World business organization reports drop in attacks on ocean commerce
Maritime piracy and armed robbery have fallen by 24% so far this year. Africa's Gulf of Guinea remains a 'high risk area.'
European Union
The European Union (E.U.), a political and economic union of 27 nations, is a major global actor and a key proponent of multilateralism. The E.U. has deep ties with other international organizations, holding observer status at the U.N. and acting as a full member of the G-7 and G-20.
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New clean air treaty goes into effect across Europe and North America
The agreement aims to limit heat-trapping black carbon emissions that accelerate melting of glaciers and sea ice.
Georgieva starts in new post as chief of the International Monetary Fund
Bulgarian economist Kristalina Georgieva emphasized the IMF must deal with inequality, climate risk, and technology.
Swiss clamor for U.N.-led action to fight rising temperatures and seas
Up to 100,000 people turned out for Switzerland's largest-ever climate demonstration to fulfill the Paris climate treaty goals.
U.N. mission to probe suspected human rights abuses in Venezuela
The Human Rights Council created a mission to investigate cases in the beleaguered country from the past five years.
E.U.'s 'right to be forgotten' applies only within its borders, court says
The E.U.'s top court said Google is not required to delete links to outdated or embarrassing info outside the 28-nation bloc.
AfDB 'getting out of coal' with no more financing for fossil fuel energy
The African Development Bank Group says it will no longer support '19th century technologies' like coal and oil.
UNESCO-led Mosul's heritage reconstruction project is set for 2020
The $100 million plan will reconstruct Mosul's cultural heritage, including its famed 12th-century al-Nuri mosque.
Iran defies nuclear deal with centrifuge use as stockpile grows
IAEA confirmed Iran is preparing to use arrays of more advanced centrifuges, in another violation of the deal.
Nations challenged to restore land fertility from desert landscapes
Farming, logging, mining and other human activities add to climate impacts on land, costing up to 17% of global GDP.
G-7 allies in turmoil over trade and climate as Trump takes hard line
The summit in France was overshadowed by fears of an escalating trade war between the United States and China.
Europeans probe Facebook's bid to establish a new cryptocurrency
The E.U.'s antitrust probe of the Libra project focuses on concerns it would improperly shut out rival payment systems.
Youth climate movement decides strategy at Swiss-hosted summit
Their demands call for supporting developing nations, paying for cleaner technologies, and pressuring wealthy nations.
Experts say Myanmar's foreign arms trade fuels human rights abuses
A U.N. fact-finding mission urged the international community to sever ties with Myanmar’s military.
Europe's first legally binding treaty on violence against women turns 5
The treaty, which took effect in 2014, builds on efforts to protect women and girls from violence since the 1990s.
Iran and Europe are in a push to keep the nuclear deal afloat
Iran's biggest European trading partners are Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, and Greece.