World leaders poured into Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday, 20 years after the landmark Earth Summit, to commit themselves to a new roadmap for sustainable development -- with that roadmap already under fire for failing to set firm goals.
The Rio summit convenes to create environmental blueprint for future, but some key leaders aren't there.
When world leaders gather in Rio Wednesday they will be hammering out a new set of goals to measure sustainable development.
The United Nations is holding a summit this week in Rio de Janeiro on global sustainable development, but, incredibly, family planning is not on the agenda. How can the summit ignore this elephant in the room?
Monita Rajpal explains how viewers can join the conversation around the Rio +20 Earth Summit by using CNN Ecosphere.
A senior Bangladeshi minister has said that comments by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about the globally acclaimed microlender Grameen Bank and its founder were "unwarranted."
The U.S., Japanese and Chinese economies have regained their momentum and are leading the world in growth, according to the latest report Tuesday from a global monitoring group.
The leaders of five of the world's top emerging economies moved closer Thursday toward establishing a development bank that could one day serve as an alternative to the World Bank.
CNN's Richard Quest talks to Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala about her bid to lead the World Bank.
The Nigerian contender to head the World Bank, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said Wednesday she is ready to lead from day one and would make it a nimbler, more responsive organization.
The U.S has until Friday to pick its candidate to head the World Bank. CNN's Maggie Lake reports.
The US is under intense pressure to nominate a top-notch candidate for the World Bank presidency after developing countries put forward two credible contenders of their own.
In the world of economic and social development, lists are easy to come by. The class of leaders gathering in Davos are well aware that ranking nations -- by levels of freedom, ease of doing business, competitiveness, fragility -- has become a preferred sport for analysts working for governments, magazines, NGOs or think tanks around the world. But it's rare to find a surprising result.
Entrepreneurship and business are rarely accorded a serious place in discussions around drivers of economic development. A cursory look at the numbers makes this seem very surprising. China has pulled approximately 600 million people out of absolute poverty since Deng Xiaoping unleashed market reforms in the late 1970s. Never in human history have so many people been pulled out of grinding poverty is such a short span of time.
The World Bank Wednesday slashed its 2012 growth forecasts for both emerging and developing economies from its estimates of only six months ago, and warned the world is on the cusp of a new global recession that could be as bad as the crisis four years ago.
Women must make their voices heard in climate negotiations. The role of women as agents of change in their homes, places of work and communities is often underplayed. Yet their role is critical: Women understand the inter-generational aspects of climate change and sustainable development. We women think in time horizons that span the lives of our children and grandchildren. We need to use this understanding to influence the political process and to inject a much needed sense of urgency into the climate change negotiations.
It does not make for pleasant dinner conversation. But we have a global sanitation crisis. More than 40% of the world's population does not have access to a toilet. These 2.6 billion people, most living in low- and middle-income countries in Asia and Africa, face the daily challenge of finding a bush, train track or empty lot where they can urinate and defecate in relative privacy.
The world's most powerful political leaders will gather this week in France to chart a course for the global economy as the outlook for growth remains fraught with risks.
The world's population has more than tripled since I was born in 1938. On Monday, our world's population is expected to hit the milestone of 7 billion people -- up from 2.5 billion in 1950 -- with almost all of the growth expected to happen in the cities of less developed countries. This means that the problems the world faced when I was a child are even more urgent now for my grandchildren.
As the global population hits 7 billion in the coming days, nations can take steps to tackle critical challenges and prepare for the arrival of billions more people this century, the United Nations said Wednesday.
Jeffrey Sachs, Earth Institute director at Columbia University, explains the challenges of the growing global population.
Cutting foreign aid is definitely back in vogue.
Japan's solar energy quest heats up after the Fukushima nuclear crisis. CNN's Kyung Lah reports
It started with such a simple concept: A solar light bulb that charges up during the day and lights the night when the sun sets.
A day after the U.S. government announced the suspension of operations for American-funded aid organizations in the Gaza Strip, efforts are now underway to restart the $98 million worth of programming, according to an American government official.
The International Energy Agency, in the wake of the recent plunge in oil prices, warned Wednesday that continued global economic weakness through next year could slow demand for oil.
As international aid organizations struggle to save lives amidst what U.S. officials term "staggering" hunger on the Horn of Africa, the United States is hoping to ease some political concerns.
Earth will become home to 7 billion people later this year, and most of the planet's growth will affect the developing countries the most, straining those regions' limited resources, a Harvard University professor said Thursday.
For aid donors and humanitarian agencies, it is a Faustian bargain: reach and save tens of thousands of people on the verge of starving to death. The price: come to an "understanding" with one of the most active affiliates of al Qaeda and perhaps help it retain control of large swathes of Somalia.
