by Branko Milanovic Marx once wrote of the temptation, confronted with a new historical situation, to summon up the ‘borrowed language’ of the past. He’s still right, writes Branko Milanovic. Le hasard ne profite qu’aux esprits préparés (Chance favours only…
by Maxwell Gomera Cambridge – Walhi, Indonesia’s largest environmental organization, recently took the government to court for issuing construction permits to a Chinese company based on what they allege was a “deeply flawed” environmental impact assessment. In fact, Wahli contends,…
by Mike Eman Oranjestad – To live in a small island state today is to reckon regularly with the cruellest irony of climate change. Islands contribute little to global warming, but they are the first to suffer from its devastating…
Dhaka, June 17 – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said dryland degradation reduces national domestic product in developing countries by up to 8 percent annually. “We must urgently change such trends,” he said in a message marking the World Day…
By Ramzy Baroud 24 Apr 2019 – As the 300-foot spire of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris tragically came tumbling down on live television, my thoughts ventured to Nuseirat Refugee Camp, my childhood home in the Gaza Strip. Then,…
By Thalif Deen UN, Jun 14, 2019 (IPS) – UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed told a Chatham House meeting in London last week that the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), one of the legacies of the late Secretary-General Kofi Annan,…
by Sylvia Schmidt Despite the economic recovery of recent years, persistent social imbalances—such as those affecting women and young people—must be taken into account in the debate on Europe’s future. In the wake of the European Parliament elections, this autumn…
By Nils Røkke Trontheim, Norway, Jun 11 (IPS) – Never before has half a degree (0.5C) meant so much for humanity. We are behaving as if we have time to deal with climate change. We don’t. The main problem is…
by Ekkehard Ernst Digital dystopias are overdone but inequality is rising. The answer lies in treating data as a commons and Big Data as a collective-action problem. The fear of the machine is back. Dystopian views of a world without…
By Michael Lim Mah Hui and Jomo Kwame Sundaram Penang and Kuala Lumpur, Jun 4 2019 (IPS) – Finance has not stopped at dominating the real economy. The tentacles of finance have reached into significant, if not most parts of…
By Juan Pablo Segura Washington DC, Jun 7 2019 (IPS) – The maternal mortality rate in the United States is the highest of any developed country – and the rate is rising. The US is currently the most dangerous place…
by Kris Hartley, Asit K. Biswas Singapore/Hong Kong – The United Nations expects 68% of the world’s population to live in urban areas by 2050. As governments scramble to manage this flood of urban migration, they must address not only…
by Jan Erik Saugestad OSLO – Following the abdication of Emperor Akihito, Japan announced that its new imperial era would be called Reiwa (“beautiful harmony”). But if the Reiwa era is to live up to its name, Japan’s government must…
By Sara Flounders 23 Apr 2019 – The very corporations that are responsible for the problem are denying global warming, with immediate consequences for the whole world. Carbon emissions from the burning of oil, gas and methane are heating the…
By Satya Sagar In the times we live in, where smoke and mirrors are the world’s two chief weapons of war, fiction is a better guide to contemporary events than ‘facts’ presented by governments and media. A case in point…
by Vasco Pedrina Arguments about immigration have polarised between restriction and liberalisation. But key are accompanying measures to ensure freedom of movement is associated with wage and social protection. Together with Luxembourg, Switzerland is one of the countries with the…
By Tharanga Yakupitiyage UN, Jun 5 2019 (IPS) – Climate-related displacement and food insecurity is not a future possibility, but it is already happening and it’s only projected to worsen without urgent action in coming years. Yesterday, ahead of World…
by Kostas Kalloniatis What can an elected left-wing European government do when faced with imposed austerity? Redefining austerity can bring a turnaround. Austerity has become a hegemonic tool used by international organisations (the IMF) in lending funds to sovereigns facing…
by Enzo Valentini The Great Recession, as with the Great Depression, is proving to be a structural crisis, which only a Euro-Keynesian programme of public investment can tackle. There are good reasons to think that the more developed countries are…
By Jan Lundius Stockholm / Rome, Jun 3 2019 (IPS) – There are several means to make profitable use of other human beings, an endeavour that tends to turn others into tools by depriving them of their roots and self-respect.…
By Princess Sarah Zeid Amman, May 29 2019 (IPS) – On the eve of the Women Deliver conference in Vancouver June 3-6, Princess Sarah Zeid of Jordan interviewed Dr. Olfat Mahmoud, a Palestinian refugee and women’s rights advocate. Princess Sarah…
• Malva Baskovich • Berenice Flores Arias Uijtewaal WSS Facilities & Menstrual Hygiene Management in Rural Schools of Latin America How memorable is your “first-period story”? Were you at school? Did you dare to tell a friend or teacher? Did…
by Sheri Berman In light of the gains by green parties and right-wing populists in the Euro-elections, Sheri Berman explores how the traditionally dominant parties respond to such challenges. ‘Peak populism’ and the ‘green wave‘ was how many observers summarised…
Md. Kamruzzaman Dhaka, Bangladesh – Nineteen-year-old Mohammad Amin is one of the 54 Rohingya refugees who each paid 45,000 Bangladeshi taka ($532) to local traffickers to go to Malaysia earlier this month. For three days and two nights they believed…
By Claudia Sadoff Colombo, Sri Lanka, May 31 2019 (IPS) – Global biodiversity loss has reached critical levels. One million species of plants and animals are now estimated to be at risk of extinction. The window for action is closing,…
by Susanne Wixforth Amazon symbolises the four platform giants, also known as GAFA (Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon). The company is Europe’s largest platform retailer and its turnover is twice as high as that of its 20 largest competitors. While…
By Baher Kamal Madrid, May 29 2019 (IPS) – No, no, no. Nothing to do with what the US and Europe’s far-right fanatics now use to vociferate, saying once and again that “migrants come here to destroy our democracy, our…
Palestinians pledge to continue the dream of passing land to their children and grandchildren amid accelerating seizures By Shatha Hammad Tayseer Ataya stands, leaning on his cane and gazing at his plot of land on Risan hill, west of Ramallah.…
Strong primary health care is the frontline in defending the right to health, including sexual and reproductive rights. It’s through strong primary health care that countries can prevent, detect and treat non-communicable diseases, he said. It’s through strong primary health…
By Ranjit Devraj New Delhi, May 25 2019 (IPS) – “We worked for the poor and they voted us back to power,” was the explanation that Prime Minister Narendra Modi made to newly-elected legislators on Saturday, May 25, on the…