Yuli Edelstein, the Minister of Public Affairs and the Diaspora in the Israeli cabinet, joins Daljit Dhaliwal to discuss the prospects of peace in the Middle East and why Israel won’t agree to a settlement freeze.

Al Jazeera English’s John Terrett reports on the challenges and reasons behind Abbas’ decision to bow out of politics — including the expansion of Israeli settlements and the impartial U.S. stance.

Anita Shawa of the United Nations Millennium Campaign to end poverty and hunger joins Martin Savidge to discuss the campaign’s goal to halve the people who suffer from hunger by 2015.

Al Jazeera English’s Amr al-Kahky reports from Egypt on the difficulty of buying the basic necessities. Rising food prices have led to increased poverty and heightened security issues.

South Yemenis in favor of secession from the North protested around the world this week on the anniversary of an uprising against former colonial power Britain.  In New York, a few hundred vocal Americans of South Yemeni descent demonstrated outside the United Nations building.

South Yemen was an independent nation after the British left in 1967. North and South Yemen unified in 1990 and a new country- the new Republic of Yemen  - was born with Ali Abdullah Saleh as its leader and San’a as its capital.  But the union has been uneasy and southerners have complained of being marginalized.

“We are a nation living under occupation,” said Hamza Saleh Meqbel, Vice President of TAJ (Southern Democratic Assembly), a South Yemeni political organization based in the United States.
Mr. Meqbel says the central government in the capital Sanaa has reneged on all commitments it promised and signed with the south upon unification.

“The unification treaty is invalid because the regime in Sanaa has lost its credibility. It was supposed to be a partnership, but the north has turned to occupiers and we no longer want a part of this unity.”

Ahmad al Muthana, the President of TAJ, claims that his group represents the majority of people in the south. “We are constantly in communication with our brothers in the south, we fully support them in their struggle,” he says.

So far the separatist South Yemenis have resorted to peaceful means in their quest for independence, including marches and protests. But al Muthana says, “if the regime keeps oppressing and killing our people, we will turn to arms.  We have no choice.”
That sentiment was echoed by many of the protesters. On Friday, Yemen’s interior ministry banned demonstrations in the south.

The problem in the south is not the only challenge for the Yemeni government.  Its forces have also been engaged in a military confrontation with Shiite rebels in the north.  The Yemeni government accuses the rebels of being loyal to Iran.

An unstable Yemen may spell disaster for the rest of the world.

Al Qaeda has claimed responsibility on several attacks in Yemen against tourists and U.S. interests, most notoriously the attack on the USS Cole in 2000 in the Red Sea port of Aden.

Yemen’s intelligence and military apparatus are busy with rebels in the north, as well as the separatists in the South, which makes it easier for Al Qaeda members to operate inside the country.

- Mohammad al-Kassim

The Maldives, along with other islands such as Seychelles and Tuvalu, is organizing a series of activities and events to pressure the international community to take action. On Saturday it will hold an underwater cabinet meeting designed to highlight the danger Maldives faces from rising waters and rising temperatures.

Global Voices Online posted a roundup of blogs from Maldives explaining what the small island nation is doing to publicize the urgency of the issue.

One of the first major events, run by Avaaz.org, was a Global Climate Wake-Up Call on Septemer 21 in Malé, the capital of Maldives.

The International Day of Climate Action, coordinated by 350.org, will be on October 24. Among the events of that day: 350 grounded motor vehicles and a 350 kilowatt reduction in energy consumption in Malé.

“350″ signifies the safe upper limit (in parts per million) for carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere. The current level is 389 ppm. Vroomfondel explains the movement’s goals:

By having actions all around the world that day, 350.org plans to send a clear message to the world leaders (who will be meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark this December to craft a new global treaty on cutting emissions) that ‘the solutions to climate change must be equitable, they must be grounded in science, and they must meet the scale of the crisis.’

In addition, the Maldives Photographers Association together with the Maldives Science Society is planning to send 350 unique postcards to 350 world leaders and personalities who will be attending the Copenhagen conference (COP15).

