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Africa speaks up on Climate Change is an appeal about the threat climate change poses to Africa. Immediate political action is needed. The film Hotspot Africa shows how severe the problems really are.

Awareness of the commons requires a fundamental shift in thinking about the foundations of society. It means using, sharing, and multiplying our common wealth in a free and self-determined way. Our society needs a great debate and a worldwide movement for the commons. Now!

The climate and the non-proliferation regimes are crucial to protect our world from the two potential crises of catastrophic climate change and nuclear war. Promoting nuclear power will weaken these regimes, make nuclear war more likely, and is unlikely to protect us from climate change. It is time to move away from nuclear power towards more sustainable ways of generating electricity.

South Africa officially entered recession in May 2009, its first in 17 years. This issue of Perspectives discusses the implications of the global economic crisis for South Africa, and analyses the government’s responses in relation to social justice, gender equity and sustainable development principles.

The destruction of tropical forests contributes between percent of the greenhouse gases generated by human activity. Donor governments consider Congo Basin countries to be prime candidates for REDD (UN Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries), and national governments in the region are eager to seize the opportunity.

Analyses of the crisis are likely to show that the response redistributed wealth upward. The social, economical and ecological challenges are enormous and demand a broader analysis and a different kind of public debate that reaches beyond the classical economic thinking.

In a recent lecture for the United States Institute for Peace, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the world cannot afford to continue to rely on recycling ideas from the Cold War era. Unfortunately, the vast majority of Czech politicians and media think in Cold War terms, and as a result Czech society does as well.

Roberto Martínez Castañeda,  Ambassador of Honduras to Germany and the EU, describes the situation in Honduras from a constitutional perspective. "Brutal and illegitimate from the origin" he calls the de facto government and tells us why.

While global warming unlocks a host of new treasures and trade routes in the Arctic, the region is facing steady militarization. The article gives a comprehensive update about  policies and strategies of the circumpolar nations Russia, Denmark, Canada and Norway today and in the future.

Although they may not be racing each other, India and Pakistan are in a full-fledged nuclear arms race. Today, they are the world’s only countries that are openly increasing their fissile material stocks.