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The literacy injustice: 493 million women still can't read

Author: 

Fatimah Kelleher
Giving women a second chance at literacy will increase their earning power and give their children a brighter future
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Educating girls is now at the core of much development thinking and programming, but illiteracy among women and older adolescent girls outside formal education is an increasingly critical issue that risks falling between the gaps. Of the 774 million adults (15 years and older) who still cannot read or write, two–thirds of them (493 million) are women.

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Auto Production Sets New Record, Fleet Surpasses 1 Billion Mark

Author: 

Michael Renner
World Light Vehicle Production, 1950 - 2014
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Global production of automobiles keeps rising to new heights. London-based IHS Automotive puts passenger-car production in 2013 at 69.6 million, up from 66.7 million in 2012, and projects a figure of 71.7 million for 2014. (See Figure 1.) Adding light trucks (which in some countries, such as the United States, are used for passenger transportation), total light vehicle production rose from 81.5 million in 2012 to 84.7 million in 2013 and is projected to reach 86.8 million in 2014.

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Sustainable development goals face $2.5 trillion funding shortfall

Author: 

Sophie Yeo
UN report says climate, poverty and health targets will require huge cash injection from private sector
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The UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs) will fail unless governments and businesses find an extra US$ 2.5 trillion a year to support them.

The World Investment Report 2014, which the UN launched today in Nairobi, found that between $3.3 trillion and $4.5 trillion would be needed in the developing world to deliver the goals as they appear in drafts so far.

Current investment in these sectors is around $1.4 trillion, creating an average investment gap of about $2.5 trillion.

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Experts urge urgent action to cut climate pollutants

Author: 

Gilbert Nakweya
Experts urge urgent action to cut climate pollutant
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[NAIROBI] Measures to reduce short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) in developing regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa could benefit key sectors, including health and agriculture, experts say.

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Community Resilience Tops U.N.’s Disaster Relief Agenda

Author: 

Kalinga Seneviratne
A women-led village council prepares a “social map” of the local community. Credit: Naimul Haq/IPS
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BANGKOK, Jun 26 2014 (IPS) - The Bangkok Declaration on Disaster Risk Reduction in Asia and the Pacific adopted at the close of the 6th Asian Ministerial Conference On Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) here today emphasised community-based solutions, and reflects a growing global desire to focus more on grassroots actions in the face of catastrophic climate change.

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Great Pacific Garbage Patch: Scientists Can't Find A Lot Of The Plastic They Know Is In The World's Oceans

Author: 

Maria Gallucci
Great Pacific Garbage Patch: Scientists Can't Find A Lot Of The Plastic They Know Is In The World's Oceans
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Millions of tons of plastic products drift into the oceans every year, and yet nearly all of that garbage — 99 percent of it — can’t be found.

Researchers who spent months combing the waters for plastic particles say their nets came up surprisingly light, given that some 10 million to 20 million tons of plastic enter the ocean every year via rivers, floods, storm water runoff and from seafaring litterbugs.

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Great Pacific Garbage Patch: Scientists Can't Find A Lot Of The Plastic They Know Is In The World's Oceans

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http://s1.ibtimes.com/sites/www.ibtimes.com/files/styles/v2_article_large/public/2014/04/01/niihau-trash-beach.jpg

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Oceangoing trash that accumulates on the windward side of the Hawaiian Island of Niihau. Every year, millions of tons of garbage end up in Earth’s oceans

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