350Postcards distributed a compelling YouTube promotional video for the photo campaign:

Zim, a blogger and diving instructor, describes the underwater rally and subsequent underwater cabinet meeting:

One of the key events on the international day of action is the 24 hour Underwater Rally organized by the Divers Association of Maldives (DAM). 350 divers, diving in teams are going to spend 24 hours underwater. The message DAM is giving is that Maldives is sinking and it’s more than just a country being lost to the sea. A unique heritage is gone. An irreplaceable ecosystem is being destroyed…

The President of Maldives along with all the cabinet ministers are going to meet underwater while using scuba. Using hand signals and slates they are going to endorse and sign a message from the people of Maldives to the world leaders meeting at Copenhagen this December for the Conference of Parties (COP 15)…

We are on the edge. With just a couple of steps forward Maldives along with a number of other vulnerable countries will be lost beneath the waves. We ask everybody not to sign our suicide pact.

Climate change NGO Bluepeace explains in a blog why the world should pay attention to “Vulnerable,” a photo exhibition in Maldives:

As one of the lowest-lying countries in the world, Maldives is particularly vulnerable to climate change. The proliferation of images in today’s internet age is such that Maldives is known the world over as a stunning holiday destination. While Maldives has been the subject of many documentaries and news articles regarding climate change, to date no documentary has been produced by Maldivians for an international audience. This is a chance for Maldives to show vulnerability to the world as seen through our eyes.

Lastly, a Maldivian blogger Fenfulhangi asks some key questions about the December conference:

Will the new [Maldividan] President Mohammed Nasheed attend the [Copenhagen] summit with the talks of lack of funding in the government budget?

As one of the major contributors to Climate Change and its adverse effects, will the USA sign onto the new document that will succeed the Kyoto Protocol that USA previously refused to sign onto?

Will there be same or harsher penalties for developing countries that emit large amounts of CO2 or will it be the richer countries who pay?

Students sing in honor of the 60th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China.

This article originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.

What better way to celebrate a birthday than to take to the world stage? Last week, Hu Jintao became the first Chinese president to address the U.N. General Assembly, a privilege seemingly reserved for the president of the United States and colorful despots such as Moammar Kadafi. The People’s Republic, which turns 60 on Thursday, has evolved from tin-pot polity to powerhouse. And among the spectacular transformations China has undergone, its dramatic turnabout in how it relates to the world stands out.

China began as a pariah state, rejected by and immensely hostile toward the world community. Marxism shaped its view of international organizations as the “instruments of capitalist imperialism and hegemonism,” and for decades China had little to do with them.

Fast-forward to last week, when Hu proclaimed the “important role” of the United Nations and entreated the international community to “continue our joint endeavor to build a harmonious world of enduring peace and common prosperity.”

Today, China has joined every major international organization to which it is eligible and signed more than 300 international treaties. It has even had a hand in creating new regional groups. “They are acting like the new us,” a U.S. official told me. They prepare, send huge delegations to summits and carefully cultivate diplomatic capital.

This is not just lip service. In many cases, China’s engagement with global entities such as the World Trade Organization and the International Monetary Fund has prompted Beijing to bring its conduct in line with international standards.

The next step, though, is a critical one. Now that China is fully engaged and has earned considerable clout, what will it do? Will it increasingly abide by and support international standards? Could it eventually become a genuine leader for the global common good, with the risk and sacrifice that often entails?

Beijing sends mixed signals. On the hopeful side, we see China’s leadership on the North Korean nuclear issue — hosting many rounds of the six-party talks, producing draft agreements and now, for the first time, enforcing U.N. sanctions against its nominal ally. And although it once objected to the whole idea, China now has 2,000 of its citizens in U.N. peacekeeping operations.

China has also done an about-face since the 2003 SARS debacle, when it covered up the outbreak and deceived international health officials. This time, it is sponsoring international conferences on swine flu and vaccinating millions of its people. In the economic realm, the stimulus package Beijing enacted in response to the global meltdown was huge — exactly the scale that the IMF and the U.S. recommended.

Of course, every nation acts in its own interests, but in all these cases, China also promotes the broader safety and prosperity of the world.

However, other areas show the zero-sum side of China’s international engagement. On climate change, China is one of the big bumps in the road on the way to a binding treaty at the Copenhagen summit in December. Thankfully — as it is now the world’s largest emitter of carbon dioxide — Beijing is going gangbusters on efficiency standards and renewables. But unless those domestic ambitions can be turned into specific and verifiable international commitments, there will be no deal, and the world will continue toward climate calamity.

