Protecting culture and nature: how World Heritage Sites are chosen

Protecting culture and nature: how World Heritage Sites are chosen

It all started in the summer of 1954, when the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) launched an international campaign to rescue the twin Abu Simbel temples in Egypt, threatened by the construction of a dam. The $80 million operation was such a success that it paved the way for world heritage protection

70 years of the United Nations

70 years of the United Nations

Peace, security, sustainable development, human rights, and fundamental freedoms. These key words are the goals the United Nations (UN) have been setting for 70 years, since the moment when 51 nations (later 193, i.e. all world’s independent countries, apart from Vatican City) autonomously decided to sign – on 26 June 1945 – the treaty that

Environmental migrants: the storm ahead

Environmental migrants: the storm ahead

100,000 lives were lost in the Sahel region of Africa between 1972 and 1984 due to a long lasting drought and the famine it caused. A recent scientific study shows that global warming has more recently increased rainfall in the area, temporarily relieving it from drought. This has led many, such as Forbes contributor James

China’s future? One, huge metropolis

China’s future? One, huge metropolis

Between 2011 and 2012 China has produced more cement than the United States throughout the 21st century. This is one of the most surprising figures of the report Vado a vivere in città: il boom dell’urbanizzazione in Cina (Going to live in cities: urbanisation boom in China), realised by Cecilia Attanasio Ghezzi and Nicola Longobardi for China