In an effort to demonstrate that rhetoric over the current climate crises is not empty, members of the United Nations have decided to crank up the heat to combat global warming.

Yesterday, the organization announced that it will increase the interior temperature of their 39-story office headquarters in New York City by 5 degrees Fahrenheit. What better way to make sure 4,500 people of varying cultural and political backgrounds work cohesively and without conflict than to cram them all into a building and crank up the heat!

The increased temperature is meant to decrease the electricity demand for air-conditioning, and thereby reduce the amount of carbon emitted into the atmosphere by the fossil fuel power plant predominately used to power the AC. But no one seems to be worrying whether the...

The Dutch government has passed a new law under which Iranians will be banned from access to courses and facilities related to nuclear technology in the Netherlands.

According to a report in the Nature News, under the new law, passed on July 4, Iranians, including those holding dual citizenship in the Netherlands, will be unable to enroll in graduate-level courses involving nuclear and rocket technologies.

Looking for a vacation spot? Need to add some more happiness to your life? Take a trip to Denmark! It may not have warm sandy beaches but it should make you smile.

According to the National Science Foundation-funded World Values Survey , Denmark is the happiest place on earth. The research, conducted regularly by a global network of social scientists, flies in the face of Muslims still angry about the Danish cartoons of their prophet Mohammed.

Democracy, social equality and a peaceful atmosphere are the key components to the country's high rating. While not the richest country, Denmark is prosperous. Criteria such as good healthcare and access to higher education were also factors taken into account.

The world-wide survey also asked people how happy they considered themselves. One...

OK, so we're all feeling the burn at the pumps these days and hope that it's only temporary. But our pain is shared by many countries. In fact, to a number of countries, US gas costs are actually cheap!

Don't believe it? Review the chart we put together below to end your disbelief. In it, you will see worldwide gas costs per gallon of gas for 2004 (green bars) and for the present, 2008 (white bars).





As the chart depicts, gas is twice as expensive in Europe and Israel, and 50% more expensive in Japan as well as in Brazil, where ethanol for sugar cane has emerged as a viable, widely-used alternative to gasoline. But in Venezuela and Saudi Arabia, two of the largest oil-exporting countries in the world, gas in cheap.

So why do gas prices vary so much between countries when...

A high court in South Africa ruled on Wednesday that Chinese-South Africans will be reclassified as “black,” a term that includes black Africans, Indians and others who were subject to discrimination under apartheid. As a result of this ruling, ethnically Chinese citizens will be able to benefit from government affirmative action policies aimed at undoing the effects of apartheid.

The Independent, a British newspaper, published the following article about Britain's attempts to curtail immigration. The articles discusses the most recent attempt to limit the influx of immigrants to only those considered skilled workers (think H-1B visas). Like the U.S., the British government is requiring businesses to prove they are unable to find and hire U.S. workers to do the jobs they are seeking immigrants for.

As Britain continues to create new legislation to handle increasing rates of immigration, we should continue to monitor their progress in handling the situation. They might just come up with a new approach we haven't yet thought about.

"New immigration controls detailed today would have prevented 20,000 foreign workers taking jobs in Britain last year, the...

Amnesty International, a human rights watchdog group, released a report today detailing numbers and trends in state-sanctioned executions worldwide. According to the report, China led the world in executions with 470, down substantially from the 1,010 killed in the previous year. However, the group believes the number executed to be much higher as the country's government does not actually publish these statistics. The US-based organization “Dui Hua Foundation” estimates that 6,000 people were executed in China last year , based on reports from Chinese officials.

Iran maintained the the second-highest number of executions and the most per capita, with 377 killings that included a man stoned for adultery.

The number of American executions fell to its lowest level in about 15 years, putting...

In a surprising but refreshingly novel approach to foreign diplomacy, the Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan has decided to use YouTube to address Arab stereotypes by fielding questions and comments from YouTube users.

Queen Rania, named the third most beautiful woman in the world in 2005 by Harpers & Queen magazine, is renowned for her philanthropic work and attempts at improving education, women's rights, and global understanding of Islam.

The Queen's move into the Web 2.0 world via YouTube follows a recent trend here in the U.S. in which government agencies have enrolled bloggers to communicate directly with citizens, embraced audio casts of their work called podcasts, and military branches have promoted their activities via YouTube videos. But the interactive format employed...

Japan has created an unusual government post to promote animation, and named a perfect figure Wednesday to the position: a popular cartoon robot cat named Doraemon.

The appointment is part of Japan's recent effort to harness the power of pop culture in diplomacy. Japan also created an International Manga Award last year under comic enthusiast former Foreign Minister Taro Aso , who likened it to a " Nobel Prize " for an artist working abroad.

The Chinese government has blocked access to YouTube after scores of clips showing violence between police and Tibetan protesters were posted to the site.