There are other concerns. Chinese companies are signing billion-dollar energy contracts with Iran just as the international community is trying to ratchet up the pressure on the Tehran regime over its nuclear ambitions. And Beijing is still holding out against tougher sanctions as the U.S., France, Britain and even Russia push forward.

Also, China’s human rights conduct does not live up to international standards, and, often to ensure access to natural resources, it supports and shelters dictators who abuse their people. Its concerted efforts at industrial espionage undermine international law, and its no-strings-attached development assistance, while doing some good, is setting back anti-corruption efforts.

The U.S. does not have the power to make China a global do-gooder, but it has some cards to play. Administration officials have begun to frame the bilateral relationship in terms of global challenges, so that the health of the U.S.-China relationship, which Beijing cares deeply about, is tied to progress on major threats such as climate change and Iran. The U.S. is also reengaging with multilateral organizations, which increases Washington’s leverage when dealing with Beijing.

One of the most effective ways for Washington to shape China’s evolution is to remove Beijing’s excuses for inaction by leading ourselves — passing strong climate change legislation, ratifying the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, making good on President Obama’s disarmament pledges and increasing efforts to alleviate extreme poverty around the globe.

U.S. exceptionalism has often provided political cover to China. In his own speech to the United Nations last week, Obama acknowledged that the United States hasn’t always been a fully responsible superpower, and he pledged to do better.

The Chinese say it is unfair to expect a still-developing China to shoulder so much international responsibility. But the forces of globalization that made China the major power it is today are the same ones breeding threats that only nations acting in concert can address.

China has come a very long way in two generations. Let’s hope that the next 60 years see China’s growth into a model citizen and stalwart supporter of the international system — for its own sake, and for ours.

- Nina Hachigian

Photo courtesy of Flickr user kevsunblush under a Creative Commons license.

On Tuesday, Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon held a special press briefing in New York about climate change. The secretary general recently traveled to the Arctic for a first-hand look at the impact of climate change.

Among those in attendance at the press briefing was Rafael Pi Roman, a correspondent and producer for WNET.org. He joins Martin Savidge to discuss Ban Ki-moon’s comments.

Worldfocus special correspondent Hoda Osman attended a briefing with Libyan dictator Muammar al-Qaddafi in New York this week. She blogs about the experience.

Qaddafi: The Self-Proclaimed Philosopher

As I watched Muammar al-Qaddafi walk into the meeting room at the Council on Foreign Relations, I remembered my shoes getting stolen.

The first (and only other) time I saw the Libyan leader was in N’Djamena, Chad, in 1999. Libya had arranged for a plane to take journalists from Cairo to Chad’s capital for the day to cover a speech he was giving. Tens of thousands of people gathered to watch him speak and security was very tight. The media area was right in front of the stage, but we had to take our shoes off as it was also an area where people were going to pray.

Once he finished his speech, the security was gone in the blink of an eye. We suddenly heard gunshots, people were running all around — and there went my pair of shoes. My cameraman’s shoes were also gone. Bad luck didn’t end there; it suddenly started to rain. We walked with wet, dirty socks until one of the locals guided us to a place where we could buy new Chadian shoes.

Back here in New York, 10 years later, the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) event was about to start. The meeting was arranged for CFR’s members and was going to be based on an open question-and-answer format. We were warned that if we couldn’t stay for the whole duration of the meeting, which was scheduled to end at 2:00 p.m., we should move to another room where it was being transmitted to a big screen.

I was sitting in the fourth row and had a live report to do at 4:00 p.m. Qaddafi spoke for an hour and 36 minutes at the United Nations the previous day, instead of the proposed 15 minutes. I contemplated leaving, but decided to stay, knowing that CFR meetings usually started and ended on time regardless of who the speaker was.

Isratine

Qaddafi is sometimes described as a madman. His eccentricity — and especially his unusual choice of words — may have something to do with that. At the United Nations the day before, he tore up a copy of the organization’s charter and called the Security Council a “terror council.”

He seemed sane to me that day, if his word choice remained eccentric.

One of the terms Qaddafi uses is Isratine, a combination of the words Israel and Palestine. At CFR, Qaddafi explained the reasons behind his support for a one-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He argued that the geography and the demographics of the area make a two-state solution difficult. The Libyan leader pointed out that the Palestinian state was split between Gaza and the West Bank, with Israel in between them. He added that settlements in the West Bank were too intertwined into Palestinian lands, which makes creating a Palestinian state there unrealistic.