U2 frontman Bono is usually lauded as one of the world's most vocal anti-poverty campaigners but at Glastonbury Festival on Friday he instead found himself the target of criticism at his band's alleged efforts to avoid paying millions of euros in taxes.
In 2009, rockers U2 performed on a rooftop in London to mark the launch of their album, "No Line on the Horizon".
The International Monetary Fund on Friday lowered its forecast for U.S. economic growth, and warned that risks to the global recovery have increased.
Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is pushing education to the top of the development agenda for Africa.
French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde just wrapped up two days in China, her latest stop on her world tour to woo emerging nations to support her candidacy for chief of the International Monetary Fund.
France's Christine Lagarde is in China seeking support for her bid to become IMF chief. CNN's Eunice Yoon reports.
French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde paid a visit to Brazil's capital Monday, making overtures toward developing nations to support her bid to become the first female president of the International Monetary Fund.
CNN's Emily Reuben shows us who's getting what sort of odds from one UK bookmaker to become IMF chief.
The accusations on the alleged criminal behavior of the former International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief, Dominique Strauss-Kahn (DSK), are causing a great deal of public relations damage to an international institution that was already in serious need of an image overhaul.
In the wake of the Arab Spring protests across the Middle East and North Africa, President Barack Obama will pledge U.S. economic assistance to Egypt and Tunisia on Thursday in a speech highlighting his administration's revised policies toward the changing region.
Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has resigned as managing director of the bank he founded in Bangladesh a week after the country's supreme court rejected his appeal to keep his post.
The United Nations said Wednesday that about 1.3 billion tons of food is lost or wasted every year, which amounts to roughly one third of all the food produced for human consumption.
Nearly a billion people worldwide have limited access to clean water, the State Department says, and the crisis disproportionately affects women and girls.
The global recovery is moving at two speeds, with emerging countries like China still expanding rapidly as advanced economies like the United States grow at a snail's pace.
Bangladesh's Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus to keep his position as managing director of the bank he founded.
It has been lauded as one of the most promising ways of using the market to reduce poverty and boost economies in some of the world's most deprived areas.
The Bangladeshi government has been asked to find a compromise to bring an end to the Grameen Bank crisis created by removing its founder, microcredit pioneer Muhammad Yunus.
A day after the High Court upheld the removal of Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus from his position as managing director of Grameen Bank, the appellate court in Dhaka on Wednesday set a new date to hear his petitions.
Bangladesh's top court Tuesday upheld the central bank's decision to remove Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus from his post at the pioneering bank he founded.
It's not often that a Nobel Peace Prize laureate gets fired, but the Bangladeshi government said Wednesday it did just that in dismissing Muhammad Yunus from a top post in the pioneering bank he founded.
President Obama will release his proposed budget in less than a week, and clues are starting to surface about what programs will be sacrificed to the gods of deficit reduction.
Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus faced fresh legal trouble in his home country of Bangladesh on Thursday, accused of producing "substandard" yogurt meant for the poor, officials said.
Bangladesh has ordered a probe of the Grameen Bank -- founded by Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, the pioneer of microcredit -- following media allegations that donor's funds were inappropriately transferred.
Last year, 84 young children died in Nigeria after they used a counterfeit teething medication. The product contained diethylene glycol, a chemical found in antifreeze, instead of glycerin, a sweet and harmless syrup.
Economist Jim Power explains how Ireland got into this financial crisis and says the bailout has been long overdue.
Europe and the International Monetary Fund are in the process of finalizing a rescue package worth up to 100 billion euros to bail out Ireland's banking sector. What are the implications of the bailout for Irish people and the rest of the world?
Greece is on track and turning its economy around following a massive bailout this year, international lending authorities said Tuesday.
Ireland has formally requested substantial "financial assistance" from the European Union to buttress the government and bolster its struggling banking sector, Prime Minister Brian Cowen said Sunday night.
Tim Jackson studies the links between lifestyle, societal values and the environment to question economic growth.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Friday defended the central bank's plans to spur U.S. economic growth, saying they could help reduce unemployment, and -- in a message aimed at China -- urged developing nations to let their currencies gain in value.
Officials from the International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank were in Ireland on Thursday to examine the country's debt crisis -- a visit that could result in a substantial loan, the head of the Irish Central Bank said.
Changes in the global pecking order are coming.
Life is getting tougher for the average worker, not just in America, but in other advanced nations around the globe.
British Prime Minister David Cameron meets with Chinese President Hu Jintao to discuss relations and trade barriers.
The United States needs China for two simple reasons: China can make a difference in the world after the financial crisis, and more importantly China's fundamental interests are aligned with the United States.
Historian and diplomat Joseph Nye gives us his view of the shifts in power between China and the United States.
A century ago, the rise of Germany and the fear it created in Britain led to world war. Some analysts predict a similar fate from the rise of China and the fear that is creating in the United States.
