By Kul Chandra Gautam Kathmandu, Nepal, Feb 22 (IPS) – As a member of OXFAM GB’s Council of Trustees since 2014, I have received many queries about the recent scandal concerning sexual misconduct committed by some OXFAM staff in Haiti…
Category: Int’l relations
South Asian literature conference concludes in Dhaka
The two-day International Literature Conference titled ‘South Asian Literature Now’ ended on Friday with the discussion on South Asian poetry, language and translation.
Reframing the free market debate
March 1, 2006. America has two pre-eminent values, individual liberty and democracy. Our economic conversation emphasizes free markets, and free markets based on laws of property and contract do a relatively good job advancing individual liberty. However, markets do less…
World leaders abandon human rights: Amnesty International
In 2017, the world witnessed a rollback of human rights. Signs of a regression were everywhere. Across the world governments continued to clampdown on the rights to protest, and women’s rights took a nosedive in the USA, Russia and Poland.
Four held in Taiwan’s first bitcoin robbery
Taiwan police have arrested four men over a bitcoin robbery worth Twd$5 million ($170,000) in what they said was the first case of its kind on the island.
‘State sponsored hate makes human rights situation precarious’
The world is reaping the terrifying consequences of hate-filled rhetoric that threatens to normalize massive discrimination against marginalized groups, Amnesty International warned today as it launched its annual assessment of human rights.
AL took Saber, Haji Selim in 1996 sacrificing ideology: Quader
Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader says nominating Saber Hossain Chowdhury to win the parliamentary seat in 1996 was a ‘strategic political’ decision though his party’s ideology was called into question because of such call.
What happened to Europe’s left
Last year was an ‘annus horribilis’ for the European left. In Austria, France, and the Czech Republic, the left lost its governing position, and the same might occur in Italy in a few weeks. Today, only Portugal, Greece, Sweden, Slovakia,…
A step towards light: Ending human trafficking
A new initiative aims to use data to shed light on a pervasive multi-billion dollar criminal industry: human trafficking.
Some missing Nigeria girls ‘rescued’ after school attack
Some of the schoolgirls missing after a militant attack on a boarding school in northern Nigeria have been rescued by the military, officials say.
Rape suspect killed in Cox’s Bazar ‘gunfight’
Dhaka – A rape suspect was killed in a reported gunfight between his associates and the members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) in Napitkhali area of Cox’s Bazar early Wednesday.
Heavy snowfall over Morocco in decades
Bitter cold and exceptionally heavy snowfall have beleaguered parts of Morocco this winter, disrupting schools, closing national highways — and delighting residents in cities where it hadn’t snowed for decades.
Joint gathering at Benapole no-man’s land for Ekushey
Showing their deep affection for their mother tongue, thousands of people from both Bangladesh and India gathered at the no-man’s-land between Benapole and Petrapole on Wednesday to observe the International Mother Language Day.
Friends of Pakistan alternatives to AL: Quader
Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Wednesday reminded the friends of India that ruling party Awami League’s alternatives in Bangladesh are friends of Pakistan and sought continuous support to strengthen Dhaka-Delhi ties to see more prosperity and development…
Eastern Syrian bombing catastriphic
A doctor working in the Syrian rebel enclave of the Eastern Ghouta says the situation is “catastrophic” – and he believes the international community has abandoned the people living there.”We don’t have anything – no food, no medicine, no shelter,”…
Do Trump’s deficit matter
Should Democrats complain about the large deficits that Trump and the Republicans are creating? Or is this playing into the Republican narrative that made the stimulus in 2009 inadequate and gave us austerity from then onwards?
The incarceration of Tariq Ramadan – a travesty of justice
By Chandra Muzaffar The unjust incarceration of Dr Tariq Ramadan, Professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies at Oxford University, demeans and disgraces the French legal system. Tariq has been detained in a solitary cell in the high security wing of Paris’s…
Developing nations, LDCs demand TRIPS flexibilities in place
Geneva, 19 Feb (D. Ravi Kanth) – Several developing countries and the least-developed countries (LDCs) have upped the ante on their core demands for implementing the flexibilities and commitments in the World Trade Organization’s Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights…
Electronic salary transfer system to protect wage in Bahrain
Manama: An electronic salary transfer system will be launched in May to ensure the wages of private sector employees are protected. The salary protection scheme was unveiled yesterday as His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa…
Asian shares gain on rosy Japan data, bucking Wall St losses
Tokyo, Feb 21 (AP/UNB) — Shares were higher in Asia on Wednesday, supported by rosy manufacturing data from Japan. The gains came despite losses on Wall Street, where a six-day winning streak was snapped by a plunge in Walmart stock…
Prioritise disposal of cases pending over 5 years: SC
Dhaka, Feb – The Supreme Court of Bangladedsh on Monday directed the country’s lower courts and tribunals to dispose cases pending for more than five years on priority basis.
Father of Palestine’s Icon: Everyone is blaming my daughter
By Erik Larsson As a video clip spread all over the world, so too did the name Ahed Tamimi. For Palestinians, she has become an icon of freedom. Arbetet Global met the father of the teenage girl that kicked and…
Vision 2030 & the political costs of Saudi reforms – Part 2
By Adel Abdel Ghafar Doha, Qatar, Feb 20 (IPS) – A pillar of the Saudi social contract has been the allocation of oil rents to the population in exchange for loyalty and fidelity to the Saud clan. A key weakness…
Paradise on tenterhooks
By Amantha Perera Colombi, Sri Lanka, Feb 20 (IPS) – It was a shutdown that was emblematic of the instability plaguing the Maldives in recent months. On Feb. 8, Raajje TV, an opposition aligned TV channel in the atolls, suspended…
PM urges India to force Myanmar to take back Rohingyas
Dhaka, Feb 20 – Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday urged India to put pressure on Myanmar so that the country takes back its nationals, Rohingyas, from Bangladesh to their homeland Rakhine.
Diplomats want Burma to address Rakhine security, citizenship issues
Diplomatic missions in Myanmar have urged the Myanmar authorities to address the underlying problems, including security, freedom of movement, access to livelihoods, health and education, and citizenship issues.
HR-based approach to SDGs helps realise right to work
Geneva, 19 Feb (Kanaga Raja) – Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals and targets applicable to work in accordance with a human rights-based approach will make a significant contribution to the realisation of the right to work.
Will Vision 2030 usher the new Kingdom of Saud? – Part 1
By Adel Abdel Ghafar Doha, Qatar, Feb 19 (IPS) – The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is undergoing a process of change in its social, economic, and political structures unseen since its founding in 1932. Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and…
Debt restructuring turns more difficult and costly
The South Centre has announced the publication of Investment Policy Brief No. 10 entitled “How international investment agreements have made debt restructuring even more difficult and costly” by Yuefen LI, Special Advisor on Economics and Development Finance of the South…
Protect rights of labourers in Gulf: Filipino community
A call to ensure the rights of unskilled domestic workers in Gulf countries has been issued by the Filipino community. It comes as the Philippines Department of Labour and Employment (DOLE) on Monday issued an employment ban of overseas Filipino workers…