Qaddafi suggested creating a “multicultural, multi-religious, multiracial state,” arguing that the lives of Israelis and Palestinians already depend on each other, with many Israeli factories employing Palestinian workers.

Although the one-state solution is not an option being considered in official discussions and negotiations, the idea is not new and there are those who support it. But it’s Qaddafi’s choice of the name of the country, Isratine, that makes his proposal more amusing.

“It Was A Different World Then”

Explaining why in 2003 Libya suddenly decided to give up its nuclear and chemical weapons program after investing so much in it, Qaddafi said things have changed. “At the time, all nations took pride in developing weapons of mass destruction. We were young and excited about the revolution,” he said in his very calm voice, one empty of any excitement.

He went on to argue that this phase has ended. A “strategic assessment” of which countries Libya would use those weapons against made them realize, he said, that the weapons represented more of a danger to Libya itself.

So far, so good, I thought.

“I Am Not An Authority”

Libya has no government and the press belongs to the people. That’s how Qaddafi, who is one of the longest serving leaders of the world, tried to evade giving a sincere answer to a question about Libya’s human rights practices. He said the questioner from Human Rights Watch wouldn’t understand this because she hasn’t read the Green Book which contains his theories about society.

All over the world, anything related to the government is hated and despised, “so we annulled the government,” he said. “I am not an authority,” he claimed. “Whether I am president or not, it doesn’t matter.” It was here that I felt Qaddafi was really insulting my intelligence. He’s been in power for 40 years now and it would be naïve to believe his utopian portrayal of Libya.

“I was a philosopher before I was an officer…I have a philosophy,” he went on.

Qaddafi argued that the system followed by Libya is the ideal one for governance and anticipated that the whole world to eventually evolve and adopt it.

And Finally….

The last question from the audience was about whether the President of CFR, Richard Haass, a Jewish-American, would be as well-received in Libya as Qaddafi was in New York.

“I am surprised by this question,” responded Qaddafi. “Did somebody tell you we discriminate against religions?” Qaddafi half-jokingly said that the question indicates that this must be an issue here in the U.S. or else it wouldn’t have been asked.

At the end, I was thinking: Is he really a madman? Putting aside his eccentric looks and strange choice of words, he seemed like just a typical Arab dictator, but a more irrelevant one. And maybe that’s why Qaddafi feels the constant need to attract attention.

It was 2:00 p.m….and guess what, the meeting did end on time. So, any new information, new impressions? Not really. Was it entertaining? No question about it.

Ben Piven describes Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s speech on Wednesday, and the atmosphere at the U.N.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks before the United Nations General Assembly.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad delivered a wide-ranging speech to the U.N.’s General Assembly on Wednesday, emphasizing the ideological contrast between his Islamic values and Western materialism, which he blamed for the global economic downturn.

He strongly condemned Israel’s invasion of Gaza and also derided Jewish global influence. “The international community is calling the occupiers ‘peace-lovers’ and the victims ‘terrorists,’” said Ahmadinejad. But he didn’t repeat inflammatory comments about wiping Israel off the map or denying the Holocaust. Some commentators took this as a sign of Ahmadinejad’s newfound conciliatory attitude.

Even though the Iranian leader expressed some openness to American diplomatic gestures, his speech received mixed reactions from the audience at the U.N. Most Western delegations walked out of the General Assembly chamber after Ahmadinejad took the podium, but there was no heckling by visitors.

“Our nation has successfully gone through a glorious and fully-democratic election,” said Ahmadinejad, who also called for the “elimination of all nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.” Positioning himself as a third world populist, Ahmadinejad declared, “The hegemony and domination of a few governments is over.”

Throngs of pro-democracy protesters clamored for attention outside the world body’s New York headquarters. Many wore green, the color adopted by supporters of reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi in June’s disputed elections.

Watch: Protesters outside United Nations headquarters.

Mohammad Al-Kassim describes how Ahmadinejad’s speech was portrayed in the Iranian press:

It’s true that he who has control of the flow of information has power over people.

For this reason alone, during the general assembly meetings each year, many governments dispatch an army of journalists to accompany their official delegates. It’s extremely important for high-ranking officials to be viewed in a certain way — to appear respected, intelligent and important in their countries.

That was evident during this year’s meeting, where presidents, prime ministers and high-ranking officials were surrounded by official media from their countries, who were carefully filming, writing and selectively editing their packages.

