Category: World » South America
Glaciers Under Attack From Ice Thieves
1:09 pm Eastern | World
Criminal gangs are becoming a threat to the world’s glaciers, which are already receding as a result of climate change, the United Nations said, citing a case in Chile where police are investigating the theft of some 5,000 kilograms of millennia-old ice from the Jorge Montt glacier.read more »
80 Percent Of 'Irreplaceable' Habitats In Andes Unprotected
27 Jan 12:54 | World
Hundreds of rare, endemic species in the Central Andes remain unprotected and are increasingly under threat from development and climate change, according to a Duke University-led international study.read more »
Guatemala Ratifies Treaty Banning Nuclear Tests
13 Jan 2012 | World
Guatemala has ratified the United Nations-backed international treaty banning nuclear tests, bringing the number of State parties to 156. read more »
Scientists confirm tobacco use by ancient Mayans
12 Jan 2012 | World
Archaeologists examining late period Mayan containers have identified nicotine traces from a codex-style flask, revealing the first physical evidence of tobacco use by ancient Mayans. read more »
U.S. Examining Alleged Cyberattack Plot by Venezuela, Iran
14 Dec 2011 | USA News
U.S. intelligence officials are examining an alleged plot by Iranian and Venezuelan diplomats in Mexico to stage cyberattacks against American targets, including nuclear power plants.read more »
Corruption Leading To Unequal Access, Use And Distribution Of Land
12 Dec 2011 | World
Corruption caused by weak governance is leading to unequal land distribution and poor resource management, according to a new report, which argues that this lack of transparency is undermining social stability, investment and growth in developing countries.read more »
Central America Floods Crisis Just The Beginning, Official Warns
6 Nov 2011 | World
The humanitarian emergency caused by last month's devastating floods in Central America is only just beginning, a top United Nations relief official said, warning that the situation could get worse for the estimated 1.2 million people affected without urgent international support.read more »
Pacific Rim Nations Prepare For Tsunami Preparedness Test
4 Nov 2011 | World
Some 30 Pacific Rim countries are to take part next week in a tsunami warning exercise to improve their ability to respond to an alert and enhance regional coordination in the event of a disaster. read more »
Criminals May Have Laundered $1.6 Trillion In 2009
25 Oct 2011 | World
Criminals may have laundered around $1.6 trillion in 2009, one fifth of that coming from the illicit drug trade, according to a new report.read more »
Study Shows Murders Highest In Parts Of Americas And Africa
6 Oct 2011 | World
Young men in Central and South America and southern and central Africa are most at risk of being killed in cases of intentional homicide, while women face increased likelihood of being murdered in domestic violence, according to a new report.read more »
Violent Crime Threatens Development In Latin America And Caribbean
15 Sep 2011 | World
High levels of crime and insecurity continue to pose a challenge to social and economic development in Latin America and the Caribbean, despite steady improvements in governance over the past two decades, the head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has warned.read more »
Astronomers Announce Discovery Of 50 New Planets
12 Sep 2011 | World
Astronomers based at ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile have announced the discovery of more than 50 new exoplanets orbiting nearby stars.read more »
Number of Mexican immigrants returning home dropped during latest recession
14 Jul 2011 | SciTech
Fewer Mexican immigrants returned home from the United States during 2008 and 2009 than in the two years prior to the start of the recession, a finding that contradicts the notion that the economic downturn has hastened return migration to Mexico, according to a new RAND Corporation study.read more »
Teaching business skills in developing countries with a bottle
13 Jul 2011 | Business
Two Baylor University professors use a bottle of Coca-Cola to teach basic business principles to minimally educated entrepreneurs in developing countries.read more »
Concern Over High Level Of Violence In Mexico
11 Jul 2011 | World
The United Nations human rights chief has voiced concern over escalating violence in some parts Mexico, saying organized crime and brutality could undermine the State and threaten the people's basic rights.read more »
Four New Sites Added To World Heritage List
29 Jun 2011 | World
The United Nations has added cultural sites in Ukraine, Mongolia, France and Nicaragua to the World Heritage List, closing out this year’s selection with a total of 25 sites, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) reported. read more »
Logging, Drug Threats Put Rainforests On UN Heritage Danger List
22 Jun 2011 | World
Illegal logging, poaching, and other intrusions have led rainforests in Honduras and Indonesia to be placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said. read more »
Madagascar Marine Resources "Plundered" By International Seafood Markets
17 Jun 2011 | World
