Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Abdul Momen recently warned that the coming monsoon season will bring serious risk to Rohingya refugees living in settlements in Cox’s Bazar. But instead of calling for practical safeguards against flooding and landslides, Momen doubled down on a controversial plan to…
WASHINGTON DC, Apr 30 2019 (IPS) – Smart U.S. leadership is an essential part of the nuclear risk reduction equation. Unfortunately, after more than two years into President Donald Trump’s term in office, his administration has failed to present a credible…
by Liam Kennedy Soaring income inequality inevitably raises discussion of more progressive taxation. But a more fundamental focus on the ownership of capital is needed. ‘Taxes, taxes, taxes … All the rest is bullsh*t in my opinion.’ The now much-travelled…
By Andre Vltchek Yes, the latest research confirms that Venezuela is so rich in natural resources, that it could single-handedly satisfy all global demand for oil, for over 30 years. And it has much more than oil to offer, in…
The president of the GUE/NGL group in the European Parliament reflects on her retirement at the forthcoming elections and on the battles to come. On May 1st we celebrate the achievements of workers throughout the world and renew our commitment…
Adam Tooze explains how a false exactitude in economics has led to a terrible politics in the EU. Economic ideas, when linked to measurement and policy-making, have power. Knowledge informs decisions and helps to justify policy in public. In the…
Beirut, Apr 30 (AP/UNB) — The shadowy leader of the Islamic State group claimed to appear for the first time in five years in a video released by the extremist group’s propaganda arm on Monday, acknowledging defeat in the group’s…
UNITED NATIONS, Apr 29 2019 (IPS) – In light of land degradation and climate change, the protection of the environment is crucial—but the protection of the very people working tirelessly and with much risk to preserve nature should be just as…
UNITED NATIONS, Apr 29 2019 (IPS) – The United States dropped a political bombshell when President Donald Trump announced his administration would withdraw from the historic Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) which the former Obama administration signed in September 2013. “We are…
UNITED NATIONS, Apr 26 2019 (IPS) – When US political leaders urged the Trump administration to either reduce or cut off arms supplies to Saudi Arabia – largely as a punishment for its indiscriminate bombings of civilians in the four-year old…
PEMBA, Zambia, Apr 26 2019 (IPS) – It is slightly after 3pm on a hot Wednesday afternoon in Chipata district, eastern Zambia, and a group of women are gathering for a meeting. It is Elizabeth Tembo’s turn to stand amongst the…
WASHINGTON DC, Apr 24 2019 (IPS) – Within a few short months after taking up her post as governor of the Central Bank of Russia in 2013, Elvira Nabiullina faced a growing economic crisis brought on by plunging oil prices, geopolitical…
This youth generation is the first in Europe since the war to face tougher times than its predecessor. At first sight, it might appear that life for young people is becoming more comfortable. Advances in technology mean it’s easier to…
New Delhi, 24 April (KM Gopakumar): The recent restructuring of the World Health Organization (WHO) hierarchy fails to address conflict of interest in the implementation of the Framework of Engagement with Non-State Actors (FENSA). WHO announced its new structure on…
By Rene Wadlow Street demonstrations began in Algiers on 22 February 2019 and quickly spread to other cities in Algeria. The demonstrations, often led by young people, are massive on Fridays, the chief day of rest. The first demands were…
UNITED NATIONS, Apr 19 2019 (IPS) – Journalists around the world are increasingly seeing threats of violence, detention, and even death simply for doing their job, a new press index found. In the 2019 World Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has found…
NEW YORK, Apr 22 2019 (IPS) – I returned from attending a three-hour Easter Sunday mass at the Fordham University Church around midnight New York time on April 20, 2019, when my phone rang and a colleague asked me what’s going…
By Afro-Middle East Centre (AMEC) Khalifa Haftar’s 4 April announcement declaring his march on Tripoli, and the subsequent of the Libyan capital by his forces, threaten to gravely impact the already tenuous process of placing the country on a more…
PHOENIX, Arizona, Apr 19 2019 (IPS) – The United Nations, as in so many other areas, gives lip service in support of Indigenous issues while lacking the political will and enforcement power over individual member states to comply with the protection…
By Jonathan Rozen New York, Apr 17 2019 (IPS) – When Nigeria’s incumbent president Muhammadu Buhari won re-election this year, he campaigned (as he did in 2015) on an image of good governance and anti-corruption. Billboards in the capital, Abuja,…
STOCKHOLM, Apr 18 2019 (IPS) – The mining industry is one of the world’s most dangerous industries. Globally, the death toll is at least 14,000 workers per year. But how many lives are actually lost is something that neither trade unions,…
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Apr 15 2019 (IPS) – Over a week ago – on April 3 – Brunei, the tiny South East Asian kingdom on the island of Borneo, announced its citizens would face the full force of the Shariah law.…
NEW YORK, Apr 16 2019 (IPS) – After a seven-year standoff at the Ecuadorean embassy in London, British police last week arrested WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange–a development press freedom advocates had long feared. For years, journalists and press freedom advocates worried…
UNITED NATIONS, Apr 15 2019 (IPS) – Counterterrorism measures are not only affecting extremist groups, but are also impacting a crucial sector for peace and security in the world: civil society. Civil society has long played a crucial role in society,…
TUNIS, Apr 12 2019 (IPS) – Sometimes a peak into the future reminds us just how stuck we are in the past and present. It was the talk of the Middle East’s largest annual media industry gathering: a robot journalist –…
Menstruation clearly makes for a substantial part of life, so why is it still taboo in discussions of work environment and work-life balance? In 2018, the Swedish organisation MENSEN—forum för menstruation received funding from the Swedish Gender Equality Agency for a one-year…
BANGKOK, Thailand, Apr 3 2019 (IPS) – Asia and the Pacific’s phenomenal development has been a story of rapid urbanization. As centres of innovation, entrepreneurship and opportunity, cities have drawn talent from across our region and driven economic growth which has…
BELGRADE, Apr 10 2019 (IPS) – The murder of Brazilian politician and human rights activist Marielle Franco just over a year ago and attacks on other rights activists around the world have galvanised civil society organisations, with the United Nations heightening…
Significant stretches of Gujarat’s Sabarmati river have gone dry or are plagued with pollution, says a latest report by a team of activists and environmentalists. The river in the Ahmedabad city stretch, before the Sabarmati Riverfront, is dry while the stretch along…
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Apr 9 2019 (IPS) – Around the globe, cyberspace has become the new battleground in the fight for the heart and soul of democracy. And Southeast Asia is fast becoming one of the global hotspots where the screws…