By Anis Chowdhury and Jomo Kwame Sundaram Sydney and Kuala Lumpur, Jul 30 2019 (IPS) – July 2019 saw the 75th anniversary of the historic conference of 44 countries held at the Bretton Woods (BW) resort in New Hampshire during…
Category: Economy
Using renewable energy, circular economy to fight poverty
By Daniel Gutman Buenos Aires, Jul 29 2019 (IPS) – On the outer edges of Buenos Aires proper, where the paved streets end and the narrow alleyways of one of Argentina’s largest shantytowns begins, visitors can find the En Haccore…
Social investment for future wellbeing: Rescue, not renewal
by Anton Hemerijck and Massimiliano Santini on 29th July 2019 The welfare state in Europe must become a social-investment state if the broken European social contract is to be renewed. The new European Commission, set to take office on November…
Don’t fear the scooter
by Alon Tal Tel Aviv – Electric bicycles and scooters are taking a lot of heat. Concerns about traffic fatalities, terrorized pedestrians, and urban lawlessness have led a growing chorus of politicians and media commentators to conclude that the technology…
14 water development projects being implemented in Rajshahi
Public health engineering department (DPHE) has been implementing 14 water supply and sanitation improvement projects involving more than Taka 99.94 crore to provide safe drinking water to people here. Abujar Masudar Rahman, Superintending Engineer of DPHE, here told BSS that…
Will a global fund help deliver UN’s development agenda?
By Thalif Deen UN, Jul 19 2019 (IPS) – The United Nations, which has been tracking both the successes and failures of its highly-ambitious Agenda for Sustainable Development, has warned that “progress has been slow” in many of the 17…
The IMF leadership is not a bargaining counter
by Adam Tooze on 22nd July 2019 Adam Tooze argues that Europe must get beyond seeing the head of the IMF as part of the spoils from Bretton Woods.
The future of Europe: Rebalancing ecology, economics and ethics
by President Michael D. Higgins on 18th July 2019 Europe needs a new eco-social paradigm if it is to ward off the populist sirens and offer a positive vision for the continent. We have as a global community to respond…
US defunds UNFPA for the third year– on wrong assumptions
By Thalif Deen UN, Jul 17 2019 (IPS) – The Trump administration, in its continued hostility towards the United Nations– and as part of its policy aimed at undermining multilateral institutions and international commitments– has withheld its annual contributions to…
Facebook and friends threaten to libralise the world
By Anis Chowdhury and Jomo Kwame Sundaram Sydney and Kuala Lumpur, Jul 16 2019 (IPS) – On 17 June, a Facebook white paper proposed a new global digital currency it plans to launch in the first half of 2020. The…
Inclusion, empowerment, equality must for sustainable dev
The world’s people are demanding “transformative change that is fair and sustainable,” Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday, calling on government leaders to use the upcoming slate of key United Nations meetings in September to “kickstart a decade of delivery…
2.6 million join the Bangladesh job market every year
Dhaka, July 15 – About 26 lakh workers are added to the job market every year, but they fail to get jobs as they are not skilled enough as required for their employment. Side by side, the country’s workforce fails…
‘Recognise non-state actors’ roles in implementing SDGs’
Dhaka, July 13 (UNB) – Speakers at a dialogue in New York said non-state actors including NGOs, think tanks, media and private sectors, in developing countries like Bangladesh, are playing a critical role in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Poor nations not liable for emissions ‘collected thru ages’
12 July 2019 – Citing climate change as being caused by “emissions accumulated throughout history”, the head of China’s Xiamen Airlines told the United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) in New York on Friday that heavy carbon…
Jamuna turns disastrous; devours over 200 houses in 2 weeks
Manikganj, July 12 (UNB) – Over 200 houses and other establishments went into the gorge of the Jamuna River in the last two weeks as erosion by the mighty river has taken a serious turn in Shibalaya and Daulatpur upazilas…
Green Climate Fund agrees on ways to decide sans consensus
