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Ralf Fuecks on Green Growth, Smart Growth – A New Approach to Economics, Environment & Innovation at the 37th Vikram Sarabhai Memorial Lecture in Ahmedabad, October 7th, 2015.

The gas pipeline Nord Stream II should double the existing natural gas transport capacity from Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea. Juraj Mesík explains why the Kremlin will be the biggest winner of this project.

In the year 2016 exposure visits for journalists are taking place. They are taken to projects that are meant to mitigate or adapt to climate change such as renewable energy and reforestation projects. Location visits, meetings with involved communities and the project implementers provide the background for analyses and reporting back in the newspaper. Journalists likewise act as a watchdog and spread awareness to further promote climate-friendly initiatives.

Negotiations on a treaty declaring nuclear weapons illegal are planned for 2017. So far, Germany and others have tried to block this process, even while officially supporting a nuclear-weapon-free world. These contradictions will soon end, however: states will have to pick sides.

Within the last days, Russia has accused Ukraine in “state terrorism” and started massive military drills along Ukrainian border. Our office in Kiev answers the most pressing questions on the recent escalation in Crimea.

After the UK vote for leaving the European Union, India, with historically close ties to Britain has to reassess its relations with both sides. A weakening of either the EU or the UK is against India's interests, which could lead to a revivification of the Commonwealth and to new multilateral free trade areas.

Torture and sexualized violence are part of everyday life in Syrian prisons. However, human rights violations committed by the Assad regime play no role at the Geneva peace talks. With this in mind, Barbara Unmüßig, calls for women to be included as peace negotiators.

On 1 July 2016 Slovakia assumed the Presidency of the EU Council. The government had been planning to implement the agreement reached between the UK and the EU in February 2016. But now they have to deal with the fact that Great Britain is leaving the European Union.

For a long time, the construction of the EU has been incomprehensible and aggravating for Moscow. The EU without Great Britain could be much more pleasant for Russia.

The government accepted the result with disappointment, while many in opposition saw it as an inspiration. Yet the post-Brexit debate might just as well be an opportunity to anchor the Czech Republic more deeply in the European Union.

With the Olympics Rios city limits are shifted: Instead of fostering the wealth of the population, the municipality opens the way for speculation in real estate.

Marilene de Paula, coordinator for the Heinrich-Böll-Foundation Brazil, analyzes the legacy of the 2014 World Cup.

State repression against non-governmental organizations is increasing globally. In this interview, Barbara Unmüßig calls for a reconceptualisation of solidarity with civil society and puts the issue of shrinking and closing spaces at the very top of the political agenda.

Thanks to superficial cleaning measures plastic waste will probably not disturb the Olympic Sailing Competitions in the Guanabara Bay. A long-term restoration of the bay, however, stays indispensable as Emanuel Alencar illustrates in this article.

The UK’s divorce from the EU has diminished the hope of both the British and the Chinese in placing the UK as a spring board to the whole European market. Beijing is losing its newly acquired “best partner in the West”.

Worldwide people are exposed to serious human rights violations because of their sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI). Therefore the UN Human Rights Council has decided to appoint an independent expert on the protection of LGBTI people.

The participation of 4,675 female athletes in the 2012 Olympics – about 45 per cent of all athletes – was a milestone on the way to gender equality.

In spite of the maxim transparency and laws requiring free access to information the municipality of Rio de Janeiro owns a lot of information on the Olympic Games.

Barbara Unmüßig correlates the Olympics with Brazil’s institutional, political and economic crisis. Did the organizers learn a lesson from the World Cup in 2014?

“Women nominated on quotas are usually party-bound and they have to follow party-line first and if they disagree with the party, they stay aloof,” said an MNA Nafeesa Khattak during the hbs workshop on “Strategizing Women’s Substantive Political Representation”, held in Islamabad on July 13, 2016.

With Britain leaving the EU Poland is loosing one of its most important security policy ally. At the same time up to a million polish migrants in Britain are facing an uncertain future as they were already being used as scapegoats in the Brexit campaign.

The attempt to connect environmental and economic objectives turn out more difficult than expected. The green transformation must be seen as a political task.

While Great Britain’s future departure from the European Union is a sizable loss to Hungary in both political and economic terms, the Hungarian government is trying to cash in on increasing popular dissatisfaction with Brussels.

Ten years after the creation of the Yogyakarta Principles, “Principles on the Application of International Human Rights Law in Relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity”, Caroline Ausserer speaks with Professor Stephen Whittle, one of the experts that elaborated them.

The political situation in Zimbabwe is getting worse, the population is protesting with a Stay-Away against corruption, bond notes and a lack of payment. Paula Assubuji, from our office in South Africa, has spoken with Kudakwashe Chitsike about the current situation in the country.

The energy sector in Ukraine is undergoing a fundamental transition. Yet, to overcome old structures and deep-rooted corruption, Ukraine needs a clear long-term strategy on the transition to green economy and sustainable energy. German and the EU technical support can play a key role in this process.

With its Anne Klein Women’s Award, the Heinrich Böll Foundation honours women who courageously and perseveringly advocate human rights, equality and sexual self-determination. We invite you to nominate candidates for the 2017 Anne Klein Women’s Award.

Hillary Clinton should be warned by the British referendum: Similar to the Brexit movement, Trump’s campaign benefits from anti-immigrant sentiment and anger over the “political elites” and “mainstream media”.

Putinist trolls are having a good time in Hungary these days. Articles published by pro-Kremlin, anti-immigrant news sites are shared by thousands of readers, often mistaken for actual news stories. Objective journalism has thus been degraded to just one of many possible narratives for interpreting the world around us.

Kurz vor den Olympischen Spielen ruft der Bundesstaat Rio de Janeiro den Finanznotstand aus. Der Bund muss helfen, um die letzten Olympia-Baustellen fertigzustellen. Eine Analyse zeigt, das Megaevent hat schon längst mehr öffentliche Kosten verursacht, als es offizielle Zahlen besagen.