EDITORIAL:

The best is yet to come

IAN BEALES
So the Mayas were, on this at least, wrong. The world didn’t end on 21 December. We are still free to engage in the ritual of gloomy introspection and frequently false hope that marks the passing of one year to the next. It is business as usual. Civil war in...
GLOBAL INSIGHT: 2013

Global Insight: a world of hope in 2013

VARIOUS WORLD LEADERS
As the New Year begins and Davos looms, Global asked some of the world’s most...

Critical choices for China’s new leader

JONATHAN FENBY
Last November, when Xi Jinping was elected to lead China for the next ten years,...

Anti-Chinese sentiment clouds US foreign policy

MICHAEL SHANK
Two of the world’s biggest superpowers – China and the USA – have more in...

Deciphering Davos

LESLEY CURWEN
After years of covering the annual World Economic Forum in the picturesque Swiss resort, the...
GLOBAL INSIGHT: SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY

“Asia is a paradigm in turning the tide of deforestation”

EDUARDO ROJAS-BRIALES
As increasing attention is now being given to the benefits of forests and to sustainable...

“Forests provide great opportunities for adapting to climate change”

JAN MCALPINE
In 2007, the UN Forum on Forests adopted the landmark Non-Legally Binding Instrument on All...

Sustainable Forestry: helping the planet to breathe

FIONA HARVEY
Solutions to many of the world’s concerns about climate change are not necessarily hard to...

A practical way to approach responsible forest management

KIM CARSTENSEN
Frustration over intractable conservation negotiations brought together a committed group of environmentalists, foresters, forest owners,...

“Many countries lack capacity for sustainable (forest) management”

EMMANUEL ZE MEKA
Established under the auspices of the United Nations in 1986, the ITTO’s work is governed...
SPOTLIGHT: TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

“Our economy is bolstered by our international reputation”

KAMLA PERSAD-BISSESSAR
Trinidad and Tobago’s prime minister, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, talks to Global about her plans for strengthening...

Trinidad & Tobago: time to ease off the gas

SIR RONALD SANDERS
With its booming oil and gas industry, Trinidad and Tobago fared well in the global...

Overcoming political barriers to economic revival

TONY FRASER
Trinidad and Tobago’s energy-driven economy has survived the international recession without suffering too badly; but...

“In the Trinidad of my childhood, there was a delight in language well used”

VAHNI CAPILDEO
Vahni Capildeo, based in Oxford, was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, in 1973. After...
GLOBAL ARENA: TALKING POINTS

“Of the most sustained problem was the management of expectations”

RAYMOND WHITAKER
In his memoir, Kofi Annan offers a frank insight into his 10 years as UN...

Can Canada’s star shine in London?

CHRIS COBB
With an impressive résumé and a trail of successes in his wake, the first non-British...

Decoded: The future of the euro

GEORGE MAGNUS
As a tentative calm returns to European markets, buoyed by last summer’s commitment by the...

Brazil’s new literary voice

JAMES WOODALL
Behind the global headlines of Brazil’s upcoming sporting events and past economic successes, young novelists...

Berlin: where culture lovers scramble for tickets

JAMES WOODALL
For ten nights in February, the chilly German capital plays host to one of Europe’s...

The fuel to Brazil’s literary fire

With the Olympic torch having passed from London to Rio de Janeiro, all the talk...

Books – recent titles reviewed

Revealing Britain’s darker side Cruel Britannia: A Secret History of Torture Ian Cobain, Portobello, London,...
IN FOCUS: PAPUA NEW GUINEA

PNG: reconciliation replaces bitter feelings

CHRIS PRITCHARD
After an unseemly period of competition between two rivals for high office, Papua New Guinea...

Tok Pisin – a vital language of unity

PHIL MERCER
An energetic mix of English, German, Malay and Bahasa Indonesian, Tok Pisin plays a crucial...

“PNG has some of the world’s biggest gold, silver and nickel reserves”

PHILIP SAMAR
Global: Papua New Guinea’s land and sea areas would appear to have been quite intensively...

Mineral riches could yet bring much-needed change

Already known for its copper, gold and silver mines, Papua New Guinea is about to...

Hazards and high hopes in Port Moresby

A reputation for crime and violence has tended to hide the improving opportunities for people...
IN FOCUS: ZIMBABWE

“Life for the ordinary Zimbabwean is appreciably better now”

MORGAN TSVANGIRAI
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC party took power as part of a coalition with Zanu...

The high cost of schizophrenia

ANVER VERSI
If ever a country’s economy can be described as having a personality disorder, then surely...

Mugabe: villain or hero?

ALEXA DALBY
To say that Robert Mugabe receives a bad press from the international media is an...

Sculpture of the People of the Mist

JULIET HIGHET
In Zimbabwe, the Shona people are traditionally known as “the People of the Mist”, since...

Election sticking points

While all the main players are agreed that elections should take place in 2013, there...

Zimbabwe: the make or break elections

BAFFOUR ANKOMAH
After years of economic sanctions imposed by the West, Zimbabwe desperately needs help getting back...
COMMONWEALTH NETWORK: COMMONWEALTH IN ACTION

From the Commonwealth Secretary-General

KAMALESH SHARMA
The potency of united action has been demonstrated time and again in the history of...

Time to shape up

RICHARD OTTAWAY MP
Chair of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Richard Ottaway, calls for the Commonwealth...

1965: the Commonwealth comes of age

STUART MOLE
For many, the modern Commonwealth dates from the London Declaration of 1949. This opened the...

ICTs – using technology to creatively transform lives

PROFESSOR TIM UNWIN
With the potential to open up new areas of employment, ease communications and foster networks,...

“The Commonwealth needs to find where its unique characteristics can be most useful”

CLYDE SANGER
As a reporter for the Manchester Guardian, Clyde Sanger covered the coming of independence to...

Winning words from the Jubilee Time Capsule

JOHN SAMSON
Junior Commonwealth Essay Competition winner: John Samson, 12 years, Malawi 5 September 2011: The day...

From the Commonwealth with love

VERITY SHARP
On 14 November, Her Majesty the Queen, Head of the Commonwealth and Patron of the...

Beyond the field: the role of sport in development and peace

CARL KONADU
With the upcoming Commonwealth Games to be held in Glasgow in 2014, a seminar was...

Taking the minutes

The first-ever Commonwealth-Secretary General, the Canadian diplomat Arnold Smith, had been in office for only...

Secretary-General visits Nauru and Kiribati

The Commonwealth Secretary-General, Kamalesh Sharma, toured the Pacific from 29 October to 9 November in...

Sand mining leads to coastal erosion in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone’s booming construction industry is a ray of hope to many in a country...

Polar expedition sets sail bearing the Commonwealth flag

London’s Tower Bridge was raised on 6 December to allow the South African icebreaker, the...

Key events and meetings

Finance Ministers address impact of external shocks Commonwealth Finance Ministers concluded their 2012 annual meeting...

Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation

The Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) is the oldest and largest Commonwealth organisation engaged in multilateral...

Cameroon gay sex ruling overturned

Two men jailed in Cameroon for homosexual acts have had their conviction overturned by the...

Bluefin tuna sold for record-breaking $1.76 million

Kiyoshi Kimura, president of Kiyomura Co., made the successful bid and set a new record...
Amnesty International