Officials at the Group of 20 nations summit in South Korea have agreed on substantial changes for the International Monetary Fund, according to IMF Managing Director, Dominique Strauss-Kahn. If approved, the historic reforms would give developing nations a stronger voice within the institution.
Officials at the Group of 20 nations summit in South Korea have agreed on substantial changes for the International Monetary Fund, according to IMF Managing Director, Dominique Strauss-Kahn. If approved, the historic reforms would give developing nations a stronger voice within the institution.
The European economy is expected to grow at a slow pace next year as the region continues to struggle with huge public deficits and the lingering effects of the financial crisis.
A global economic development agency plans to hold its biannual tourism conference in Jerusalem this week, a move that is welcomed by Israel and slammed by the Palestinians.
During a rare news conference in the United States, Iran's finance and economic minister held up a copy of U.S. News & World Report from 1980.
The International Monetary Fund said a double dip recession is unlikely, but it expects growth in developed economies to be outpaced by emerging powerhouses.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner -- in remarks that appeared aimed toward China -- took a sharper tone on the issue of currency Wednesday, saying global economic growth could be at risk unless developing nations are more flexible about undervalued currencies.
While China's premier called on leaders gathered at the United Nations to work with "a greater sense of urgency and responsibility" to support the world's developing countries, he also laid out plans for China to make major contributions to struggling nations.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon exhorted member nations Monday not to waver from efforts to meet the Millennium Development Goals they set for themselves a decade ago with a deadline of 2015.
The number of women dying in pregnancy and childbirth has dropped by a third in the past two decades, according to a report out Wednesday from four world bodies including Unicef and the World Health Organization.
The good news is that improving economies in developing nations is allowing more people to eat better, but the United Nations estimates that nearly 1 billion people will still face chronic hunger this year.
Heavy rains in Niger have displaced nearly 200,000 in recent weeks, the United Nations says, calling on donors and aid agencies to send shelter material, blankets and other supplies.
Heavy rains in Niger have displaced nearly 200,000 in recent weeks, the United Nations says, calling on donors and aid agencies to send shelter material, blankets and other supplies.
There's a debate brewing in the world of do-gooder banking, pitting the father of microfinance Muhammad Yunus against a few entrepreneurs who have put an unlikely spin on Yunus' model of lending to the poor.
The United Nations humanitarian chief urged Sudan to allow aid workers into a Darfur refugee camp that has been closed for nearly two weeks, limiting access to 80,000 displaced people.
The idea that those who have should share with those who don't is inherent in most societies -- insects, animals and humans alike.
The United Nations is calling on citizens from around the world to be the next Citizen Ambassador to the United Nations.
The executive board of the International Monetary Fund approved Wednesday the cancellation of Haiti's $268 million debt to the fund.
Fresh concerns over Europe's debt problems surfaced Monday after Ireland's debt rating was downgraded and talks between Hungary and the International Monetary Fund reached an impasse.
The recovery in the U.S. economy has been stronger than expected, although growth is expected to slow over the next few years, according to the International Monetary Fund.
The global economy grew at a stronger-than-expected pace in the first six months of the year, but the risks to recovery have greatly increased, according to the International Monetary Fund.
IMF Chief Economist Olivier Blanchard talks to CNN's Andrew Stevens about the state of the global economy.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is in line to get billions of dollars in debt relief, World Bank officials said, cutting the amount the nation owes by more than 80 percent.
Unless you spend all your time looking at GDP figures, the $58 trillion global economy is almost too big to fathom. In a famous 1995 article in Prospect magazine, the British writer Nico Colchester attempted to make this immense figure more manageable by imagining the world economy as 26 Italys. Italy, he thought, was a convenient unit of account (back then its economy was worth roughly $1 trillion). Besides, all of us sort of know what Italy looks like and makes. As an economy you can picture it.
Economic growth in China will remain robust this year, though activity could slow in 2011, the World Bank said Thursday.
The World Bank has canceled Haiti's $36 million debt, the institution announced Friday.
The European economy will continue its tenuous recovery this year and next, but European Union policymakers need to address some long-standing problems to ensure fiscal discipline going forward, the International Monetary Fund said Tuesday.
CNN's Richard Quest interviews Former Greek economics minister Yiannos Papantoniou about Greece's debt crisis.
Standard & Poor's downgraded Spain's debt to a "AA" rating Wednesday, down from "AA+," a day after its downgrading of Greek debt set off falls in markets worldwide.
CNN's Richard Quest explains Greece's junk bond status and compares its credit ratings to other countries.
Financial markets were in turmoil on Wednesday amid fears that more countries could be sucked into Greece's mounting debt crisis. European indexes followed those in Asia into the red after Standard & Poor downgraded Greece's debt rating to junk status and Portugal's rating also dropped two notches.
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