With global diversity increasingly at risk, a mechanism like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is required, argues Michel Loreau.

Biodiversity has received increasing attention from scientists, governments and the public since the 'Earth Summit' at Rio de Janeiro and the establishment of the international Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 1992. There are local conservation successes to celebrate as a result, but global threats to biodiversity are still on the rise.

The CBD has failed to reverse this trend for several reasons, but here I focus on one that I believe could be relatively easily addressed.

More...

The following is a transcript of the speech given by Malalai Joya, member of the Afghan Parliament, given at the University of Los Angeles on Tuesday April, 10th:
In the name of Democracy and Peace -
Dear friends, first of all I extend my deep regards and thanks to the friends in the University of California to provide the opportunity for me to be here and share my point of view with you and inform you about the ongoing tragedy in my crying Afghanistan.

In the name of Democracy and Peace -

Dear friends, first of all I extend my deep regards and thanks to the
friends in the University of California to provide the opportunity for me to
be here and share my point of view with you and inform you about the ongoing tragedy in my crying Afghanistan.

The South Eastern part of South Asia, the Eastern Himalayan countries, can be justified as a region in itself. A proper study of an area such as this region requires a knowledge of its geography, ecology and culture which have shaped the history of this region and its people. This area, also known as Eastern Province of British India and given the name of Bengal, stretches from the Himalayas in the north to the Bay of Bengal in the south, in the west by the Ganges east of Bihar and Orissa, in the east by the Himalayan mountain ranges and Burma. It lies roughly between 27° 9’ and 20° 5’ north latitude and 86° 35’ and 92° 30’ east longitude.

Two persons were killed and 25 others injured in a series of bomb blasts in three busy market places in the Kathmandu city on September 2, according to Nepal News. Three bombs exploded almost simultaneously in the Tripureshwor, Sundhara and Balaju areas of the capital. The blasts in Tripureshwor and Sundhara occurred at bus stands while another bomb exploded inside a bus near the Balaju Industrial Estate. Two little known Terai-based armed groups – Terai Army and Terai Utthan Sangat - have claimed responsibility for the blasts.

Read More... 

The South Asian regional identity is based on a varied amalgam of individual and group adherence to the South Asian geographic territory with a sense of belonging. The regional identity is shared by the forms of governance, participation and democracy besides geographic linkages, tradition, culture and history. This facet can also be realized in the existence of and adherence to civic and other professional norms and the development of regional agendas. Despite many efforts to build a common identity in the region, there exist issues of identity crisis in various parts of the region. The regional identity can be termed as the image, visibility and presence perceived, seen and felt by regional inhabitants and by the outside world.