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What would the world look like if men and women around the world would have the same opportunities in life? What would politics look like if half of the world's leaders would be female? What would development look like if men and women would have equal access to and control over the natural resources they depend upon?

We are deeply shocked about the murder on Dexter Condez, the 26-year-old leader of the Ati tribe, an indigenous group in the Philippines. He was shot dead Friday night February 22nd on the tourist island of Boracay. While no suspects have been arrested, the police thinks the motive could involve a dispute between de Ati tribe and developers over a piece of land. Our sympathy goes to the family, friends and the people he worked with.

For a moment it appeared that the European Investment Bank (EIB) decided to stop investments in coal fired power plants. The bank even seemed to have issued a press release on the matter. But, unfortunately, the message was not real. During the annual press conference of the bank the activists, who were the source of the fake press release, stroke again. In the name of ‘the citizens of Europe’, EIB president Werner Hoyer was awarded with the ‘World Coal Down Award’. Hoyer, who was confused for a second, did not accept the award. The EIB fiercely denied the rumors surrounding the investment stop on coal with the term 'pure nonsense'.

"This is a turning point in global water management," said Both ENDS colleague Tobias Schmitz. He was in Geneva for a UN meeting on the future of water management or ‘the world after 2015’, when the term for the current Millennium Development Goals has passed. The conference had a special focus on the management of water resources and of waste water. We asked Tobias why he was attending the meeting and what were – and should be-  the main issues in his view.

“Quite shocking”, said Anouk Franck from Both ENDS. “The International Finance Corporation is unaware of the social and environmental consequences of their investments in private enterprises in developing countries and emerging economies. This was observed by the Ombudsman of the IFC itself.”

Everything is tradable, even the right to CO2 emissions. In the European Union this has been common practice for some years now. EU countries have agreed to a maximum amount of CO2 emissions, and this 'right' is divided amongst companies in EU countries that produce a lot of CO2. Theoretically, CO2 emissions should be reduced this way. But are they? Both ENDS, together with a number of other organizations, signed a letter calling to stop this system. Wiert Wiertsema, specialist on international capital flows, explains why.