roads allow human access to remote lands but often result in habitat destruction. Networks of roads in the Amazon and the rapid deforestation add to jobs and economic growth with agriculture development, as well as ranching, mining and land speculation, explains Barbara Fraser for Nature. “So far,...
Click here for the article in Nature.
US President Barack Obama and Senate Majority leader Harry Reid share party affiliation as Democrats and are typically strong allies. But Reid has announced opposition to legislation that would provide fast-track approvals of major trade deals and prevent nitpicky amendments in Congress. “The move...
WASHINGTON—Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid broke publicly with the White House Wednesday on trade policy, instantly imperiling two major international trade deals and punching a hole in one piece of the economic agenda the president outlined in...
Cities and states no longer wait for national leaders to forge foreign partnerships, and diplomacy moves swiftly with less formality at the subnational level. “Today, many private intelligence firms, think tanks, and NGOs have better access to quality sources than experienced diplomats do,”...
Click here for the article in Foreign Affairs.
WikiLeaks is releasing sensitive documents – including emails from the Democratic National Committee in the United States and those of the Turkish prime minister – without ample vetting: “lately the timing of and tone surrounding their leaks have felt a little off,” comments Emma Grey Ellis for...
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Most countries of the world have agreed to meet UN Sustainable Development Goals and targets to limit carbon emissions as outlined with the Paris Climate treaty. Writing for Brookings, Johannes F. Linn, a former World Bank vice president, points out that governments must find ways “to meet the top-...
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Read about the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Read about the Paris Agreement from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Militants stormed Bacha Khan University in northwestern Pakistan, killing at least 20 and injuring 60. A Pakistan Taliban official quickly claimed and then withdrew responsibility. The attack comes just after a year after 134 were killed at a school in nearby Peshawar. Pakistan endures repeated...
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Hackers stole personal data for 21 million government workers stored by the US Office of Personnel Management, including more than 5 million sets of fingerprints, according to most recent reports. Industries and governments increasingly rely on fingerprint technology for securing access to...
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Tight population controls alone won’t make the world a sustainable place in the short term, suggests research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The damage has been done with the population climbing from 1 billion in 1800 to 7 billion now. Projections suggest the...
Click here for the article in BBC News.