As part of my job at Worldfocus, every morning, I closely follow many news media outlets from the Middle East. What caught my eyes while scanning Iranian news outlets was how Ahmadinejad’s speech was covered by the Iranian media.

For example, Press TV — which is a government-funded English news channel — aired this broadcast report:

The package included footage of the Iranian president delivering his speech, and the camera cut to footage of an almost-full General Assembly hall — though from where I was seated, the hall looked mostly empty.

None of the Iranian media outlets that I checked mentioned any of the large number of vocal Iranian protesters outside the U.N. building. An article on the speech appeared on the Iranian government-funded Alalam news Web site, but it didn’t mention the walk outs or the demonstrations.

In his speech, the president said that the United States is committed to working with other countries to solve the world’s major problems. But he challenged them to do more and derided what he called “an almost reflexive anti-Americanism” sweeping the globe.

The president gave no hint of any major changes in U.S. policy toward Afghanistan. The president also seemed to break little new ground in his remarks about the Middle East, calling on the Palestinians to pursue peace with Israel and urging the Israelis to curb settlements in Palestinian territories.

Though he gave no hint of it during his speech, The New York Times reports that the Obama administration is considering major foreign policy changes in the Middle East and Afghanistan.

Obama also spoke about another key foreign policy issue — the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea. Several countries, led by the U.S., are considering additional sanctions against Iran and North Korea if they don’t curb their nuclear programs.

James Lindsay, senior vice president and director of studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, joins Daljit Dhaliwal to discuss policy reversals.

Eight months into the Obama administration, is U.S. foreign policy headed in the right direction or wrong direction?

Tell us what you think in the comments section below. Please remember to be respectful and on-point in your comments. Malicious or offensive comments will be deleted and repeat offenders will be banned.

Heralding a “new chapter of international cooperation,” U.S. President Barack Obama delivered his maiden speech to the U.N. General Assembly today. Obama remains very popular around the world, although he has not yet elicited any major concessions in global geopolitical conflicts.

I asked media personnel at the U.N. whether Obama’s good will might translate into tangible foreign policy benefits.

“I am very proud of the way that Obama has spoken frankly, since he comes from Africa,” said Boukar Doungous, press attache from Chad to the U.N. “But in terms of the tough foreign policy issues, all these conflicts — such as Israel-Palestine — existed before Obama came to power.”

“It’s difficult for him to truly resolve these issues of external politics before resolving internal American political problems. Although he has a clear vision, he’s prioritized the domestic issues for now,” Doungous said.

Brenda Miyeh Yufeh, a reporter at the state-owned daily Cameroon Tribune, said: “Obama has the good will to act, and he will be true to what he says. But he cannot operate alone as the president.” She continued, “There are so many groups with whom he needs to collaborate. The speed at which he needs to act should not frustrate us. As far as Africa is concerned, we need to give him some time to do better than George Bush.”

Watch: Reaction to Obama’s speech from an Indian print reporter, the bureau chief of Al-Arabiya and a reporter from Iran’s Press TV, a state-supported English-language news service.

A reporter for the Arabic-language Algerian daily Sawt Al Ahrar, which is associated with the ruling FLN party, expressed cautious optimism about Obama’s speech.

“He confirmed his intention to reform the foreign policy of the U.S. with regards to international organizations,” Nadjib Belhimer said. “But in reality, to change American strategy is a big task. For example, Guantanamo is still there. With the Muslim world, he has not yet modified the American stance.

Belhimer continued, “The Obama administration knows it’s not easy to shift the foreign policy of a superpower overnight. Yet it’s good to be optimistic. Obama already convinced the world that change has come. This president clearly doesn’t resemble Bush. Still, the whole world is waiting. Everyone wants to give Obama his chance.”

- Ben Piven and Mohammad al-Kassim

“We risk consigning future generations to catastrophe,” said Obama. “To promote renewable energy projects and technologies in the developing world…we have put climate change at the top of our diplomatic agenda.”

The American president spoke mostly in generalities, but his message was received warmly by delegates in the General Assembly Hall. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon exhorted the international community to take “urgent action…the climate negotiations are too slow.”

“We can contribute to the greater good by limiting the global temperature rise to safe levels,” said Ban.

