Despite the pace of urbanization and the economic importance of cities, many leading politicians in Africa are still focused on rural areas. Reuben Abraham, the head of a leading Indian think tank on urban issues, says that leaders of some developing countries are simply failing to undersand the importance of urbanization. Speaking  in Jakarta at a New…

The Foreign Ministers of the 28 European Union countries have called on Israel “to halt plans for forced transfer of population and demolition of Palestinian housing and infrastructure” in the village of Susiya in the West Bank. Eleven members of the US Congress have also written to Secretary of State John Kerry about the plight…

Sweden has announced a big jump in spending (US$546 million) on renewable energy and climate change action in their 2016 budget,   The aim is to become one of the world’s first nations to end dependence on fossil fuels.  Significantly, Sweden’s boost for renewables comes in the run-up to the UN Conference on Climate Change (COP21) that will be held…