UN Names Norway Best Place to Live

Iceland, Rwanda, and Norway top the Independent's 'best' list

(NEWSER) - With International Women's Day coming up Thursday, should we weep or rejoice? While British women will likely face 14 more elections before women equal men in Parliament, women in Qatar are far more likely to attend university than men. That said, the Independent picked its best and worse nations for women to live:

1. Overall. Best: Iceland, where equality is high in health, education, politics, and employment. Worst: Yemen. Most dangerous: Afghanistan.

...Norway, says index that considers maternity leave, mortality rates

(NEWSER) - Moms who want the good life should consider heading north. That's because Norway is the best place in the world to be a mother, according to new survey. Why? Norway has great health benefits, an average year-long maternity leave from work, and low child mortality rates, along with a high life expectancy for women (an average 83 years). Iceland and Australia also top the annual "Mother Index" compiled by the Save the Children organization. The US ranks 31st out of 164 countries because it has one of the highest maternal mortality rates among the richest nations, reports AP . More»

Outraged as Iranian, Swiss leaders meet at UN racism conference

(NEWSER) - Israel has angrily called home its ambassador to Switzerland after that country's president met with Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ahead of a politically charged UN meeting on racism that began today, the Times of London reports. On Israel's Holocaust Memorial Day, Switzerland’s “guest of honor is a racist and a Holocaust-denier who doesn’t conceal his intention to wipe Israel off the face of this earth,” PM Benjamin Netanyahu said. More»

It's 'bloody outrageous,' says angry Brit official

(NEWSER) - US Defense Secretary Robert Gates has sparked an uproar among America's allies after he complained to the Los Angeles Times that some NATO forces are unprepared for their jobs in Afghanistan. The Dutch, British and Canadians—who all have troops in the south of the country—immediately slammed the comments, with one Brit official calling it "bloody outrageous." More»

$1.2B pledge to developing countries is mostly forgotten

(NEWSER) - Several of the world's richest nations have forgotten about a $1.2 billion pledge to help developed countries cope with climate change, the Guardian reports. The group has doled out less than $185 million so far to help them plan for global warming, defend against floods, and boost conservation. "This represents a broken promise on a massive scale and on quite a cynical scale as well," said one analyst. More»