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It is probably already too late to stop rapid climate change. The results for coral reefs and other life systems will be disastrous. Tom Goreau reports from the global-warming frontline. By Thomas J Goreau

Dan Plesch rediscovers a forgotten story of the 1940s: how the United Nations was forged, beat the Nazis and established a lasting peace.

Kyoto is the only foundation for global action on climate change, but governments must now start using the tools it provides, says Michael Grubb.

Manmade climate change threatens civilisation itself. It can be solved, but only with a vast mobilisation of human knowledge, technology and capital, say John Ashton and Tom Burke.

World leaders say climate change is one of the most serious threats facing humanity. Are they right? If so, what should they do? What should you do? Who will benefit and who will pay? Take part in the hottest debate of our times. Click on one of the icons below to find your own way into the debate

A sloppy, cynical piece of propaganda? No, says John Berger: Michael Moore's documentary film Fahrenheit 9/11 is a historical landmark inspired by hope – and its maker is a true artist deeply committed to his country.

Washington-led neoliberalism and unilateralism has failed the world. It is urgent that we find a way beyond its legacy. This calls for a new model of globalisation, that works for humans everywhere.

The Hutton report reveals the crisis of the British model of governance. Tony Blair and the BBC alike have fed the public realm's "manipulative populism", says David Marquand. Will Blair's leadership now be consumed by it?

Will Bush win another term? What is the "Future of World Leadership"? How is the Health of Nations? Where is the ZimFestival? From OPEC to the Olympics, Cannes to the Arctic Council, Elections to Anniversaries - the openDemocracy World Calendar has it all. Your year is empty without it.

The Ford Foundation, a large United States philanthropy, supported the World Social Forum's first three meetings in Porto Alegre, Brazil, and will participate in the latest gathering in Mumbai, India.

The immense financial costs of war and occupation are putting strains on the United States budget and its army's manpower resources alike. India's refusal to send a major troop deployment to northern Iraq is symbolic of the US's relative isolation.

In the aftermath of the cold war, the world's sole superpower prepared for a new world order to ensure its continued hegemony. The ensuing decade's instability, culminating in 9/11, propelled US neo-conservatives into a more coherent, focused statement of American ambitions than ever before.

The Iraqi regime is under sustained US assault. Its public voice is being silenced. For Iraq's soldiers and civilians alike, the cost of almost three weeks of war is already enormous.

"Türk halkının ve parlamentosunun 26 milyar dolar için bile satılık olmadığını herkese gösterdiğiniz için teşekkür ederim..." Simyacı isimli kitabıyla da tanınan yazar Paulo Coelho'nun ABD Başkanı George W. Bush'a açık mektubu.

The first war of the 21st century has generated in response an enormous, worldwide public opposition – much of it mobilising via the net. It represents a profoundly democratic challenge to the way the US seeks to conduct world affairs.