Israel is criticised for violating the right to equality in a new report by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The committee underscores its unease at allegations of ongoing discrimination against Ethiopian Jews.

Al Jazeera has premiered the first part of a two-part documentary on the Occupy movement. The film was made for Fault Lines, the award-winning public affairs documentary program. Part one of the film can be watched through the link provided.

This paper argues that the unprecedented acceleration of growth in the developing world in the new millennium in comparison with advanced economies is due not so much to improvements in underlying fundamentals as to exceptionally favourable global economic conditions, shaped mainly by unsustainable policies in advanced economies. For Latin American and African commodity exporters, gaining greater autonomy and achieving rapid and stable growth depend on their success in reducing reliance on capital flows and commodity earnings.

Illegal logging generates $10-15bn (£7.5-11bn) around the world, according to new analysis from the World Bank. Its report, 'Justice for Forests', says that most illegal logging operations are run by organised crime, and much of the profit goes to corrupt officials. Countries affected include Indonesia, Madagascar and several in West Africa.

Numerous non-governmental organisations used the World Water Forum (WWF) held in Marseille as an opportunity to remind the international community about the serious global impacts of large dams all over the world. Defined as dams higher than 15 metres or with a reservoir volume of at least three million cubic metres, large dams number no less than 48,000 worldwide and present numerous issues, not least of which is a considerably negative impact on the livelihoods of local populations.

In his analysis of the failure over more than two decades to deal with the genocide, Alfredo Tjiurimo Hengari looks at the changing attitudes of Namibia’s SWAPO-led government and the role of the Namibian media as well as Germany’s evasive political posturing.

Names, dates, statistics, records, photographs – Namibia-based historian, Casper W. Erichsen, explains some of the factual evidence of the multiple atrocities that were part of the genocide in Namibia.

Three Zambian students were severely beaten in Saint Petersburg Russia on the night of 18 March, leaving one of the students in a coma. Police are studying records of CCTV cameras to establish the circumstances of the incident which many believe was a racist attack. Racist assaults are frequently committed by skinhead gangs, which have grown in number in recent years in Russia and specifically Saint-Petersburg.

'Defanging' - that’s what one observer has called it. 'Wrecking' might be another term for what CIDA is doing to Canada’s once vibrant, once independent NGO sector. A survey of 158 organizations just released by the Canadian Council for International Cooperation (CCIC) and its seven provincial/regional counterparts has confirmed what many already suspected: that CIDA’s new rules of engagement have weakened the credibility and the capacities of NGOs, added to their costs, damaged or disrupted their overseas programs and put a chill on the advocacy work of those that were so inclined.

In this week's edition of the Emerging Powers News Round-Up, read a comprehensive list of news stories and opinion pieces related to China, India and other emerging powers...

Global greenhouse gas emissions could rise 50 per cent by 2050 without more ambitious climate policies, as fossil fuels continue to dominate the energy mix, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said. The global economy in 2050 will be four times larger than today and the world will use around 80 per cent more energy.

This report looks at the appropiatness of the International Monetary Fund in dealing with global economic recovery. In April 2009, G-20 leaders designated the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as the central vehicle for global economic recovery and tripled the Fund’s lending capacity from US$250 billion to US$750 billion. Civil society and humanitarian organizations expressed deep concern due to the Fund’s checkered record in predicting and responding to crises.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of women around the world die during childbirth because they lack access to the medical assistance they need. On International Women’s Day, 8 March, MSF released a report, 'Maternal Death: The Avoidable Crisis', that details the profound, life-saving impact quality emergency obstetric care can have for pregnant women who are trying to endure acute and chronic humanitarian crises. Download the report from the website.

Geneva, 11 March 2012

There is battle raging across the world over who can better feed its people: small-scale farmers practicing sustainable agriculture, or giant agribusinesses using chemical fertilizers and pesticides. It was small-scale organic farmers growing rice for themselves and local markets in the Philippines who first convinced us that they could feed both their communities and their country. Part of what convinced us was simple economics: These farmers demonstrated substantial immediate savings from eliminating chemical inputs while, within a few harvests - if not immediately - their yields were close to or above their previous harvests. From these farmers, we also learned of the health and environmental benefits from this shift.

Key staff from Al Jazeera’s Beirut Bureau have resigned citing “bias” in the channel’s stance on the conflict in Syria. Bureau Managing Director Hassan Shaaban reportedly quit last week, after his correspondent and producer had walked out in protest. A source told the Lebanese paper Al Akhbar that Al Jazeera’s Beirut correspondent Ali Hashem had quit over the channel’s stance on covering events in Syria.

This year has already seen the largest-ever strike on record in India, hundreds of thousands marching for democracy in Bahrain, general strikes in Montreal and Spain where students once again occupied public space in protest of the austerity measures and spending cuts being enforced by the European banking elite, massive uprisings in the streets of Moscow, and more. Even in the United States, the movement grows. The corporate media claims that Occupy's strength is waning, but they are merely in denial. During the coldest months of this year, the United States has already seen more revolutionary momentum than it has in decades.

The latest INTERIGHTS Quarterly Update, a regular email containing summaries of recent news, including updates on litigation, events and publications, with links to full details on their website, is available. It contains news about the repeal of death sentences in Egypt, a ruling on hate speech against the LGBTI community in Sweden and news on resources and publications.

The Prison Radio newsletter features posts about - and writing and commentary by - Mumia Abu-Jamal, who is serving life imprisonment without parole in the US for the 1981 murder of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner, but whom many activists consider to be innocent. It also contains other news about prisoner campaigns and solidarity.

In this week's edition of the Emerging Powers News Round-Up, read a comprehensive list of news stories and opinion pieces related to China, India and other emerging powers...