Songdo, 11 July (Indrajit Bose) — The Board of the UNFCCC’s Green Climate Fund (GCF) adopted a key decision on how the Board will make decisions in the event consensus could not be reached at its 23rd meeting in Songdo,…
Unlock opportunities for sustainable development: UN Chief
UN, July 11 – As the number of people on the planet continues to rise, UN Secretary-General António Guterres marked World Population Day by highlighting the close link between the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and demographic trends – urging…
Progress of financial inclusion in BD exciting: Queen Maxima
It can accelerate progress, empower women, she says Dhaka, July 10 – UN Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA) Queen Maxima on Wednesday said financial inclusion can empower women and accelerate Bangladesh’s progress and noted significant progress…
Sustainable development needs fundamental governance changes
New York, 8 July 2019: “The world is off-track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Most governments have failed to turn the transformational vision of the 2030 Agenda into real transformational policies. Even worse, xenophobia and authoritarianism are on…
Queen Maxima in Dhaka to promote financial services access
Dhaka, July 9 (UNB) – UN Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA) Queen Maxima arrived here on Tuesday evening to promote people’s access to financial services in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is currently developing a national strategy to improve…
Of leaders then and now
By Issa Sikiti da Silva Cotonou, Benin, Jul 8 2019 (IPS) – Richard Dossevi parks his motorcycle taxi on one of the busiest street corners in Cotonou, Benin’s commercial capital, to wait for commuters amid the summer heat. It has…
Steps taken to make Bangladesh capital market vibrant: PM
Dhaka, Jul 8 – Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday said her government has taken various steps to ensure a vibrant capital market that will supplement its efforts to make Bangladesh a developed country by the year 2041. “Various measures…
Zero Population Growth vs Population Control
By Marian Starkey Washington, Jul 4 2019 (IPS) – Knowledge is power, but with the caveat that said knowledge is based on fact. Otherwise, it’s misinformation. I appreciate the journalism of IPS. Similarly, I respect and spend much of my…
Amend labour code to benefit workers: Bahrain Trade Union
The General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions has in a statement called upon the Government of Bahrain to ratify the new convention of ILO No 190, and thus realize a precedence in the workers’ legislation, compatible with its precedence in…
BD left parties on general strike against gas price hike
Dhaka, July 7 (UNB) – A number of left-leaning political parties are trying to enforce a half-day hartal to protest against the recent hike in prices of gas for retail consumers. Supporters of the Left Democratic Alliance (LDA) brought out…
The danger of ‘profit-only’ motive: Prof Yunus
6th ISBD celebrated in Russia; Three Zeros’ Russian edition launched Dhaka, July 6 – Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus has said the world will soon face extinction if businesses and industries continue to pursue the single-minded pursuit of only profit.…
Dhaka-Beijing strategic ties helpful for prosperity in Asia
Dhaka, July 6 (UNB) – China has conveyed Bangladesh that the strategic partnership of cooperation between the two countries will be ‘helpful in a big way’ towards the prosperity and stability in Asia and beyond apart from serving the mutual…
World is off track in its education commitments for 2030
Almost a third of the way to the 2030 deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals, new UNESCO projections prepared for the UN High-level Political Forum show that the world will fail its education commitments without a rapid acceleration of progress.…
The Tivare Dam disaster in Maharashtra, India
July 6, 2019 SANDRP Late that night of July 2, shouts of “Dharan Futla, Dharan Futla” (The dam has breached!) saved the already-scared 62-year-old Narayan Gaikwad and his family, as the family ran to a nearby hill. Tivare Dam (Longitude:…
Why environmental and humanitarian action must be linked
By Tharanga Yakupitiyage UN, Jul 4 2019 (IPS) – Environmental and humanitarian action is often understood as two different sectors. However, the lack of awareness regarding its intersections could lead to further long-term devastation. With the growing number of crises…