Expectations were high ahead of Chinese President Hu Jintao’s speech at the United Nations summit on climate control. His speech introduced four new proposals, but the proposals lacked details on when and how China is going to implement them.

President Hu emphasized the importance of climate change and said that achieving sustainable development is an urgent matter for China, adding that his country will do its best to develop renewable and nuclear energy. He promised emissions would grow slower than economic growth in the future.

“We will endeavor to cut carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by a notable margin by 2020 from the 2005 level,” he added, and charged developing countries with supporting the world in tackling climate change.

“This is not only their responsibility, but also serves their long-term interest.”

But President Hu would not commit China to a specific target in reducing emissions.

Watch: Shao Zheng of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs discusses the Chinese president’s speech.

French President Nicholas Sarkozy delivered the most impassioned address in support of immediate legislation on climate change. The French leader also mentioned specific targets for 80 percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by developed countries before 2050. The policy idea most strongly emphasized by Sarkozy was the transfer of financing and technology from the developed nations to underdeveloped nations. France is one of the countries most ready to implement actual legislation that would result in such a transfer of green energy in the near future.

While there will no doubt be a lag between the inspired speeches and political reality, the chorus of global leaders seemed to be speaking in unusual harmony.

“The journey is long. The journey is hard,” concluded Obama. “If we resolve to work tirelessly in common effort, then we will achieve our common purpose: A world that is safer, cleaner, and healthier than the one we found; and a future that is worthy of our children.”

- Mohammad al-Kassim and Ben Piven

To hear them talk about climate change behind the walls of the United Nations is one thing. To actually see how it is affecting the environment is quite another.

Tony Birtley of Worldfocus partner Al Jazeera English provides a striking look at what is going on in Tasmania, the Australian island off the southeast corner of the continent.

They look at President Barack Obama’s reversal on a missile defense plan for Europe, the battle against Islamic militants and this week’s United Nations report on the war in Gaza — including charges that conduct by Israel and the Palestinian militants amounted to war crimes.

U.N. investigators are now calling upon Israel and Hamas to conduct their own independent inquiries into the allegations. If not, the team is recommending the case be sent to an international war crimes tribunal. Israel has rejected that call, blasting the report as being “conceived in sin.” The Israeli government refused to cooperate with the investigation, saying the outcome was “prejudged.”

Much of the Arab press focused on the allegations against Israel, while downplaying the actions of Hamas. In Israel, the report was almost universally condemned.

Do you believe that either Israel or Hamas — or both — committed war crimes in last winter’s war in Gaza?

Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

Yossi Peled, a minister in the current Israeli government and a former general in the Israeli Army, joins Daljit Dhaliwal to discuss the Israeli government’s position on the U.N. report and the chances of Israeli military action against Iran.

The schools in question are run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which also provides aid for Palestinian refugees throughout the Middle East. Andrew Whitley, the director of UNRWA’s New York office, joins Daljit Dhaliwal to discuss the organization’s position and how the Holocaust is handled in Middle Eastern schools.

In anticipation of the United Nations climate conference in Copenhagen later this year, Allegretti address the limits imposed on developing nations, greener agendas for governments and how business can take action in smart way.

Already, of course, the consequences are being felt and seen. Rising temperatures from global warming are forcing changes in how people live and work.

In Nepal, climate change has altered the lives of those who depend on land to get by, as Worldfocus partner IRIN reports.

Bo Lim, the Special Climate Change Adviser at the United Nations Development Program, joins Martin Savidge to discuss problems resulting from climate change.

The attorney general’s office in Malaysia says 10 immigration officers are being investigated after the U.S. State Department placed Malaysia on its list of the world’s worst human trafficking offenders last month.

Karen Zusman, an independent journalist, recently returned from Malaysia, where she reported on the plight of Burmese refugees.

For more, listen to an audio documentary and view images from Malaysia: Malaysia refuses to recognize Burmese as refugees

The crisis has prompted many North Koreans to flee that country. PBS Wide Angle takes a look at these defectors’ perilous trek to freedom, a grueling 3,000-mile journey through China and into southeast Asia.

Watch the full film “Crossing Heaven’s Border” and find more information at PBS Wide Angle’s website.

The United Nations has estimated that since 2003, about two million Darfuris have been displaced while some 200,000 have died, mainly from starvation and disease.

Gration joins Martin Savidge to discuss these issues and recommend a new approach to handling Khartoum.