Fish catches in Madagascar over the past half-century are double the official reports, and much of that fish is being caught by unregulated traditional fishers or accessed cheaply by foreign fishing vessels, according to University of British Columbia researchers.read more »
Meeting Aims To Eradicate Torture In Latin America and Caribbean
15 Jun 2011 | World
Human rights experts and government officials from 11 countries today began a United Nations-backed meeting aimed at eradicating torture from Latin America and the Caribbean, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reported.read more »
Archaeologists uncover oldest mine in the Americas
19 May 2011 | World
Archaeologists have discovered a 12,000-year-old iron oxide mine in Chile that marks the oldest evidence of organized mining ever found in the Americas, according to a report in the June issue of Current Anthropology.read more »
Report: Iran Building Missile Bases in Venezuela
17 May 2011 | World
Iran is building mid-range missile launch sites in Venezuela, Tehran's key South American ally, according to German newspaper Die Welt.read more »
Humanity can and must do more with less: UNEP
12 May 2011 | World
By 2050, humanity could consume an estimated 140 billion tons of minerals, ores, fossil fuels and biomass per year – three times its current appetite – unless the economic growth rate is "decoupled" from the rate of natural resource consumption, warns a new report from the United Nations Environment Programme.read more »
Mega-Fires May Be Contributing To Climate Change, Report Finds
10 May 2011 | World
The growing number of mega-fires around the world may be contributing to global warming, a new United Nations report says, calling on governments to introduce comprehensive strategies to reduce the risk of such conflagrations.read more »
Global Population To Pass 10 Billion by 2100
3 May 2011 | World
The world’s population is projected to surge past 9 billion before 2050 and then reach 10.1 billion by the end of the century if current fertility rates continue at expected levels, according to United Nations figures unveiled today.read more »
Hundreds Displaced By Violence In Western Colombia
28 Apr 2011 | World
The United Nations refugee agency has voiced concern over the plight of hundreds of people in western Colombia who have been forced to flee their homes amid an increasingly violent struggle between illegal armed groups over the control of mining and coca farming in the area. read more »
Countries Urged To Advance Progress On Cancun Accords
4 Apr 2011 | World
The top United Nations climate change official has urged countries to tackle the key issues of emission reduction targets as well as funding and technology to assist developing nations tackle global warming, as the first UN negotiations for this year got under way in Bangkok. read more »
Phenomenon Of Enforced Disappearance Studied
21 Mar 2011 | World
The United Nations human rights experts tasked with assisting families determine the fate or whereabouts of disappeared relatives examined over 200 cases during its recent session held in Mexico City, and is now conducting a mission to learn about Mexico’s efforts in dealing with the issue.read more »
9.0 Japan Earthquake Shortens Day, Shifts Earth's Axis: NASA
14 Mar 2011 | USA News
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory says the March 11, magnitude 9.0 earthquake in Japan may have shortened the length of each Earth day and shifted its axis, but it says you shouldn't notice the difference. read more »
Climate Change Chief Urges Governments To Impliment Cancun Accords
2 Mar 2011 | World
The United Nations climate change has called on governments to quickly transform the agreements reached in the Mexican city of Cancún last year into tangible action on the ground, and provide clarity on the future of the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gases emissions.read more »
Alarm Over Impact Of Fertilizer And Plastic Pollution Of Oceans
28 Feb 2011 | World
Large amounts of phosphorus, a crucial fertilizer, are discharged into oceans as result of inefficiencies in farming and a failure to recycle wastewater, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) says in its 2011 Year Book just released, which also voices concern over plastics pollution.read more »
44 Million People Driven Into Poverty By High Food Prices: World Bank
15 Feb 2011 | World
Rising food prices have driven an estimated 44 million people into poverty in developing countries since last June as food costs continue to rise to "dangerous levels", according to the World Bank.read more »
Model Forecasts Civil Unrest Against Governments
19 Jan 2011 | World
The forecast for predicting the next political hotspots could be much more accurate because of a model developed by two Kansas State University professors and a colleague in New York.read more »
La Nina Partly To Blame For Global Flooding
14 Jan 2011 | World
In some parts of the world severe flooding is occurring, as very heavy rain and landslides affect regions of Australia, Brazil and much of Sri Lanka, with the La Nina weather pattern to blame to at least some of it, forecasters say.read more »
UN Leader Ban Ki-moon Gives View On "State Of The World" in 2010
17 Dec 2010 | World
In his end-of-year “state of the world” news conference, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said challenges lay ahead in Sudan, the Middle East and other world flashpoints after “a big year for the United Nations” in 2010.read more »
Climate Change Negotiations 'Back On Track' Says UN Official
15 Dec 2010 | World
The outcome of last week’s United Nations climate change conference in Cancún, Mexico, has put the negotiation process back on track, a UN official said today, outlining some of the key agreements reached at the meeting.read more »
Agreement Reached At Cancun Climate Conference
12 Dec 2010 | World
The United Nations climate change talks in Cancún have concluded with a package of decisions to help countries advance towards a low-emissions future, delivering what the world body's top officials have hailed as a victory in the battle against one of today's biggest challenges. read more »
Climate Change Conference Agrees To Key Draft Decisions
6 Dec 2010 | World
Two bodies within United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) have concluded their work on a number of significant draft decisions that will be presented for adoption on Friday in the final plenary of the UN climate change conference under way in Cancún, Mexico.read more »
Electoral Unrest In Haiti Could Impede Efforts To Fight Cholera
30 Nov 2010 | World
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for a speedy solution to the political crisis in Haiti after yesterday’s first round of elections, warning that worsening security would hamper efforts to fight the cholera epidemic in a country already devastated by January’s earthquake.read more »
Met Office says scientific evidence focus at climate change meeting
26 Nov 2010 | World
Ahead of the latest UN talks on climate change in Mexico, the British Met Office analyses long- and short-term trends in climate and reveals that the evidence for man-made warming has grown even stronger in the last year.read more »
Officials Confident Of Progress At Climate Change Conference
23 Nov 2010 | World
Looking ahead to the United Nations climate change conference beginning in Cancun next week, a senior official with the world body said today that talks could yield real results but was cautious to keep expectations realistic.read more »
James Cameron's 'A Message from Pandora' Highlights Battle in the Amazon Rainforest
17 Nov 2010 | Entertainment
AVATAR creator James Cameron's short new documentary "A Message from Pandora," casts a timely spotlight on an epic battle to stop the massive Belo Monte Dam in the heart of Brazil's Amazon Rainforest. read more »
Bravery And Perseverance of Rescued Chilean Miners Lauded
14 Oct 2010 | World
The rescue of 33 Chilean miners who had been trapped hundreds of metres below ground for two months is a testament to their bravery and perseverance, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said.read more »
Huge parts of world are drying up, study finds
11 Oct 2010 | World
The soils in large areas of the Southern Hemisphere, including major portions of Australia, Africa and South America, have been drying up in the past decade, a group of researchers conclude in the first major study to ever examine "evapotranspiration" on a global basis.read more »
New Zealand Calls For UN Peacekeeping Reform
25 Sep 2010 | World
New Zealand's Foreign Minister has called for reform of United Nations peacekeeping operations worldwide, saying they need clearer and more attainable mandates, increased efficiency and better ways to monitor progress.read more »
Australia Tells UN To Reform Or Become ‘Hollow Shell’
25 Sep 2010 | World
The United Nations will become “a hollow shell” with nations choosing to go around it to deal with the most pressing global issues unless its institutions are reformed to meet today’s challenges, Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd told the General Assembly.read more »
Asteroids Will Make Earth Near Miss Wednesday Says NASA
8 Sep 2010 | USA News
NASA says two asteroids discovered just three days ago will pass within the moon's distance from Earth on Wednesday, with one coming as close as 49,000km.read more »
Airline Passengers In Developing Countries Face 13 Times Risk Of Crash As U.S
1 Sep 2010 | World
Passengers who fly in Developing World countries face 13 times the risk of being killed in an air accident as passengers in the First World, according to a new study.read more »
Call For Urgent Action After 72 Corpses Found In Mexico
27 Aug 2010 | World
The United Nations human rights chief has strongly condemned the killing of 72 migrants in northern Mexico and called on the authorities to take urgent steps to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice. read more »
States Urged To Ratify Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
27 Aug 2010 | World
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is urging all Member States that have not yet done so to ratify the United Nations-backed treaty banning nuclear tests, saying it is important to build on the momentum made on disarmament and non-proliferation over the past year.read more »
New Zealander To Head Gaza Flotilla Inquiry
2 Aug 2010 | World
Former New Zealand prime minister, Sir Geoffrey Palmer, will serve as chair of a new UN panel of inquiry into Israel's deadly raid on a six-ship convoy in May that was carrying humanitarian goods and activists and heading for Gaza.read more »
